On The Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe

The second leg of our trip is focused on activities and individuals in Santa Fe, NM, and it was to this destination that we set out early Sunday morning. Armed with coffee (and muffins) from Que Suave, we stopped by the Old San Miguel Mission in Socorro as a way to learn more about New Mexican culture…

…but also to practice our skill at architectural photography.

Leaving Socorro for Santa Fe, we opted for the “Turquoise Trail” rather than simply taking the quickest route. This allowed us a more scenic drive, while also giving us the chance to stop in some smaller towns along the way. One of these towns was Golden, NM, where we stopped to see another Church: The St. Francis de Assis Catholic Church. It’s a beautiful church, surrounded by the graves of parishioners.

We also stopped in Madrid, NM, a wonderful little town that is as charming as it is unusual. We purchased more than two pounds of chocolate at Shugarman’s. Olivia and Cinthia were not expecting to buy chocolate, but after sampling some of the intriguing flavors (e.g., Hibiscus Flowers with Lemon and Ginger), we were hooked.

Indigo Gallery

by Olivia Discon

One of the first places we visited in Madrid was the Indigo Gallery, owned by artist Jill Shwaiko. It seemed to have been the perfect day to stop in, because the artist herself was in the gallery and ready to share some of her work with us! Her work commonly features a thought-provoking goat/sheep motif, along with inspiration from the petroglyphs of indigenous people.

Ms. Shwaiko strives to capture emotions such as perseverance, strength, and frailty in her art, and this is apparent when looking at her work. She also uses vibrant colors, and she even provided us with a mini-lecture on color theory! Her work brought forth many new perspectives, and her lessons resonated with me. Most of all, she encouraged us to experience life, not just survive it. On a special, fun-filled trip such as this, what better advice could one have? We all left Ms. Schwaiko’s gallery excited for what other excellent experiences we have in store.

Finally, we stopped by the Mine Shaft Tavern for our daily fix of food that includes green chile, a semi-must while we are in New Mexico. We had green chile stew, green chile chicken pizza, and the green chile cheeseburger–the latter of which won “the green chile burger smackdown.” The food was excellent!

Santa Fe

When we arrived in Santa Fe, we immediately went to the Plaza. The Plaza is rich with history and many other attributes, so it was a nice way to begin our Santa Fe journey. Our first stop was the Palace of the Governors, where Native Americans are given exclusive rights to sell their products as long as they meet certain requirements (one of which is that the work must be hand-made). 

We bought a total of three pieces of art/jewelry from different vendors, and we very much enjoyed learning about the program and the lives of the artists.

New Mexico Museum of Art

by Olivia Discon

To continue our pursuit of immersing ourselves in the New Mexican art scene, we stopped by the New Mexico Museum of Art on the Santa Fe Plaza. Here, we were able to discern several familiar names which we have grown accustomed to while on our tour of the southwest, especially John Nieto, Jesus Moroles, and Allan Houser. But we also had the opportunity to learn more about New Mexico through some artists we hadn’t yet familiarized ourselves with. In my case, I took to a painting by Joseph Henry Sharp, titled “The Stoic”. The size of the piece would be sufficient to capture one’s attention, but it was also captivating in its composition. 

Interestingly enough, Sharp was one of the first  Americans to visit, and remain in, Taos, New Mexico, and he is regarded as the ”spiritual father” of the Taos Art Colony.”

An artist that was new to Cinthia and me was Fritz Scholder, and we saw his work in various locations and on various media. At the New Mexico Museum of Art on the Plaza, we were able to see a few paintings of his, the most interesting of which was a self portrait. 

A close second for the group was a totem of his in the sculpture garden!

The New Mexico Museum of Art on the Plaza also has an auditorium that resembles a chapel, with beautiful murals lining the walls. My personal favorite mural was “The Apotheosis of St. Francis”; a scene that personifies the humanities. Art, religion, literature, philosophy, and society can be seen as gifts of St. Francis to humanity. It was particularly enjoyable to decipher which personification matched which discipline (I implore the reader to guess themselves).

In all, this museum was the perfect place to learn further about New Mexican art, along with reinforcing some of the art that we have come to know and (mostly) love.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

by Cinthia Villarreal

In case it has gone unnoticed, art is an essential part in LEAP’s interdisciplinary philosophy.  Learning about different artistic styles, media, eras, and artists contributes to our broadened horizons and cultural awareness. With that, it was essential that we visited the museum of renowned artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who spent her later years in New Mexico. Not all of us are huge fans of work, but even the doubters found many works to enjoy and much to learn about.

To our surprise, the museum provides visitors with an audio tour O’Keeffe’s thought process and life happenings behind several of her works. The art works were divided by different stages throughout her life, which were seemingly different from one another.  This helped us watch how she grew alongside her art. One of Olivia and my favorite pieces ended up being a watercolor painting done by O’Keeffe at just 16 years old!

Of course, O’Keeffe is specifically known for her abstracts of flowers and landscapes using bright New Mexican colors;

….nonetheless, she proved her versatility and resourcefulness by painting the skyscrapers and night sky of New York with unusual colors for her palette. 

Another period in her life that really resonated with us was when she moved to New Mexico after the death of her husband, Alfred Stieglitz. The artist intensely expressed herself by using dark, ominous abstracts.

As she settled in the new state, she noticed the lack of flowers in the deserted environment around her and decided to change her portrait subjects by collecting skulls and bones. This interesting and unique idea set her apart from the rest of the artists in her time for, again, her creativity and originality.  

Olivia’s favorite art work from the museum was “Black Place I”  because of its looming gray landscape with some hinted red hues along the bottom of the painting. This is O’Keeffe’s depiction of the American Southwest, which she described as “a mile of elephants”.

Professor Yawn enjoyed the ‘Church Steeple,” and…

…I enjoyed the colorful abstract, “Pelvis.”

Interestingly, O’Keeffe only did three sculptures in her life, and we had the chance to see two of them. The first we saw at the New Mexico Museum of Art–a large sculpture of a spiral shape.

That shape, we learned from the O’Keeffe Museum was actually inspired by a ram’s horn…

…and it’s a figure she also painted…

The other sculpture we saw was a small, semi-abstract.

As our minds expand to appreciate and understand art from a more mindful perspective, we left the museum, but not before stopping at the gift stop for something to remind us of this great endeavor.

It was enriching day, filled with learning, new experiences, and the beauty of Santa Fe. As we left the Museum and re-crossed the Plaza, the sun set, leaving us in the “blue hour,” and it began to snow. With the remaining light of the sun’s glow, reinforced by the Christmas lights on the Plaza, we took a final photo of the day.