Katharine EgliDonated to Holy Cross Hospital by Ed Sandoval.

Artes2 0 15 Tr a d i c i o n e s • T he Ta o s Ne w s

2 Artes

Creative spiritsTaos continues to shine as a guiding light

As the saying goes, art often mirrors life. You could argue, however, that life here in Taos IS art.

For many decades artists from all walks of life, from near and far, have been inspired by and beckoned to this mountain mecca of creativity.

For some artists it’s the special light spreading down from the sun that catches their eyes and spins the wheels of their imaginations. For others it’s the diversity in materials

and artistic interests that draw them in. Spirit-moving traditions and historic structures give pause and clarity to many a painter, sculptor, songwriter, potter, metalsmith, wood carver, jeweler, actor, author ... Taos’ guiding light is as boundless as its horizon.

The talented people of Taos live life lyrically, in which feelings are more powerful than reason. They are thirsty for the magnificent and the mysterious. They courageously strive to transform inanimate materials into lively pieces that make the viewer look and feel.

Within these pages of Artes is a taste of Taos expression and passion, often throwing reality to the wind leaving us to applaud and wonder.

— Scott Gerdes, special sections editor

‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’

— Pablo Picasso

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3Artes

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94 Years, 3 Generations,

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StaffRobin Martin, owner • Chris Baker, publisher • Joan Livingston, editor • Chris Wood, advertising manager • Scott Gerdes, special sections editor Michelle M. Gutierrez, lead editorial designer • Virginia Clark, copy editor • Karin Eberhardt, production manager • Katharine Egli, photographer

Contributing writersEditor Joan Livingston, Andy Dennison, Teresa Dovalpage, Mel A. James, Jordan Miera, Yvonne Pesquera

Contents

Tradicioneshonrar a nuestros héroes

F I F T E E N T H A N N U A L

4

Carpio Bernal WaterCrow: Catching art in the wind by Mel A. James

6

Taos Society of Artists: Stories from three descendants by Joan Livingston

10

Merce Mitchell: Seeds of art by Mel A. James

12

Healing power of Taos art: Incomparable collection graces Holy Cross Hospital by Yvonne Pesquera

14

Drag Specialists Car Club: The best of times by Andy Dennison

16

Lorrie Garcia: A Marian santera by Teresa Dovalpage

18

The art of the Acuña bow: A lifelong quest by Jordan Miera

8

The artist within: Taos Municipal judge is a canvas maestro by Yvonne Pesquera

4 Artes

Carpio Bernal WaterCrowCatching art in the wind

By Mel A. James

A young boy, perhaps about 8 years old, walks into a shop at Taos Pueblo with his mother. He is carrying a walking stick. When the boy explains to the man behind the counter that there is a crack in the wood, the man takes it without uttering a word and begins

carving a deep crevice into the fracture. As the boy watches in wonder, the man then carries it to his tiny workshop at the front of the gallery and begins mixing some glue. As he does, he asks the boy his name. When the boy responds “Arrow,” the man says, “Nice name,” and then suggests he should change his own name from WaterCrow to “Bow,” so they could be “Bow and Arrow,” which tickles the boy. WaterCrow mixes the clear glue with a bit of sparkling ground turquoise and begins to carefully paint it into the crack of the stick with the end of a feather. The boy’s eyes are locked on WaterCrow.

Sometimes the most rewarding part of owning a piece of artwork is getting to meet and visit with the artists themselves. Their history and their stories have an impact on the work they create and when you have the opportunity to hear them first-hand, it brings richness to the work, infusing it with memory.

Carpio Bernal WaterCrow is from Taos Pueblo. It is where he lives and where his gallery is located, but that is only one part of his story. He shares the gallery along with his wife Rose (married for 30 years) and several of his children, all of whom are artists in their own right. In this shop, pieces of his story are scattered throughout. There’s the story of his father, one of the group of Taos Puebloans integral in regaining Blue Lake from the federal government in 1970.

