Ghost Ranch

Remember my telling you about nanowrimo and writing a novel in 30 days (November 2005) and applying for a grant to finish my novel (February 2007 with A Room of Her Own Foundation)? Well, I went up to Ghost Ranch in June for the AROHO retreat where they would announce the recipient of the $50,000 Gift of Freedom Award (it went to Summer Wood of Albuquerque).

I did not win the grant, but I did meet some incredible writers and stay in, what I like to think of as, the most incredible adult summer camp in the world. We ate in a cafeteria type setting, sat in big Adirondack chairs and scribbled in our journals, slept in rooms (no a/c) with a fan to help us beat the temps in the high 90's and read to each other every night after the day's programs were over. I had my service dog, Madison, with me. He had a poem dedicated to him one night. I met Leslie Marmon Silko, an incredible native american poet and writer, who lit a fire in us and encouraged me to delve into that deep place where writing comes from first thoughts. She told me that I should not worry about where I live or how I live, that my "writing would take care of me." I believe her.

We heard from many published authors and had a chance to hear them read new, unpublished works. There were several threads of teaching that encompassed: creative non-fiction, poetry, O'Keeffe and Woolf, the world of the playwright, publication, and more. We sat in rooms and tried various techniques to get our characters and moods down on paper. We wondered if any writer's life was easy and if the publishers are a dying breed. We hoped that we would make some connections that would further our work in the world of writing and get it out to the public at large. I decided my tactic would be to self-publish my work and take a cross country trip to sneak it into libraries. I was advised to contact bookstores and give readings instead. That would create and audience for my work and then I needed to make a website, I was told, where I could post a chapter or two and take orders for my work. Apparently the large publishing companies are a dying breed that are run more by the bottom line and the marketing department rather than those rare editors and publishers who have the courage to publish what is still in the air and not here yet.

Every evening, before the participant readings, we went outside to look at the sunsets and sampled a variety of good wines, cheeses, fruits, and other fare while we talked to each other and shared our hopes and plans and dreams. We were pushing ourselves that week in desperate heat and dry conditions, drinking gallons of water, resting when we had to, and attending as much as we could while the opportunity was here.

I came back home, disappointed, but not surprised that an award that vast would go to someone who had already published a book. However, I found some kind of courage and started re-writing my novel with more conviction about the character and story line. I have read it to a group here that want to hear more. I read it first to the group at the conference and was blown away that they liked my work. I didn't know anyone else but myself would find a way to understand what I was getting at. These women did. So...I am a trained graphic designer and will have no difficulty laying out the finished work - when it is really the way I want it to be and the way the story wants to be told - self publishing it, building a website, and taking that book tour of my own making across the US while staying at the KOAs of America.

Museum Hill

I promised that I would catch up on the activities since moving over to Tesuque. I covered the Santuario de Chimayo trip and the next event was on Museum Hill. Native American artists from all over come to exhibit and sell their work. It is a big deal over a three day period. The plaza at the museum has several tents and exhibits of sculpture, painting, jewelry, clothing, and all of that wonderful creative work is displayed. The festival is titled "Native Treasures" and you will see why with the photos I am going to show you.

The mounted sherriff's possee (yes possee) patrols the parking areas.They ride horse and mules as well. I never imagined that in 2007 in the US, we would see members of a possee, but that is Santa Fe. It is the "City Different" after all and combines much of the past alongside our evolving civilization. It is a wonderful weekend.

Upton Ethelbah, Jr., a.k.a. Greyshoes, began working as a sculptor at the age of 54. Today, his award-winning sculptures are collectors' items. Ethelbah's first bronze, "Pueblo Corn Dancer," was judged best contemporary Native American art work at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in 1999.
He is now working on a seven-foot high, three-ton Texas limestone sculpture representing Santa Clara Pueblo, which was commissioned for the Poeh Arts Center at Pojoaque Pueblo. Ethelbah works exclusively in stone: soapstone, limestone, alabaster, and marble. "My goal is to work in stone for the next 30 years. At some time in the future, because of age, I may need to roll over to wood or clay, but my goal is to continue to work in stone." After a lifelong career in education and social work, Ethelbah, a Viet Nam era veteran of the U.S. Navy, traded pen and paper for sculpting tools after a friend presented him with a chunk of red and green alabaster. In finding subject matter for his carvings, Ethelbah draws on his Apache and Pueblo heritage to create images that have Native American themes. Although he calls Santa Clara Pueblo home, Ethelbah now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a 1961 graduate of Sandia high school, a 1971 graduate of the University of New Mexico and a 2000 graduate of the Poeh Arts Center. Ethelbah now serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Southwest Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), which produces the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Shane R. Hendren was born in the fall of 1970 in Gallup NM, 30 miles south of his hometown of Tohatchi on the Navajo Nation. As a three year old his mother observed his desire and ability to draw. He drew what he was surrounded by - horses, cattle, cowboys, and indigenous people. As he matured, Shane continued to draw, paint and explore any creative avenue that was available to him. Shane concentrated on art and agriculture while attending Moriarty High School at Moriarty NM. In the summer of 1987, the Marie Walsh Sharp Summer Art Institute at Colorado College, recognized his work and dedication to the arts, so he was selected to study and improve his skills at the institute.

Shane studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe NM, graduating with a degree in Museum Management. In 1991, the Governor of New Mexico, Bruce King, recognized Shane for his artistic and academic accomplishments at IAIA.

