October 7, 2010
The beady-eyed, fluffy creatures inhabiting the bins of fly fishing shops resemble toys – but their sharp hooks and precise details are a reminder that they are in fact gear for the skilled hands of fishermen.
The Plopper, Dragon Slayer, Royal Parachute and the Poundmeister are a few notable ties that Taylor Streit, founder of Taos Fly Shop, invented. “Ties are named all kind of crazy stuff,” said Streit, holding up a Mickey Finn.
“You can make up anything you want, call it what you want but the whole idea is that certain patterns are proven to be more effective bait,” added Streit, who is also the author of three fly fishing books.
Depending on weather patterns, season, water temperature and cloud coverage, fish might favor one insect and its corresponding bait over another. “Whatever’s most prolific at a certain time, that’s what they’ll feed on,” said Streit.
Most flies mimic aquatic insects – caddis flies, mayflies, stoneflies, midges – and all of their sub-groups, which may vary in size, shape and color. And, adding to the multitude of possibilities, flies are made that resemble these creatures at every stage of the life cycle from larva to adult. Flies are also made in the form of terrestrials such as beatles and grasshoppers.
Raw materials for fly tying include beaver and squirrel dubbing, turkey hackle, rabbit zonkers, hair stackers and gold mylar cord among others. “Sometimes people will take some hair from their dog, if it matches the color of some insect they saw on the water,” said fishing guide Daniel Gentle.
Gentle started his fly, the Crystal Serendipity, with a gold bead. The bead was chosen because it draws the fish’s attention and also creates weight–to sink the fly into the range of the deeper swimmers.
He then wrapped gold wire up and down the length of the bright green body, to add durability. Two four-inch pieces of peacock feather were wrapped behind the eye and became like a tiny, feather boa. After the excess was trimmed a zig zag tool tightened up the details and the caddis larva rendition was complete.
“That thing would catch fish in a bathtub,” said Streit.
Streit gleaned much of his expertise from fishing and tying with legendary, recently deceased, fisherman Frances Betters.
“He taught me to tie the ausable wolf, the famous fly he came up with. He found that woodchuck tail was the prime ingredient for that particular fly. Every time we saw a woodchuck on the road we’d pick it up. We used to pick all kinds of critters up off the road… porcupines…” says Streit.
Fly fishing dates back nearly two thousand years, according to www.flyfishinghistory.com and fly tying has evolved somewhat over the years. Traditionally hunters would kill game such as grouse, deer, elk and Hungarian Partridges for materials. Nowadays, natural materials are often used in combination with synthetics such as plastic and polyester.
Usually when tying a fly, fishermen will follow pre-set instructions in order to mimic a creature found in nature. Other times they’ll make an “attracter” or “stimulator” fly that looks like a non-specific flying creature and hope for a pleasant surprise.
Hot pink fur spiked up from the tip of Taylor Streit’s latest creation, and a splash of yellow circled its belly. “You’re gonna have to find a gullible trout to eat this one,” he said, with a chuckle.
Fly fishing is generally used for trout because they are so hard to catch, explained Gentle. “But you can fly fish for anything.” He whipped out some black feathery flies as examples of bait for pike, a pre-historic looking fish occasionally caught in our region. Because of the popularity of the sport, ‘catch and release’ is the favored philosophy of most guides. “If everyone kept what they fished, there would be no fish left,” said Gentle.
Once a respectable fly has been tied and appropriately selected for the conditions of the moment, there’s still no guarantee it will catch fish.
“It’s about making the fly look like a natural insect on the water. I tell people, ‘See that grasshopper? Look at it closely, how it moves, how is the water taking it… Fly selection is important but the ability to fish it is equally if not more important,” said Gentle.
“To see fish eat the fly is the best part,” said Streit. “To have a fly you made, throw it in the water and see the fish open its mouth and eat it, it’s amazing.”
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
On the Radio!
Hello Everyone,
This blog is predominantly my (partial) article but I must post this important news:
I will be on Art of the Song radio show this week, sharing a piece I wrote about using free form dance to access creativity.
Please go to www.artofthesong.org and find out if you can hear the show in your area this week. After that the show should be available on their website.
Thanks!
Tara
This blog is predominantly my (partial) article but I must post this important news:
I will be on Art of the Song radio show this week, sharing a piece I wrote about using free form dance to access creativity.
Please go to www.artofthesong.org and find out if you can hear the show in your area this week. After that the show should be available on their website.
Thanks!
Tara
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Potent Whisperings
For a chunk of my life, I avoided shy people, assuming they had nothing to say. Then one day I realized that if I quit blabbering for a minute, they’d often utter something that would blow my mind.
The etchings and pencil drawings in Sara Honeycutt’s show “New Drawings” at the New Gallery on 108b Dona Luz will not hit you over the head with irony, political statements or blasts of color. Like with a shy person, you must be silent for a few moments to invite their potent whisperings.