There are photographs of the people he has worked with in cinema, including Jeremy Irons and Neil Young. There is a book, written and personally inscribed by Helen Mirren, whom he met while touring as part of the Native American Theatre Ensemble (NATE), the first all-Native theater group. There is an image of his spiritual teacher, Bruce Miller, who

also taught WaterCrow the crafts of basketweaving and woodcarving.

His time with NATE took him all over the United States,

Canada and Europe. But it was in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Washington, where he met his wife and Miller, and where he lived for some time. The influence of the Pacific Northwest is clearly seen in a lot of his work. After all his travels and the time he spent in Washington, he eventually returned to Taos Pueblo, bringing Rose with him to raise their family, and here he stays, creating artwork and furniture that reflects this myriad of experiences. But it was at his home, Taos Pueblo, where the lessons in art and the history of his culture began. It was his grandfather who taught him many of the traditional crafts he employs today.

In addition to the basketweaving and woodcarving, WaterCrow has experience in jewelry and metalwork, pottery and furniture. He also practices traditional crafts such as the construction of spears, knives, bows and arrows, and dreamcatchers. He is quick to point out this is the “real stuff,” not something created to have the appearance of authenticity. The myriad of his talents can be attributed to his learning style, which he says allows him to be taught a craft once and then he can do it on his own.

His furniture employs his woodcarving skills and delicate inlay work, utilizing crushed stone such as turquoise, coral, lapis and malachite, to name a few. The wood he uses is primarily cedar, but he also works in others like oak and cherry. Outside his gallery, inviting visitors to sit, is a chakra chair. The chair itself is relatively simple with only two intersecting pieces of wood comprising its structure,

Sometimes the most rewarding part of owning a

piece of artwork is getting to meet and visit with the

artists themselves.

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Mel JamesTaos Pueblo artist Carpio Bernal WaterCrow holding his piece "Coastal Eagle."

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5Artes

but it has multiple stones in different colors, representing the chakras or energy points of the body. It is designed, when used properly, to put your body into alignment. This involves stretching your arms up and behind you, and slowly progressing downward to stretch and relax the body.

When asked about his inspiration and process, WaterCrow says, “I catch my art in the wind. There are so many things that go in the wind, travel in the wind, ideas from all over the world. I put it in my mind and when I’m

done with it, I take it out of my mind and let it back into the wind. I love creating from the earth. Everything we use has a heartbeat. I talk to them [the elements], sing them a small song, then create it into something beautiful.”

True to WaterCrow’s nature to always seek new opportunities and adventures, he is currently involved in a project to renovate the old Adobe Wall Motel, 227 Kit Carson Road, which is under new ownership. As the plans stand now, it is to be expanded and called Little Pueblo Inn;

the design reflecting an ancient pueblo and will include a gallery of WaterCrow’s artwork and several large totems on the property.

As the visitors come and go in WaterCrow’s gallery, the young boy with the cracked walking stick is happily bounding away, hand in hand with his mother. He looks up at her and says, “I think I’m gonna name my stick, Mom!”

“Oh? What are you going to name it?”

“WaterCrow.”

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Mel JamesWaterCrow fixes a crack in a young boy's walking stick.

6 Artes

By Joan Livingston

The story is a well-known part of local history: artists Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips broke the wheel of their wagon on their way to Mexico and found inspiration in the people, landscape and light of Taos.

Seventeen years later, in 1915, six men formed the Taos Society of Artists. By time the group disbanded in 1927, it had 12 members, including the original six: Blumenschein, Phillips, E. Irving Couse, Oscar E. Berninghaus, Joseph Henry Sharp and Herbert Dunton; plus Julius Rolshoven, Walter Ufer, Victor Higgins, Martin Hennings, Kenneth Adams and Catherine Critcher.