Shortly after graduation, his creativity, design skills, and sensitivity to the handling and display of art and artifacts was recognized by the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Shane was contracted to assist in the installation of their very first exhibit. Upon returning to New Mexico, he completed the installation of the inaugural exhibit at the new IAIA Museum.

There were more than 120 artists exhibiting. I am looking forward to the Spanish Market and the Indian Market this summer!

2007 - 18 months later

I am in a new home since I last posted on this blog. I realized that if I wanted to continue to write, I needed a more manageable home, smaller in size, and eventually, less costly. I chose Tesuque which is about 15 minutes from my old house and still about 15 minutes to downtown Santa Fe. I wanted a retreat like atmosphere with complete quiet and a property manager that took care of all the maintenance things that I had been hiring people for in the house on Blanket Flower. I found that at Pueblo Encantado. It is an older community and is mostly townhouse vacation rentals and second homes. I asked the Tibetan Monks, who were visiting here in July of 2006, to come an bless the house.

When I moved in, I was the only person living here full time, with one other woman who lives here 1/2 the year. She spends the other half running safaris out of Kenya, Africa. Since I bought this place last June, another couple has moved in full time. It was their vacation home, but they left California and live here now.

Auberge Resorts bought the property across the street. It was an old dude ranch and they leveled it and are building one of their upscale spa resorts across from us. That should open the summer of 2008.

I think 2006 was consumed with what it takes to move. Unless you are willing to give up a year's time and a year's salary, I don't recommend it. I was exhausted after the process of putting one home on the market, buying and fixing up the second one while keeping the first in showing condition. I got the offer in 6 months and the fix-ups at the new one were done enough for me to move in there (with just some plaster work to finish up). It was almost 12 months to the day that I was able to close the door to my new home. I had decided to embark on this mission in February of 2006 and in February of 2007 I was able to sleep off the exhaustion. I spent a good bit of time on the front patio listening to the sounds of the granite stone mill fountain that I had put in. I don't miss the koi pond as much anymore.

Now in July of 2007, I wonder if it is worth it to distract oneself with all the activity of staging, selling, buying, fixing, moving and such. The reason I did it was to simplify my life in the future and have the ability to list my home with vacation rental agencies when I want to see other parts of the world. A long-term plan for sure, but one, I hope, that is wise.

One of the things I love about New Mexico is the ancient cultural feel of the land, the Spanish, the Native Americans, and we of the White Tribe. Easter here offers much spiritual lore and Chimayo is one of those locations that begs to be talked about. I went up to the Santuario de Chimayo to see what the celebration of those who walk from Albuquerque is like. It was a georgeous NM day and the trip was a big event to see what life is like here in a state that has the oldest capital in the US. The highway is posted with signs to alert the cars to be careful during this last part of Holy week.

Not only are there many families and couples walking, there are horses with riders too. I saw these two men as part of a group that stopped at the Tesuque Village Market in the morning to get coffee before the long ride up the mountains. There must have been over a dozen of them and hours later I saw them ride up and wave at me.

Once you arrive at the Sanctuary and Chapel there are outdoor spaces to rest, a place to grab a bite to eat, a gift shop, the main church and the small chapel.

Background: El Santuario has been called the “Lourdes of America”. No one seems to know exactly how this came about. However, there are testimonies that the extraordinary has occurred.

Fr. Sebastian Alvarez in his letter to the Episcopal See of Durango, dated November l6, l8l3, expressed his feelings of the people coming from afar to seek cures for their ailments and the spreading of the fame of their cures, induced many more faithful to come in pilgrimage. He did not mention any specific fact, but something was there. El Santuario has been a place of worship from the beginning - a place to pray, to thank, to ask, to meditate and to experience peace of mind as well as of body.

In time, the mass media paid attention to the little Shrine in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Newspapers from Chicago, Denver, New York and Los Angeles, Time and Newsweek magazines have all taken it upon themselves to inform the public about the Shrine. This has resulted in a considerable flow of mail requesting information about the Shrine. People come to the Santuario in the thousands, close to 300,000 a year. They come to worship the Almighty, to ask for peace in the world and in their hearts, to fulfill a promise, to feel the healing touch of God.


El Santuario (The Shrine) was built between l8l4 and l8l6. The “miraculous” crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas was found around l8l0. There is no written testimony concerning the apparition of Our Lord in the Chimayo area. What we have is tradition passed from one generation to another by the people of El Potrero. Here is one account of a “true” story as told by the storyteller.

One tradition recalls that during Holy Week on the night of Good Friday, Don Bernardo Abeyta, who was a member in good standing of the Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus el Nazareno (Penitentes) was performing the customary penances of the Society around the hills of El Potrero. Suddenly he saw a light springing from one of the slopes of the hills near the Santa Cruz River. Don Bernardo went to the spot and noticed that the shining light was coming from the ground. He started to dig with his bare hands, and there he found a Crucifix. He left it there and called the neighbors to come and venerate the precious finding. A group of men was sent to notify the priest, Fr. Sebastian Alvarez at Santa Cruz.

Upon hearing the extraordinary news, the priest and people set out for Chimayo. When they arrived at the place where the Crucifix was, Fr. Sebastian picked it up and carried it in a joyful procession back to the church. Once in the church, the Crucifix was placed in the niche of the main altar. The next morning, the Crucifix was gone, only to be found in its original location. A second procession was organized and the Crucifix was returned to Santa Cruz, but once again it disappeared, The same thing happened a third time. By then, everyone understood that El Sefior de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built.