After a day of art-making on the mesa, Karen and I were invited to the neighbors for smoked ribs and grilled asparagus. I don't think Karen knew what she was getting into when she came to visit me out here. I have a whole community of friends, totally wonderful creative people different from any of my friends in Dallas. We both had a great time visiting and licking our greasy fingers.
This morning I packed up paintings to ship, and cleaned off my work surface, so my own work is not on my mind.
Today we headed back to town to see what's selling on Canyon Rd. We picked up Raya, and the three of us visited all our favorite galleries, and added some new ones to the "must visit" list. After exhausting ourselves, we went back to Raya's studio, had a coffee, and discussed what we had seen.
That's the process that is the most valuable. It's easy to go to a gallery, look at the work, form an opinion, and move on. But sharing that process with other artists adds a layer of depth to the whole experience. We each have different opinions and none of us minds saying what we think. So at the end of the day, each of us benefits from the words of the others, and speaking for myself, I have clarified some ideas I will work on when I get home. I'm sure Raya and Karen are thinking the same thing.
Karen goes home tomorrow, and I just hate that! But I also will be very interested to see how her Santa Fe experience shows up in her work. And mine, too, for that matter!