A three-year-old clutches a bowl of fresh-picked plums and offers a blessing through wide, innocent eyes. Two bare feet nuzzle and create a basket for an egg. A woman holds a mango to her face, her eyes closed in sublime appreciation. If you get close enough, you can feel the delicate touch of her subjects, taste their contentment.
“These are a reminder of that peace and comfort and simplicity we all have at particular times of our day or lives. Every person needs that – that’s what keeps us going,” says Honeycutt.
Honeycutt’s first child, India, was born four years ago and her energy parades through many of the works, whether she’s modeling or making marks of her own. Her scribbles dance along the top edge of a portrait and one line even wanders rebelliously down through the subject’s face.
“When she did that, it scared me to death,” says Honeycutt. “But then I kept it… I love having her marks in there.”
Scrawled beneath “Plums,” a portrait of India, are excerpts from Honeycutt’s journal, raw with emotion of new motherhood. “I used to just take off whenever I would feel trapped, just go out to the trails or across the country but now that I have every thing I’ve ever wanted I have no escape,” she writes.
“India, I’m so sorry I’ve been a beast for days. What mother can be an artist without family, child help or money… I know how to get us untrapped, except it’s almost 3 a.m. now, will I remember in the morning?”
When Honeycutt was nine she was faced with the decision of whether to be an artist or a writer. “Somehow I knew I couldn’t do both, and there were artists in my family so I knew it could be done and that I loved doing it,” she says. She worked as an illustrator for magazines, newspapers and books for over a decade, always making time for her personal expression whether through self-portraits or sketchbook journaling.
The writing she’s begun to include in her work is a long-awaited celebration of both her childhood passions.
In one of her etchings, an assortment of amorphous cookies cool on a wire rack. Beneath it she writes about baking cookies and muffins with India, at home “where love resides.” But domestic bliss is not without its strife. She writes on, “Money worry slumped on the couch next to food stamp papers. How much did you make last month? At home where we are… is no I to be taken down, degraded.”
Below this piece is one of India’s scribble drawings, made into an etching. Its spontaneity grabs the viewer – it’s like a woman whirling, untamed and ecstatic. Honeycutt says India’s prints are one of the gallery’s most popular items.
For more information call New Gallery, which also displays recycled art lamps and psychedelic monoprints by Jan Nelson, at 575 779-7657 or email saramaji@gmail.com
The etchings and pencil drawings in Sara Honeycutt’s show “New Drawings” at the New Gallery on 108b Dona Luz will not hit you over the head with irony, political statements or blasts of color. Like with a shy person, you must be silent for a few moments to invite their potent whisperings.
A three-year-old clutches a bowl of fresh-picked plums and offers a blessing through wide, innocent eyes. Two bare feet nuzzle and create a basket for an egg. A woman holds a mango to her face, her eyes closed in sublime appreciation. If you get close enough, you can feel the delicate touch of her subjects, taste their contentment.
“These are a reminder of that peace and comfort and simplicity we all have at particular times of our day or lives. Every person needs that – that’s what keeps us going,” says Honeycutt.
Honeycutt’s first child, India, was born four years ago and her energy parades through many of the works, whether she’s modeling or making marks of her own. Her scribbles dance along the top edge of a portrait and one line even wanders rebelliously down through the subject’s face.
“When she did that, it scared me to death,” says Honeycutt. “But then I kept it… I love having her marks in there.”
Scrawled beneath “Plums,” a portrait of India, are excerpts from Honeycutt’s journal, raw with emotion of new motherhood. “I used to just take off whenever I would feel trapped, just go out to the trails or across the country but now that I have every thing I’ve ever wanted I have no escape,” she writes.
“India, I’m so sorry I’ve been a beast for days. What mother can be an artist without family, child help or money… I know how to get us untrapped, except it’s almost 3 a.m. now, will I remember in the morning?”
When Honeycutt was nine she was faced with the decision of whether to be an artist or a writer. “Somehow I knew I couldn’t do both, and there were artists in my family so I knew it could be done and that I loved doing it,” she says. She worked as an illustrator for magazines, newspapers and books for over a decade, always making time for her personal expression whether through self-portraits or sketchbook journaling.
The writing she’s begun to include in her work is a long-awaited celebration of both her childhood passions.
In one of her etchings, an assortment of amorphous cookies cool on a wire rack. Beneath it she writes about baking cookies and muffins with India, at home “where love resides.” But domestic bliss is not without its strife. She writes on, “Money worry slumped on the couch next to food stamp papers. How much did you make last month? At home where we are… is no I to be taken down, degraded.”
Below this piece is one of India’s scribble drawings, made into an etching. Its spontaneity grabs the viewer – it’s like a woman whirling, untamed and ecstatic. Honeycutt says India’s prints are one of the gallery’s most popular items.
For more information call New Gallery, which also displays recycled art lamps and psychedelic monoprints by Jan Nelson, at 575 779-7657 or email saramaji@gmail.com
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Arte De Descartes
August 27, 2009
A mangled old shoe sole, a crushed pair of glasses and a flattened rusted spray can are among Stu Wittwer’s coveted stash of art supplies. Using screws and wire, he joins these and other precious found items together to create sculptures. “Movie Man” is a robot made almost entirely from parts of a deconstructed 16mm Bell & Howell projector, no longer functioning because its worn parts are no longer sold. The coiled filament light now perches at the end of a branch-like metal arm, facing the viewer as if to say “I’m back!”