This year, Taos has marked the 100th anniversary in various ways. Here is one more. Three descendants who live in Taos — Barbara Brandenburg Brenner, Virginia Couse Leavitt and Margot Beutler Gins — share family stories.

Barbara Brandenburg BrennerOscar E. Berninghaus was a loving and humorous

grandfather, Barbara Brandenburg Brenner recalls. He entertained at her birthday parties and made her pancakes rolled up with jam and sugar.

“Of course, growing up in Taos we were close, which was wonderful,” said Brenner, who was in her early 20s when her grandfather died in 1952.

Brenner rode her horse to visit her grandfather, who lived nearby on La Loma. “He would stop whatever he was doing and visit with me, ” she said. “We were more important to him.”

A widower, Berninghaus didn’t marry again until his children were grown and educated.

Brenner said it wasn’t until the last 40 or 50 years she realized Berninghaus’ artistic legacy. Before, he had simply been her grandpa and painting was his job.

“My mother always used to say painting was his vocation and his avocation,” she said. “He got up and went to work like going to the bank or anyplace else. I think he certainly loved it.”

Brenner has amassed extensive archives concerning her grandfather. In 1985, she published a hardcover book about her grandfather filled with photos of his paintings.

She has volunteered in a number of capacities for local museums and was a founding member of the Taos Arts

Festival.

Of the other artists, Brenner knew Blumenschein, whom she said was very sure of himself. “He told people what was right and how to do it,” she said. “He knew what a fine painter he was.”

His wife Helen was “a lovely, lovely lady” and Taos’ first Girl Scout leader. She was friends with their daughter, also Helen, who was a fine portrait painter.

Sharp — “bless his heart, a nice guy who was deaf as a post” — gave a painting when she and John Brenner married.

Brenner says the Taos Society of Artists joined together to sell their paintings on the road since Taos had no galleries. “I think they were friends because they were all in the same boat,” she said. “They all appreciated each other’s talents.”

She doesn’t recall any major disagreements, probably because of her grandfather’s role as peacemaker. “My mother used to say my grandfather was the glue that held the society together,” she said.

She believes the group disbanded when they tired of being on the road. Also they were becoming well-known. Collectors like the Starks came to Taos. The Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, she noted, has one of the largest collections of Taos artists including 75 paintings by Berninghaus.

Virginia Couse LeavittThe family of artist E. Irving Couse never threw anything

away. Virginia Couse Leavitt says that is fortunate because her grandfather’s house is a treasure trove of paintings, archives and furnishings.

“We have everything in the house as it was,” she said. “My father didn’t want anything to change because he loved it as a child.”

Couse Leavitt was born in the house on Kit Carson Road that is now the Couse-Sharp Historic Site. She was 4 when her grandfather died in 1936.

She recalls her grandfather was not to be disturbed while he painted in his studio. “But for some reason, I was allowed to call him to lunch,” she said. “And then he put me on his shoulder and called me his sack of potatoes.”

Her father Kibbey Couse wanted to build a factory to produce mobile machine shops. A widower, he went east after E. Irving Couse died. The children lived with an aunt in California and spent summers in Taos. Now Couse Leavitt and her husband Ernie Leavitt, who was a museum curator at the University of Arizona, divide their time between Taos and Tucson.

Couse Leavitt has memories of the other artists. Blumenschein, she noted, was very competitive. Phillips was a great storyteller who did a magic trick for children. “He would pull a nickel out of our ear and we just thought that was fantastic,” she said.

Sharp was a next-door neighbor who treated the Couse family as his own.

Couse Leavitt, an art historian, says it wasn’t until she studied at the University of Arizona she realized the Taos artists’ importance. Their art was overlooked for a while although long coveted by Southwest collectors.

After Kibbey Couse died in the late ’70s, Couse Leavitt’s brother Irving Walker Couse stayed at the house “to keep it from falling down.” During the next decade the family recognized the importance of preserving the house and its contents.

