Santa Fe

Okay when I mentioned Santa Fe briefly after arriving home, I said that it has around 200 museums and art galleries and I pulled out one of our tourist guides and I was wrong....it is more then 300. The town is by far one of the best places for art. If anyone needs a piece of art - go to Santa Fe - they have every kind of art under the sun. We saw some sketches by Rembrandt, scupltures by Ted Gall andSusan Stamm Evans, photography by Ansal Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson, ceramics/pottery by Gretchen Wachs and Hiroyuki Wakimoto, paintings by Huang Gang and Dick Evans and the list could go on and on....

Other Galleries of interest....
Expression in Fine Art
McLarry Fine Art

We could have spent all the days we were there seeing art and not covered it all. Master and I both love art, so it was very nice to go in and out of galleries seeing art with Him. What I cannot get over is how Santa Fe has everything - scenery, architecture, food....just cultural, history and art pouring out of it. It was a peaceful serene oasis for me. And so inspiring although I did not get a chance to draw at all.

We arrived Sunday evening (May 30th). We found a visitor center right away and stocked up on every piece of material we thought we would need. And then headed down to what they call the Plaza. It is a square at the middle of downtown that has a park. The park had streets and buildings coming out all around it. The main street leads to a cathedral....St. Francis Cathedral. It is really one of the few buildings that is not done in the adobe architecture. Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy built a Romanesque cathedral. The view of the town from the steps is captivating. All along the streets of the plaza are galleries, museums, and then shops that sell everything from high quality fashions to trinkets in a five and dime general store.

Master took close to 300 pictures of Santa Fe. There were so many beautiful churches - from the St. Francis Cathedral. To Loretto which was Gothic style and has a spiral staircase that has no visible support - no dowels or nails were used in building it. To the oldest church in the USA which is San Miguel Mission. It is done adobe style - which most of the buildings are done with in Santa Fe. Master took several pictures of adobe style churches. They were just so beautiful with the beams, craved doors, stucco, and iron work.

So our stay started in Santa Fe started Sunday evening with Master taking his camera out and taking a lot of pictures. I think we were on sensory overload with all that there was to take in. We walked around taking pictures for a couple hours and then drove around some more to kind of get a plan going for what we were going to do on Monday. We grabbed a pizza and went back to our hotel room, which was so beautiful. The view from the hotel was very good. It kind of sat up on a hill over town and looked down on to it. There was a beautiful view of the mountains...Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

On Monday morning, we headed out very early, so that Master could get some pictures in the early morning. We did not get sunrise, but close. Venturing around town, Master took lots and lots of pictures. We then went to an impressive museum. It is called The Awakening. It is a monumental work of art. The ceiling and walls are covered with 8000 sq. feet of carved and painted wood. The pictures on the website and in the brochures do not do it justice.

Unklike most museums they gave with price of admission (only $3) - a head set with tape - to describe what the artist did and meant by it. And they also allow you to touch the works, take all sorts of pictures, lay on the floor or benches to look at the ceiling and have paper and pencils in the space in case you are inspired. It was inspiring. I did not draw, but Master took lots of pictures. Jean Claude Gaugy is the artist that created The Awakening. His work with color and line expresses emotion and movement. I really enjoyed witnessing his works.

After that, we went into a couple galleries, before walking through the plaza area downtown. There is a building called the Palace of the Governors on the plaza. Outside the Palace under the portal Native American women offer all sorts of goods for sale. It is called the market. For about a block women are sitting with their goods on the ground. They have blankets spread out with their good on them - LOTS of jewelry. Others have dolls, pottery, organic foods and herbal remedies. What I thought was interesting is that it is 80 degrees maybe 78 and all the women have long sleeves plus some with coats and sweaters and others under blankets....like it is cold. Some that are in the sun have umbrellas. But most are under a covered porch area.

I thought drawing some of them would have been interesting, but I also did not know it would be rude sitting and starring while I draw them. We walked around looking at various shops and galleries after passing by the market. After walking around a while we grabbed a snack before heading to our hotel to rest. Master and I took a nap before getting all dressed up for dinner. I felt very self-conscious, but I know Master liked the way I looked since it was a dress He picked out for me. For dinner Master took me out for seafood. Something He does not like, but He was able to able to have a steak where we went.

We headed back to the hotel room and changed clothes - because Master wanted some good night shots of the cathedrals and other adobe style building downtown. There are so many photographers in the town. It was kind of amusing there was this one woman standing on the steps below the cathedral holding a bag - just standing there starring off. And I recognized the look it was a significant other of a photographer waiting for that perfect shot. I was doing the same thing that night. I do not mind at all though. I love to be with Master when He is in that creative mode.

On Tuesday we did not do much....but did some more walking around and then ending the day by going out a little ways from Santa Fe to enjoy the sun setting over the mountains. Master took some wonderful sunset photographs.

Wednesday morning we got all packed up grabbed a bit to eat and then went to the Santa Fe Fine Arts Museum. It was not as much as I expected. It was good...had some good works, but not the wow like the Awakening was when we went to it. It seems that a New York artist came and settled in Santa Fe because she married a local SantaFean. And thus all her New York friends would come, visit, and stay. Of course, I can't remember her last name now...first name Mabel. So then her friends did art while there and those pieces seem to be in the museum. They had an interesting exhibit with music portrayed in art that did have some interesting pieces.

After the museum we got on the road and headed back to Colorado, not without making a quick shopping stop in Taos where we bought Master's parents a gift for watching the kitty cats for us. They had 50% off in this shop and the owner was making us deals. We bought a big pottery sun and moon for Master's parents. And then we ended up getting a pottery canister set. They were marked individually and we got all of them for just a little more then the little one was marked. We ended up getting the set for almost 75% off. They are very pretty and are a close match to a piece Master bought me for Christmas.

The drive home was so beautiful - we took back highways on the way home instead of the interstate (which we took on the way there).

Here is just a small sampling of pictures.

Things we want to do when we go again - tour some of the churches, go to Georgia O'Keefe museum, and go visit more galleries. I really wanted to go to Georgia O'Keefe museum this time but 3 of the 8-some galleries were closed for the first 2 days we were there and the 3rd day the museum was closed completely. So we decided to wait when we come back to see it so we could see the entire museum.

I am not going to have words to describe what I need to describe right now...beware mushy stuff will be ahead I am sure....

My Master is an incredible man. I have never had a man be so wonderful to me. This trip was about me. He wanted to go to Santa Fe, but really, He wanted to give me my dream. And share in my dream. He wanted to bring me to this place that I have dreamed of for so long. He made the whole weekend about what I wanted. I am not saying we did not go where He wanted we did do that too - but most of the time I really wanted to see them too.

It really hit home that the trip was for me....the night we went for seafood. I know silly that I did not get it until then. But I didn't. Master hates seafood. It is something I never get with Him because He does not like it and does not really even like to be around it. And when He told me we were going to a place with seafood I was puzzled, but then He explained to me that the trip was for me.

I am crying as I write this because I just do not have the words to express my love and gratitude for my wonderful Master. There is art that I have seen and there are no words to capture what it does to me...how important it is....how it changed me...how I feel when I see it....

And often that is how I feel with Master....He has bound me to Him in a way that can't be measured, weighed or expressed. He has infused my being - binding me to Him with all that is....and now He is a part of me. He invogorates my soul with passion, devotion and dedication to Him.

I don't know how He happened into my life at the time He did but I am truly grateful each day I am with Him. Thank you so much Master for giving me yet another dream...because you are the most exquisite dream come true.