Join Wittwer and over 50 other artists for “Arte De Descartes IX,” which translates to “Art from Discards,” the ninth annual recycled art show at the Stables Gallery on 133 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte. Opening reception is Saturday, August 29 from 4-8 p.m., with live music provided Sunshine Archestra, formerly the Sunshine Marching Band and Atzlan.
“A lot of these artists are obscure, they do their own things and don’t really use phones or email. They come out of the wood work for this show,” says Melissa Larson, organizer of this juried show. Larson is also the founder of Wholly Rags, a non-profit dedicated to local recycling efforts. The show is an opportunity to explore the more playful and fun side of recycling, she explains. In conjunction with the show will be a Recycled Fashion Fair on Saturday, Sept. 5 from 5-7pm and a Recycling Meeting on Saturday Sept. 12 at 1pm.
Featuring mostly local artists, the show also includes pieces from an Ohio artist who weaves fabric softener drier sheets; a Texan with a penchant for shredded tablecloths and a Minnesotan who makes gourd-headed spirit dolls. Invited artists include Erin Currier, Lydia Garcia, Starr, Ed Larson and Terrie Mangat.
Mangat is a local, internationally renowned quilt artist who uses a range of techniques to create her brilliantly colored and textured works. She is currently working on a piece about water and when I spoke with her, was in the midst of sewing 100 crystals into the fabric.
“I also use acrylic paints, beads, hand embroidery and sometimes leather,” she says. “I have a huge stash of stuff that I work from. It’s been accumulating since I was 11 years old, when I used to take the public bus (in Kentucky) to the fabric shops.”
Joel Lage, also an invited artist, has been making recycled art since 1970. His school bus art studio near Penasco is packed with reclaimed items awaiting resurrection. “If there’s an arroyo with no junk in it, I’ve already been there,” he says.
“Study Hall Fantasy” is an old school desk with a ceiling fan, a rudder and a fog light mounted onto it. “Pull Toy” is a five-gallon gas can riding in a wagon adorned with tin cans and brass parts. “My theme is to take mundane, common place objects and make them look precious,” he says.
Kelly Barrett’s work traverses many media and now includes improvisational performance art that aims to “translate the spirit of the environment.” She borrowed an outfit from a friend years ago (a practice she formerly eschewed) which she wore in tranquil natural setting in France. A spontaneous dialogue emerged between her and mother nature, her movements became a sort of dance, giving birth to a new creative outlet. Borrowed clothing continues to be a key ingredient in opening the dialogue channels.
A self-proclaimed pack rat, Barrett chose a box of maps collected during her travels around the world, as her material for a recycled art piece. She glued them on top of one another, compressed them in a flower press and then cut out shapes. The resulting installation is a glorious nature scene (with roads and interstate highways winding through if you look closely) attached to the wall with specimen pins.
Along with “Movie Man,” this year Wittwer will present a line of 100% recycled material necklaces. Some contain lockets encasing magazine images; one is made from a broken tape measure, with sections fanning out like sun rays. Some are macabre with hands and legs from his grandson’s broken toys as beads.
“Last year my grandkids sent me a box of their broken toys with a note that said, ‘Make something!’ I love that, it’s like getting a kit,” he says. “And now they’re starting to get into making things which is great.”
The show runs through September 12. For more information, visit www.whollyrags.org or call 575 751-9862.
A mangled old shoe sole, a crushed pair of glasses and a flattened rusted spray can are among Stu Wittwer’s coveted stash of art supplies. Using screws and wire, he joins these and other precious found items together to create sculptures. “Movie Man” is a robot made almost entirely from parts of a deconstructed 16mm Bell & Howell projector, no longer functioning because its worn parts are no longer sold. The coiled filament light now perches at the end of a branch-like metal arm, facing the viewer as if to say “I’m back!”
Join Wittwer and over 50 other artists for “Arte De Descartes IX,” which translates to “Art from Discards,” the ninth annual recycled art show at the Stables Gallery on 133 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte. Opening reception is Saturday, August 29 from 4-8 p.m., with live music provided Sunshine Archestra, formerly the Sunshine Marching Band and Atzlan.
“A lot of these artists are obscure, they do their own things and don’t really use phones or email. They come out of the wood work for this show,” says Melissa Larson, organizer of this juried show. Larson is also the founder of Wholly Rags, a non-profit dedicated to local recycling efforts. The show is an opportunity to explore the more playful and fun side of recycling, she explains. In conjunction with the show will be a Recycled Fashion Fair on Saturday, Sept. 5 from 5-7pm and a Recycling Meeting on Saturday Sept. 12 at 1pm.
