Welcome back to the second of my Santa Fe class posts. As the last post ended, I was halfway through the weekend—enjoying a Saturday off between teaching weeks one and two. But now I’m going to jump ahead to the work-week and introduce you to the Terrific Ten of this Advanced Class. These ladies arrived with very specific goals for their week of creativity.
Almost always, every class I teach begins with a morning demo of the basics of fabric collage. In an advanced class though, I ask that everyone has at least two of my week-long classes under their belts since we skip going over the basics of fabric collage to focus on specific issues that are beyond the “how do you glue?” stage.
You see a few of these “returning” students (and me) above, horsing around outside our classroom and lodging at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza. It was interesting saying hi to everyone again, like a class reunion, but with the students spread out over years and multiple locations. It’s quite the memory game remembering who is from where, and fun when someone recognizes and remembers a fellow student from a past class.
Ros Pettit and Marie Wood, below left and right, had never met in person—Ross is from MD and Marie from GA—but they did meet in my live online week-long classes in 2021. They were now like best buds in this in-person class.
Barb Virtue, above right, has been a long-time student, friend, and class-week walking partner through the years. She’s been in multiple classes at Empty Spools in CA, the Quilt Gallery in MT, and at least twice in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she lives.
I first met Nancy Semich of OR, below, in a class at the Hitchin’ Post in Sisters, OR. Within a year or so she took one of my Maine retreats and in the last couple years I’ve worked with her through online coaching to collage the quilt below of her beloved horse.
As in all posts, click on photos to see them larger. From there you can advance through each photo gallery.
The remaining six ladies I’ve at worked with through other MISA (Madeline Island School of the Arts) classes, if not in other venues as well.
Lera Cavanaugh of MI, above left, was in last June’s MISA Madeline Island, WI class—my most recent in that location. Gayle Unruh of TX, above right, and Kathy Harvey of MO, below, were in my very first class with MISA, on the island in September 2018!
Nancy Bonkowski of IL, above left, was also in last June’s MISA class, but then attended another WI retreat at Woodland Ridge in November. Lynda Flynn of CA, above right, is another long-time collager—having taken multiple classes with me in ME, CA, and AZ at MISA’s Tucson location.
I met Mary McKay of CA, below, in that 2019 MISA Tucson, Tanque Verde retreat. However, thanks to the wonder of live online teaching and coaching, I’ve had the pleasure to work with and get to know Mary throughout the past two years. She was also in the live online classes with Ros and Marie, who I first introduced you to.
Mary has been planning for and working towards this in-person class for months—bringing three collages to various stages of completion—either for final, ongoing, or beginning input from me. She had her checklists for the week ready to work on.
Like I mentioned before, this class was like a homecoming reunion for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone again. But more than that, these ladies seemed to bond in a lovely way, with the common thread of interwoven past fabric collage experience—both successes and sometimes angst. They were great support for each other throughout the week.
Student Slide Show—Works in Progress
Dinners Out With the Ladies
Though breakfast and lunch during the week were provided as part of the retreat, dinner was on our own. The previous week I got a few recommendations from my friend and fellow instructor Katie Pasquini Masopust, and also from my first week’s students. Dinner destinations of week two—all highly recommended if you travel to these parts—are pictured below.
• Casa Chimayo: literally across the street from the Hilton, cozy ambiance and refreshing sangria.
• Cowgirl BBQ: great outdoor courtyard with live music, funky cowgirl decor inside, they even have a vegan menu—for those so inclined like me. We went as a group for appetizers and one particular drink, a Mexican Bulldog—a margarita and beer combo that most of us had never experienced, and now was the time. The little Coronita beer bottles were quite cute.
• Fiesta Oaxaca was the go-to restaurant for a few of us. It was only a couple blocks away, and the chips with mole sampler hit the spot again and again. The rest of their authentic family recipe Oaxacan food was delicious as well.
• And finally, Thai on Canyon was a bit of an after-class-walk to get to a restaurant, but well worth it. There were six of us and it was a delicious meal sharing a variety of dishes. Ros and her friend Donna, took a pedal bike carriage ride back to the hotel. The rest of us walked back along Canyon Road as the sun set.
