Queer at Folk: Doin' the ABQ Art Circuit

New Mexico has so much great art, and the quality is just as high as that of the people making it. I have found other artists here to be helpful and supportive, in addition to being supertalented!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do my first folk art festival thanks to Kenny Chavez, who is a local ABQ folk art icon. Kenny Chavez's Annual Cinco de Mayo Folk Art & Musical Festival took place at La Parada Mercantile on Albuquerque's Antique Mile.

I finally have some of my masks on the walls of a gallery in Old Town. If you are in the Albuquerque area check-out Desert Intarsia. They have wonderful jewelry by Brian and Stacey Maggard, as well as pottery, paintings, and now masks! I’m including some pics of Brian’s spectacular museum-quality stone intarsia jewelry as well as shots of my work available there right on the Plaza.

Here is a brief video of Kenny Chavez’s Annual Cinco de Mayo Folk Art & Music Festival this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I made some new friends and didn’t get too soaked in the “monsoon” that followed at about 4 p.m., bringing things down a notch. Enjoy the sites—really beautiful!

Native to New Mexico: The 26th Annual Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

These last few weeks have been pretty incredible—riding around town and the Albuquerque area, taking in the sites and the numerous events that are happening this spring.

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the 26th Annual Gathering of Nations Pow Wow at the University of New Mexico’s athletic space known as “The Pit.” It is the most prominent Native American pow wow in the world, and I was glad that I was able to experience it my first month in the Southwest.

The event symbolizes the richness and the diversity of Native American and First People tribes from all over the world. Event organizers estimate that 500 tribes from the United States, Canada and beyond participated in the pow wow--coming together to crown a new Miss Indian World, compete in tribal dance competitions and celebrate their cultures through live music performances by prominent Native singers and musicians.

Additionally, over 600 vendors opened up shop for the three-day extravaganza that lasted from April 23 through April 25. There was plenty of Native-made jewelry for sale, and handicrafts abounded, but the best thing to had by spectators were the memories of this wonderful celebration. It was fascinating to see the variations of Native dress and to feel the warmth, hospitality and uplifting energy of all the First Peoples in attendance. I also enjoyed meeting flute maker and recording artist Guillermo Martinez and artist Viento--both, very talented men. Check out Guillermo's and Bamboo Cedar Oak's CD "Songs of Our Grandfathers." You won't be disappointed!










(Flute by Guillermo Martinez)


Here is a short video from the day. Keep in mind, it only does mild justice to the real thing:

Looks Like We Made It!

Well, we finally made it to Albuquerque, and the move was pretty seamless. Mom and Dad brought me my car and some things from their garage in Washington State, so it has been nice to spend some time with them as well. It was definitely strange moving into an apartment without seeing it first, but it's pretty good and the neighborhood is full of retail stores and local eating establishments. Here is a video documenting my first day. Cheers!

I See a Stupid Little Video in Your Future

I was on "vacation" last week. I use that term lightly since it was far from a vacation with phone calls, crazy emails and having to be on a plane every two days. Here is a short video of my travels to Bellingham, Washington and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The woman is my dear friend Jamie with whom I starred in OKLAHOMA! at the Bellingham Theatre Guild. Her words almost fit the lyrics to the song so had to match 'em up. Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxM6nnmf9zs

Things That Don't Get Old in New Mexico: Part I

The Southwest is one of the most beautiful places to visit. I first had the opportunity to experience its natural beauty when I was on choir tour with the SMU Concert Choir in 1988. We visited Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Santa Fe. This past week, almost twenty years later, I returned to the Southwest to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. In March, I had the pleasure of going to Albuquerque for a project I was working on with NBC’s The Today Show, and I made a friend who works in the wholesale jewelry business there. He told me that I ought to return the first week of September because Santa Fe would be celebrating “Fiesta.” As part of Fiesta, on the first Thursday of September, the city celebrates leaving the past behind by burning “Zozobra” or “Old Man Gloom” on the grounds of a school about five blocks from Santa Fe’s main plaza. My friend assured me that this was an experience not to be missed and surely not to be forgotten. That would be an understatement!

My trip started with checking into the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque, which is located downtown on NW Tijeras Street. It’s centrally located between Old Town, the main art and shopping district for tourists, and Nob Hill, a quaint, but lively area bustling with activity from the University of New Mexico college students who frequent its many coffee houses, bookstores, restaurants and funky shops (My new favorite store is Masks y más, which is located on the main strip and sells every possible type of artesania from Mexico, Guatemala, Indonesia and Africa. It made me very happy to walk in since, after I lived in Latin America during college, I wanted to open just such a shop!).