Featuring mostly local artists, the show also includes pieces from an Ohio artist who weaves fabric softener drier sheets; a Texan with a penchant for shredded tablecloths and a Minnesotan who makes gourd-headed spirit dolls. Invited artists include Erin Currier, Lydia Garcia, Starr, Ed Larson and Terrie Mangat.
Mangat is a local, internationally renowned quilt artist who uses a range of techniques to create her brilliantly colored and textured works. She is currently working on a piece about water and when I spoke with her, was in the midst of sewing 100 crystals into the fabric.
“I also use acrylic paints, beads, hand embroidery and sometimes leather,” she says. “I have a huge stash of stuff that I work from. It’s been accumulating since I was 11 years old, when I used to take the public bus (in Kentucky) to the fabric shops.”
Joel Lage, also an invited artist, has been making recycled art since 1970. His school bus art studio near Penasco is packed with reclaimed items awaiting resurrection. “If there’s an arroyo with no junk in it, I’ve already been there,” he says.
“Study Hall Fantasy” is an old school desk with a ceiling fan, a rudder and a fog light mounted onto it. “Pull Toy” is a five-gallon gas can riding in a wagon adorned with tin cans and brass parts. “My theme is to take mundane, common place objects and make them look precious,” he says.
Kelly Barrett’s work traverses many media and now includes improvisational performance art that aims to “translate the spirit of the environment.” She borrowed an outfit from a friend years ago (a practice she formerly eschewed) which she wore in tranquil natural setting in France. A spontaneous dialogue emerged between her and mother nature, her movements became a sort of dance, giving birth to a new creative outlet. Borrowed clothing continues to be a key ingredient in opening the dialogue channels.
A self-proclaimed pack rat, Barrett chose a box of maps collected during her travels around the world, as her material for a recycled art piece. She glued them on top of one another, compressed them in a flower press and then cut out shapes. The resulting installation is a glorious nature scene (with roads and interstate highways winding through if you look closely) attached to the wall with specimen pins.
Along with “Movie Man,” this year Wittwer will present a line of 100% recycled material necklaces. Some contain lockets encasing magazine images; one is made from a broken tape measure, with sections fanning out like sun rays. Some are macabre with hands and legs from his grandson’s broken toys as beads.
“Last year my grandkids sent me a box of their broken toys with a note that said, ‘Make something!’ I love that, it’s like getting a kit,” he says. “And now they’re starting to get into making things which is great.”
The show runs through September 12. For more information, visit www.whollyrags.org or call 575 751-9862.
Questa Sends Four Volunteers to Iraq
March 19, 2009
Framed by silver ribbons dangling from balloons along the ceiling, Sgt. Celso J. Ortiz, Specialists Joseph Gallegos, Isaiah Quintana and Richard Sánchez stood before a packed Questa VFW hall Thursday (March 12) for a hometown send-off to Iraq.
The four are headed to Iraq in May to serve a tour of duty with the U.S. Army, following training in Santa Fe, California and Georgia that began March 14.
Spearheaded by Village Administrator Brent Jaramillo, the gathering, which drew close to 100 people, included a blessing by Father Dino Candelaria, speeches by local veterans and officials, live music by Conrad and Justine Sandoval and heaping platters of food.
A total of 800 soldiers from New Mexico will be deployed to Iraq between April and June, according to Col. Brian Baca, chief of staff of the New Mexico Army and National Guard.
“To volunteer to serve is an instant act of courage and bravery,” Questa Mayor Malaquías Rael, the evening’s emcee, told the crowd. “Leaving family, your country, your part of the world to go somewhere you might not be liked or supported … It’s not easy.”
Following Rael’s welcome and Bianca Castillo’s performance of the National Anthem, the honorees introduced themselves to a rapt audience. Sánchez will be heading to Iraq for his second deployment. During his 2004-2005 deployment, he worked in transportation, driving a five-ton truck, delivering everything from weapons to personnel.
“A few guys I went with the first time decided to go back. I feel bad if they go and I don’t,” he said.
“It will be harder this time because of the little one,” said his wife Elisa Sánchez, referring to their son, Andrew Sánchez, 11 months. “But we have great family support. And being a military wife, I was ready for it.”
Before his job with the National Guard in Santa Fe, Sánchez was a Questa Police Officer, and when he comes back from Iraq he will work for the police department once again. Joseph Gallegos will be taking a year away from his job as a wildland firefighter with the forest service, to serve his first deployment in Iraq.
“My heritage inspired me to join. My family has a tradition of public service,” he said.
In 2007, while on patrol with the forest service, Gallegos rescued the driver from an overturned vehicle that was engulfed in flames, according to Paul Mondragón, his supervisor. He earned an award from the forest service and went to Washington, D.C., in 2007 to accept it.
“I didn’t want to go (to the ceremony) though because I wanted to stay fighting fires. That’s the spirit carrying me from this community,” he said. “That’s what’s going to protect us over there: The strength we gather from these people.”
“(In Iraq) We will represent each and every one of you,” Gallegos told the crowd. “We’re your ambassadors and we’ll show the strength of New Mexico.”