Canyon Road Revisited
Though Canyon Road had been a morning walk route a few times already, walking it with a few class members was a nice touch to the evening, especially after our dinner at Thai on Canyon. The night came on fast, and then the lights went on—lighting up the small galleries to peek inside, and highlighting a few trees and gardens.
Out and About in Santa Fe—Continued from Last Week
During both of my weeks in Santa Fe, we were lucky with the course of the wildfires in the area—things have gotten so much worse in the weeks since. There was only one night that the winds shifted and brought the wildfire smoke into the streets and even into the hotel. I especially remember it since the Full Blood Moon eclipse was that night and a few of us were outside the hotel watching the moon disappear. I made it to the full eclipse and seeing the shaded moon begin to turn red before I had to go in.
Below, sunset and sunrise colors affected by the wildfire smoke.
Mostly Morning Walks
Some may say I take too many photos. That could very well be. Fair warning, from here on in this post, it’s pretty much about photos of Santa Fe. I’ve set it up so you can quickly scroll through the various “postage stamp” photo galleries, or you could brew another pot of tea or coffee and click through the galleries to see the photos bigger.
The photo gallery below is mostly photos from my morning walks, with a few lunch-time and weekend excursions thrown in. Miscellaneous tidbits from Santa Fe.
Saints, Shrines, and Cathedrals
Above left is a daytime view of the Cathedral de St. Francis de Assisi (nighttime version seen earlier in post). Above right is the Santuario de Guadalupe in Santa Fe, just around the corner from the hotel. I didn’t realize it’s the oldest, still-standing shrine built in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States. Built shortly after 1776. Wow. I read that the statue was unveiled in 2008. Throughout this visit I started noticing different visual references to Our Lady of Guadalupe—below, on a decorative plate in a window display, and on a simple and sweet shrine along the Santa Fe River, to a local art teacher.
Above is the Loretto Chapel, a place-to-visit in Santa Fe tourist searches—due to the Miraculous Staircase. My student and friend Lynda and I made it to the chapel on a lunchtime walk. It was pretty cool, and miraculous.
Finally during my second week of Santa Fe wanderings, I had time to stop and admire these angel statues I’d seen earlier. I love folk art like this.
Window Reflections
One morning in week #1, while waiting for Katie to get her coffee, I was window shopping at the Ol’ Trading Post. I saw those painted whimsical animals, alebrijes, and took a photo through the shop window, catching reflections from the buildings across the street. Interesting.
Click on photos to see more details.
So I took more such photos as I noticed them in my wanderings—interesting window display paired with interesting light and reflections. Some of these photos happen to reflect my walking buddies, but most were taken when I was on my own (when I could take the time to be obsessive with my framing of the photo).
Hush Hush Art Gallery
On my last late afternoon in Santa Fe I came upon this gallery and absolutely loved it. The owner/artist was so interesting to talk to, laid back with a great sense of humor. I could have looked around the small gallery for a couple hours—assemblages are just 3-D collages after all, and I do love collages.
Fences, Gates, and Doors of Santa Fe: Part 2
More walls to catch the sunshine—and impromptu shadow puppets.
A final walk-through of the warm and earthy southwest architecture. Farewell Santa Fe, until next time.
How enjoyable to see my beloved Santa Fe through your eyes, Susan! Beautiful images and so much joy in the work of your advanced students.
Santa Fe Week 2 was such a great experience and there was so much to do, it’s a miracle any collaging got done!
Take too many pictures? Never listen to that lie! Thanks for taking, cropping, saving, sorting, posting for us to enjoy. This is work and it is appreciated. I fell in love with Santa Fe at the 2013 SAQA conference and remember a similar bicycle cart rescue ride when my knees gave out. Beautiful place!!!
This class was so very inspiring…both through Susan and other classmates work. A truly magical time….
You captured Santa Fe beautifully in your pictures. Thank you and your students/friends for sharing their work. Remarkable. We’re fortunate to live in Santa Fe, however we don’t get out much in the evenings, so seeing your evening pictures was a real treat. So glad you were able to enjoy your time here.
Wow! I kept trying to select a favorite photo or project as my very most favorite, but I loved it all! As a dog lover, the Bulldog Margarita caught my fancy. The scenery was an intoxicating combination of mystical icons, eye-catching architecture and color and whimsy on full display! The Hush-Hush Gallery prize ribbons–especially the “Nice Try” ribbon–might be my all blog favorite!