Afterwards, we drove to el Santuario de Chimayó in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where we toured this little church built in the 1800s. We also saw the holy dirt, which you can take with you, in the church floor, dipped our feet in the brook out back and planted our own homemade crosses with important information on them in the far corner of the grounds, just a few feet from the vast pasture behind it that leads to mountains. Chimayó felt completely holy with a mystical air to it. We brought home some beautiful little stones from the brook to remind us of our little day trip.

On the way back to Albuquerque, we stopped at María’s in Santa Fe for some New Mexican-style carne adovada and delicious French vanilla margaritas, which is just one type of margarita on their menu of one hundred! While New Mexican Mexican food is not as tasty as the the Tex-Mex that I grew up with, the drinks were fantastic. Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep to be ready for our trek to Santa Fe and Zozobra on Thursday.

GOOD AS GOLD IN THE SOUTHWEST

This week seems particularly short for me since I had the fortune of being able to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico for my job. We were involved in a major charity donation to a center for children whose families are homeless for a national morning show. What a wonderful experience it was getting to talk to the people who benefit from the organization’s services there and see all the smiling faces of the sweet, beautiful kids. They were all so truly appreciative about all of the supplies they received.

While the charitable aspect of the trip was definitely a highlight, it was also a thrill to get to see some fantastic Southwest art. Since I sculpt my masks out of wire screen, I was particularly excited and validated by the work of master artist, Raymond Wiger. He lives in Taos and works with wire mesh to create the most amazingly beautiful sculptures of the human body. According to his bio, he received his training at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., where he participated in anatomical studies in the anthropology and art departments. He relies solely on his knowledge acquired in that discipline rather than using models or photographs. Truly magnificient and inspiring! Visit his site at www.raywiger.com.

Miguel Martinez is another well known artist, whose work I learned about while I was in Albuquerque. With an immediately recognizable style, Martinez was always inspired by the works of Rivera and Zuniga, those that gave dignity to common people. See his work and read his bio at http://www.mccormickgallery.com/martineztour.html. Giclee signed prints start at $1900. I hope to afford one of his originals just before I kick the bucket!

In addition to incredible art, Albuquerque offers tourists the opportunity to find some of the finest in native jewelry of the highest quality, at half the price of what can be found in Santa Fe. Lucky for me, the concierge at the Hyatt Regency downtown sent me to Gertrude Zachary’s wholesale jewelry showroom at 15th and Lomas in Old Town. The service was great, the salespeople were knowledgeable, and I got just what I was looking for at a great price. My pinky is soaring into FABULOSITY sporting a beautiful inlaid green and blue turquoise silver ring from the 1960s--in a hard-to-find style and cut by hand and not machine. After literally checking out all the galleries and boutiques in Albuquerque, they had the best prices. Visit their showroom online at www.gertrudezachary.com.

If ever I wanted to “find a husband,” as they say, Albuquerque would be the place for me to go. In the course of shopping and dining, I met some lovely, attractive, smart men who made the effort to engage me in intelligent conversation and are interested in staying in contact. Traveling is nice because it affords the opportunity to make new friends. Since New York is a "city of ambition," as a friend once put it, it's extremely difficult to make good, long-lasting friends with people here. “Extremely friendly” is how I would characterize everyone I met while in Albuquerque. While shopping in Old Town, browsing at folk art and jewelry, it seemed like I had the opportunity to get involved in some lively conversations with the locals about life in Albuquerque, the climate as well as art. One of my favorite interactions was with a female gallery owner who was immediately identifiable as a Texan just by the sound of her voice. Since I grew up in Dallas, we hit it off and chatted for more than an hour. I also showed photos of my masks to some of the artisans and they elicited positive responses. I have decided that Ebay is not the right forum in which to sell my art. They really deserve some wall space in a quaint folk art gallery somewhere and I am beginning the process of identifying possible representatives for my work.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of a chance to sample a lot of the local cuisine, but I did have the chance to catch lunch at the Church Street Café in Old Town. The service was great and their salsa is the stuff that “picante” dreams are made of. I may have to go online and have some shipped to me! You, too, can buy their salsa and check out their menu at www.churchstreetcafe.com.

Though it was a nice place to visit, Albuquerque was a little too chill for me. I’m glad to be back in New York. The dust-filled wind really got to me, and my skin feels like it just went through dermabrasion five times in a row. Next week, I’m off for a vacation in the Pacific Northwest. They’re expecting snow there this week. Hmm...I wonder what I’ll be packing for that trip? Decisions, decisions. The good news is that I will get to spend some quality time with my beautiful niece, whose going to be a movie star when she grows up…or a physicist!