Ortiz has been in the National Guard for 16 years and this will be his first deployment. He has been employed at Chevron Mining for the past 13 years and kept his job as lead electrician despite the recent layoffs. The company will hold his position until he returns in one year.
“I’m anxious to get through and get back,” said Ortiz, 44, who will be working in convoy security.
“It’s awful letting him go. It’s too long to be away from family. But he has to do what he has to do. I’m supporting him — all of us are,” said his wife, Billie Ortiz.
The couple has four children: 7-month-old Marissa Ortiz, 10-year-old Alyssa Ortiz, 11-year-old John David Ortiz and Santana Ortiz who is 14. Sgt. Ortiz’ second cousin, 20- year-old Isaiah Quintana, has been in the military working in transportation for three years.
“I can drive any military vehicle and transport anything,” he said. A Costilla resident, he graduated from Questa High School two years ago. Inspired by his cousin Leslie Maez, to join the military, he volunteered to go to Iraq because he “felt it was something (he) had to do.”
“All three of us will be patiently awaiting his return,” said Jacquelyn Sánchez, his girlfriend.
With assistance from her parents, she will care for their 8-month-old daughter Braelyn, and a baby expected in October. The gathering featured speeches by local dignitaries. Among them was Taos County Commissioner Dan Barrone, who took the microphone. He asked the men to stand and turn their backs to the audience.
“Who has your back?” he shouted to the room.
“We do!” the audience chanted back.
“Who has your back?” he repeated, even louder.
“We do!” cried the audience with peak enthusiasm.
Fr. Candelaria gave the men blessed St. Jude medals, Rosaries, holy water and prayer cards to send them off with “spiritual protection.”
“We invite you all to the same place in 12 months,” said Mayor Rael, as the ceremony closed and the audience descended upon the honorees with handshakes, hugs and blessings. “Hopefully the room won’t be big enough to house the people that show up to welcome you back.”
Framed by silver ribbons dangling from balloons along the ceiling, Sgt. Celso J. Ortiz, Specialists Joseph Gallegos, Isaiah Quintana and Richard Sánchez stood before a packed Questa VFW hall Thursday (March 12) for a hometown send-off to Iraq.
The four are headed to Iraq in May to serve a tour of duty with the U.S. Army, following training in Santa Fe, California and Georgia that began March 14.
Spearheaded by Village Administrator Brent Jaramillo, the gathering, which drew close to 100 people, included a blessing by Father Dino Candelaria, speeches by local veterans and officials, live music by Conrad and Justine Sandoval and heaping platters of food.
A total of 800 soldiers from New Mexico will be deployed to Iraq between April and June, according to Col. Brian Baca, chief of staff of the New Mexico Army and National Guard.
“To volunteer to serve is an instant act of courage and bravery,” Questa Mayor Malaquías Rael, the evening’s emcee, told the crowd. “Leaving family, your country, your part of the world to go somewhere you might not be liked or supported … It’s not easy.”
Following Rael’s welcome and Bianca Castillo’s performance of the National Anthem, the honorees introduced themselves to a rapt audience. Sánchez will be heading to Iraq for his second deployment. During his 2004-2005 deployment, he worked in transportation, driving a five-ton truck, delivering everything from weapons to personnel.
“A few guys I went with the first time decided to go back. I feel bad if they go and I don’t,” he said.
“It will be harder this time because of the little one,” said his wife Elisa Sánchez, referring to their son, Andrew Sánchez, 11 months. “But we have great family support. And being a military wife, I was ready for it.”
Before his job with the National Guard in Santa Fe, Sánchez was a Questa Police Officer, and when he comes back from Iraq he will work for the police department once again. Joseph Gallegos will be taking a year away from his job as a wildland firefighter with the forest service, to serve his first deployment in Iraq.
“My heritage inspired me to join. My family has a tradition of public service,” he said.
In 2007, while on patrol with the forest service, Gallegos rescued the driver from an overturned vehicle that was engulfed in flames, according to Paul Mondragón, his supervisor. He earned an award from the forest service and went to Washington, D.C., in 2007 to accept it.
“I didn’t want to go (to the ceremony) though because I wanted to stay fighting fires. That’s the spirit carrying me from this community,” he said. “That’s what’s going to protect us over there: The strength we gather from these people.”
“(In Iraq) We will represent each and every one of you,” Gallegos told the crowd. “We’re your ambassadors and we’ll show the strength of New Mexico.”
Ortiz has been in the National Guard for 16 years and this will be his first deployment. He has been employed at Chevron Mining for the past 13 years and kept his job as lead electrician despite the recent layoffs. The company will hold his position until he returns in one year.
“I’m anxious to get through and get back,” said Ortiz, 44, who will be working in convoy security.
“It’s awful letting him go. It’s too long to be away from family. But he has to do what he has to do. I’m supporting him — all of us are,” said his wife, Billie Ortiz.
The couple has four children: 7-month-old Marissa Ortiz, 10-year-old Alyssa Ortiz, 11-year-old John David Ortiz and Santana Ortiz who is 14. Sgt. Ortiz’ second cousin, 20- year-old Isaiah Quintana, has been in the military working in transportation for three years.
“I can drive any military vehicle and transport anything,” he said. A Costilla resident, he graduated from Questa High School two years ago. Inspired by his cousin Leslie Maez, to join the military, he volunteered to go to Iraq because he “felt it was something (he) had to do.”
“All three of us will be patiently awaiting his return,” said Jacquelyn Sánchez, his girlfriend.
With assistance from her parents, she will care for their 8-month-old daughter Braelyn, and a baby expected in October. The gathering featured speeches by local dignitaries. Among them was Taos County Commissioner Dan Barrone, who took the microphone. He asked the men to stand and turn their backs to the audience.
“Who has your back?” he shouted to the room.
“We do!” the audience chanted back.
“Who has your back?” he repeated, even louder.
“We do!” cried the audience with peak enthusiasm.
Fr. Candelaria gave the men blessed St. Jude medals, Rosaries, holy water and prayer cards to send them off with “spiritual protection.”
“We invite you all to the same place in 12 months,” said Mayor Rael, as the ceremony closed and the audience descended upon the honorees with handshakes, hugs and blessings. “Hopefully the room won’t be big enough to house the people that show up to welcome you back.”
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Wise Fool Valentine's Cabaret
Feb 11, 2010
For some, the body is perceived as an impediment to transcendence; for others, it’s the vehicle.
As they float, glide and twirl through space, members of the Wise Fool Circus surf the edges of human potential and seem to carry audiences along for the journey. The performance group has offered classes for nine of the 10 years they’ve made Penasco their home. Their educational offerings include an after school program which serves local youth at nominal cost to participants.
This Saturday, Feb. 13th at 7:30 pm Wise Fool presents a Valentines Cabaret at the Penasco Theater, located at 15046 State Road 75, with “every penny” of the proceeds benefiting this program. The multi-media show features acts by local acrobats, trapeze artists, musicians and students as well as a screening of two short films from the Taos Mountain Film Festival. Admission is $5-$20 sliding scale.
Chocolate truffles, wine and handmade Valentine’s Day cards will be available during intermission and folks also have the option of indulging in a special dinner at Sugar Nymphs Bistro, prior to the show, for which reservations are recommended.
This marks the first year that experienced after school students have formed their own official company. For Saturday’s event they have crafted an original show that incorporates acrobatics, dance and stilts. “It’s amazing to see them learn something that is challenging at first but then once they master it, it gives them such a sense of empowerment and pride in themselves,” says Penasco Theater Director Alessandra Ogren. “Along with strength and flexibility they learn a lot of practical life skills like cooperation and team work.”
Amber Vasquez of Taos Youth Ballet will perform on Saturday as well, along with Ogren who will dance through a whirling aerial hoop.
Dangling from the theater’s 19-foot ceilings on strips of polyester fabric will be aerial fabric dancer Christina Sporrong. Invented in the 1990’s this is one of the newest aerial arts. The beauty of the form is accentuated by the angles, shapes and ruffles created in the fabric as the dancer hoists and releases into various poses and phrases of movement. It is currently gaining popularity in gyms as a creative way to get a workout. “One routine is the equivalent of doing about 25 push ups, “ says Ogren who studied with Fred Deb, a teacher credited as being one of the form’s inventors.
For those itching to break out into some moves of their own, Kombucha Mirimba, will perform a set of Zimbabwean music. “This isn’t music where you sit in your seat and politely clap when it’s over,” says Cathy Underwood who formed the trio with fellow Dixon dwellers Nancy Levit and Marie Coburn two years ago. “It’s kid friendly, dance friendly village music.”
Some of the pieces they’ll play are traditional songs passed down over hundred of years through the mbira, a thumb piano which is one of Africa’s oldest instruments.
The band recently formed a non-profit for the purpose of teaching marimba to the wider community for a very reasonable sliding scale fee. They now have five marimbas available for their weekly classes, which are held Saturdays 10-12 noon for adults and Friday, 3-4 pm for youth. They also teach an elective class in the Dixon elementary school.
For more information on the benefit, call (575) 587-2726. For information on Marimba classes, call Underwood at (505) 579-9631. Sugar Nymphs Bistro 575 587-0311
For some, the body is perceived as an impediment to transcendence; for others, it’s the vehicle.
As they float, glide and twirl through space, members of the Wise Fool Circus surf the edges of human potential and seem to carry audiences along for the journey. The performance group has offered classes for nine of the 10 years they’ve made Penasco their home. Their educational offerings include an after school program which serves local youth at nominal cost to participants.
This Saturday, Feb. 13th at 7:30 pm Wise Fool presents a Valentines Cabaret at the Penasco Theater, located at 15046 State Road 75, with “every penny” of the proceeds benefiting this program. The multi-media show features acts by local acrobats, trapeze artists, musicians and students as well as a screening of two short films from the Taos Mountain Film Festival. Admission is $5-$20 sliding scale.
Chocolate truffles, wine and handmade Valentine’s Day cards will be available during intermission and folks also have the option of indulging in a special dinner at Sugar Nymphs Bistro, prior to the show, for which reservations are recommended.
This marks the first year that experienced after school students have formed their own official company. For Saturday’s event they have crafted an original show that incorporates acrobatics, dance and stilts. “It’s amazing to see them learn something that is challenging at first but then once they master it, it gives them such a sense of empowerment and pride in themselves,” says Penasco Theater Director Alessandra Ogren. “Along with strength and flexibility they learn a lot of practical life skills like cooperation and team work.”
Amber Vasquez of Taos Youth Ballet will perform on Saturday as well, along with Ogren who will dance through a whirling aerial hoop.
Dangling from the theater’s 19-foot ceilings on strips of polyester fabric will be aerial fabric dancer Christina Sporrong. Invented in the 1990’s this is one of the newest aerial arts. The beauty of the form is accentuated by the angles, shapes and ruffles created in the fabric as the dancer hoists and releases into various poses and phrases of movement. It is currently gaining popularity in gyms as a creative way to get a workout. “One routine is the equivalent of doing about 25 push ups, “ says Ogren who studied with Fred Deb, a teacher credited as being one of the form’s inventors.
For those itching to break out into some moves of their own, Kombucha Mirimba, will perform a set of Zimbabwean music. “This isn’t music where you sit in your seat and politely clap when it’s over,” says Cathy Underwood who formed the trio with fellow Dixon dwellers Nancy Levit and Marie Coburn two years ago. “It’s kid friendly, dance friendly village music.”
Some of the pieces they’ll play are traditional songs passed down over hundred of years through the mbira, a thumb piano which is one of Africa’s oldest instruments.
The band recently formed a non-profit for the purpose of teaching marimba to the wider community for a very reasonable sliding scale fee. They now have five marimbas available for their weekly classes, which are held Saturdays 10-12 noon for adults and Friday, 3-4 pm for youth. They also teach an elective class in the Dixon elementary school.
For more information on the benefit, call (575) 587-2726. For information on Marimba classes, call Underwood at (505) 579-9631. Sugar Nymphs Bistro 575 587-0311
Friday, May 21, 2010
Lenny Foster's Show of Hands
March 19, 2009
Sometimes all it takes is a glimmer of hope.
This weekend Lenny Foster will provide more than a glimmer, and all we have to do is show up – and open to the power of spirit, through beauty, prayer and poetry.
His photography exhibit, “A Show of Hands” runs Friday (March 20) thru Sunday (March 22) at Living Light Gallery on 246A Ledoux street. In conjunction with the exhibit will be other uplifting events, also at the gallery and all open to the public.
On Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m. a multicultural blessing will transpire, “with believers of varied traditions and non-believers too.” Sunday, March 22 brings a poetry reading at 3 p.m. with Veronica Golos, Connie Josefs, Pat McCabe; and Dora Mcquaid, whose work was recently published in an anthology called “Come Together, Imagine Peace.”
Friday’s opening reception is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and will include Native American flute music by Paul and Grace Jones.
“In the middle of the economic downturn, the idea came to bring the community together to survive and thrive by turning our attention and intention to peace, prayer and love,” said Foster.
“Being witness to magnificence for so many years through my photography has taught me that it’s possible for that (magnificence) to be the norm. That you can walk with that fullness – not lacking anything.”
Some of Saturday’s growing list of guests, who will offer blessings from their various traditions, includes Grandmother Jean, Rev. Stephen Wiard, Joannie Summerhays, Father Larry Brito and Rick Klein. Group chants will be led by Mia Cohen and Ziva Moyal from the Taos Jewish Center.
Krishna Madappa and several UNM students will be conducting a scientific experiment to see if the group energy harnessed at the ceremony affects the molecular structure of water.
“It will be crazy. It could be fifty people or it could be 500. You never know in Taos. I hope there will be Challah (Jewish ceremonial bread.) I love that part at Bar Mitzvahs: where someone touches the bread and then someone touches them and so on until we’re all connected,” said Foster.
Surrounding and supporting the blessing circle will be walls filled with over a decades worth of Foster’s photographs of hands. This will be the first time this body of work is shown together.
On one wall, a 106-year-old West African healer does a reading over a basket. On another, a baby suckles his mother’s breast and raises a tiny star-like hand towards his momma’s face. A cowboy grasps his hat to his suede vest. A Lama counts his mala beads. These images – of shamans, healers of many traditions, activists, elders and “everyday people who come from a place of love and service” – are a portal to spirit.
“She just showed up here one day,” said Foster, gesturing to “An Elder’s Prayer.” In the image, wrinkled fingers, adorned with silver, turquoise and stone rings, clutch a hand-carved cane.
“I had just moved into the space and she sat there and hung out while I unpacked. I know that angels come in different forms.”
Each grasping finger is as expressive and complex as a face. Energy, strength and compassion transcend flesh, muscles and skin.
The hand series sprouted out of a trip Foster took to West Africa years ago. He was visiting a healing village that 200 healers worked out of, and he experienced a shift. He had been a nature and landscape photographer for years and he suddenly became more entranced by people and their details.
“I started to photograph hands because I was more drawn to spirit than personality,” he explained. Later, he realized that in photographing their hands, he was also capturing his subjects’ physical centers: their core, their hearts.
When he’s behind the lens, Foster gets very quiet, still and mindful. “I don’t shoot hundreds of pictures of one thing. My intention is to get to the essence and then what needs to be seen reveals itself,” he said.
“As a photographer I have to focus on the right stuff – so when I don’t have the camera, I can still focus on what is beauty, what is grace, what is true,” he said.
He was inspired to go even more deeply into his passion after traveling to Washington D.C. to attend president Obama’s inauguration. And he hopes the weekend’s events will inspire others to do so as well.
“Now there’s no excuse not to. Instead of being afraid of going out of my comfort zone, why don’t I just dive down like a hawk diving for his prey? If I go down in flames, at least I’ll be doing my thing.”
For more information call (575) 737-9150 or visit www.lennyfoster.com
Sometimes all it takes is a glimmer of hope.
This weekend Lenny Foster will provide more than a glimmer, and all we have to do is show up – and open to the power of spirit, through beauty, prayer and poetry.
His photography exhibit, “A Show of Hands” runs Friday (March 20) thru Sunday (March 22) at Living Light Gallery on 246A Ledoux street. In conjunction with the exhibit will be other uplifting events, also at the gallery and all open to the public.
On Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m. a multicultural blessing will transpire, “with believers of varied traditions and non-believers too.” Sunday, March 22 brings a poetry reading at 3 p.m. with Veronica Golos, Connie Josefs, Pat McCabe; and Dora Mcquaid, whose work was recently published in an anthology called “Come Together, Imagine Peace.”
Friday’s opening reception is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and will include Native American flute music by Paul and Grace Jones.
“In the middle of the economic downturn, the idea came to bring the community together to survive and thrive by turning our attention and intention to peace, prayer and love,” said Foster.
“Being witness to magnificence for so many years through my photography has taught me that it’s possible for that (magnificence) to be the norm. That you can walk with that fullness – not lacking anything.”
Some of Saturday’s growing list of guests, who will offer blessings from their various traditions, includes Grandmother Jean, Rev. Stephen Wiard, Joannie Summerhays, Father Larry Brito and Rick Klein. Group chants will be led by Mia Cohen and Ziva Moyal from the Taos Jewish Center.
Krishna Madappa and several UNM students will be conducting a scientific experiment to see if the group energy harnessed at the ceremony affects the molecular structure of water.
“It will be crazy. It could be fifty people or it could be 500. You never know in Taos. I hope there will be Challah (Jewish ceremonial bread.) I love that part at Bar Mitzvahs: where someone touches the bread and then someone touches them and so on until we’re all connected,” said Foster.
Surrounding and supporting the blessing circle will be walls filled with over a decades worth of Foster’s photographs of hands. This will be the first time this body of work is shown together.
On one wall, a 106-year-old West African healer does a reading over a basket. On another, a baby suckles his mother’s breast and raises a tiny star-like hand towards his momma’s face. A cowboy grasps his hat to his suede vest. A Lama counts his mala beads. These images – of shamans, healers of many traditions, activists, elders and “everyday people who come from a place of love and service” – are a portal to spirit.
“She just showed up here one day,” said Foster, gesturing to “An Elder’s Prayer.” In the image, wrinkled fingers, adorned with silver, turquoise and stone rings, clutch a hand-carved cane.
“I had just moved into the space and she sat there and hung out while I unpacked. I know that angels come in different forms.”
Each grasping finger is as expressive and complex as a face. Energy, strength and compassion transcend flesh, muscles and skin.
The hand series sprouted out of a trip Foster took to West Africa years ago. He was visiting a healing village that 200 healers worked out of, and he experienced a shift. He had been a nature and landscape photographer for years and he suddenly became more entranced by people and their details.
“I started to photograph hands because I was more drawn to spirit than personality,” he explained. Later, he realized that in photographing their hands, he was also capturing his subjects’ physical centers: their core, their hearts.
When he’s behind the lens, Foster gets very quiet, still and mindful. “I don’t shoot hundreds of pictures of one thing. My intention is to get to the essence and then what needs to be seen reveals itself,” he said.
“As a photographer I have to focus on the right stuff – so when I don’t have the camera, I can still focus on what is beauty, what is grace, what is true,” he said.
He was inspired to go even more deeply into his passion after traveling to Washington D.C. to attend president Obama’s inauguration. And he hopes the weekend’s events will inspire others to do so as well.
“Now there’s no excuse not to. Instead of being afraid of going out of my comfort zone, why don’t I just dive down like a hawk diving for his prey? If I go down in flames, at least I’ll be doing my thing.”
For more information call (575) 737-9150 or visit www.lennyfoster.com
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