For instance, the museum has 276 of her grandmother Virginia’s letters, which are filled with stories. (She met Couse in Paris the first week she was there to study art. She gave it up because of eye trouble but put her artistry into the home’s garden.)

“It’s heartening to hear people’s reaction every time we give a tour,” she said.

A foundation, established in 2001, took over the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in 2012. A freestanding archive building is in the works.

And Couse Leavitt’s biography of her grandfather is now at the University of Oklahoma Press.

Margo Beutler GinsEverybody called Bert Phillips by “Mr. Phillips” —

even his wife. That’s one of the family stories his great-granddaughter Margo Beutler Gins shares.

Taos Society of ArtistsStories from three descendants

Courtesy Couse FoundationE.I. Couse with grandchildren, Irving and Virginia in 1935.

‘We have everything in the house as it was, my father didn’t want anything to change because he

loved it as a child.’ — Virginia Couse Leavitt

7Artes

Rick RomancitoBarbara Brenner, granddaughter of Oscar Berninghaus, at a June 5 rountable discussion

about the Taos Society of Artists held at the Taos Community Auditorium.

Courtesy of Carson National ForestThe Agua Piedra cabin in 1940.

Here’s another: Phillips’ father did not want to him to be an artist and gave him one year to study in New York.

“Since he did well as an illustrator, he proceeded on to Paris, thus coming back with Blumie, traveling to Denver, getting the wagon and I exist because the wagon wheel broke,” she says, laughing.

Gins, who was born several years after Phillips died in 1956, traces her lineage to Bert and Rose Phillips’ daughter, Margot.

Her parents owned galleries in Taos and Scottsdale, Arizona, where Gins moved when she was in fifth grade and where she made a name for herself as “an idiot savant child portrait painter.”

Gins, who had careers as a nurse and a forensic sketch artist for the Secret Service, returned two years ago with her husband, Joshua. Painting again, she is in the midst of a project to create the portraits of 25 American Indians.

Bert and Rose Phillips also had a son, Ralph. Gins recently connected with that side of the family when Ralph

Phillips Jr., who lives in Nevada, came this summer to a roundtable discussion about the Taos Society of Artists.

Gins first realized her great-grandfather’s legacy when she took an art history class at Arizona State University. (She was there to study dance.) Even though her father knew the Taos artists, he was not as interested as Brenner and Couse Leavitt in preservation although Gins is — and in strengthening Taos’ artistic reputation. She recently joined the Taos Art Museum board.

Gins said her great-grandfather had strong ties to Taos Pueblo, where she says he participated in ceremonies and won a footrace.

A realist, Phillips spent nights at Taos Pueblo painting and as a result, went blind for a while. When he regained his eyesight, Indians from Taos Pueblo built a stage at his studio — now a retail shop at Paseo del Pueblo Norte — so they could pose there.

Her favorite painting by her great-grandfather, a gift from her grandmother, is titled “Song of the Aspen Forest” and features his favorite model from Taos Pueblo.

Phillips, who was the first ranger for the Carson National Forest, owned an early RV, which was a Model T Ford built for sleeping. “Dad would drive him into the mountains so he could paint and when the weather was bad they’d go fishing,” she said.

A realist, Phillips spent nights at Taos Pueblo painting and as a result, went blind for a

while. When he regained his eyesight, Indians from Taos

Pueblo built a stage at his studio — now a retail shop at Paseo del Pueblo Norte — so

they could pose there.

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Lots of times, changes in life also affect your investments. That’s why there’s never been a better time to schedule your complimentary portfolio review. We’ll talk about the changes in your life and help you decide whether it makes sense to revise your investments because of them.

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Rick RomancitoVirginia Couse Leavitt, the granddaughter of E. Irving Couse, at the June 5 roundtable

discussion.

Joan LivingstonMargot Beutler Gins is the great-granddaughter of Bert Phillips, one of the founders of

the Taos Society of Artists.

8 Artes

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Richard Chavez was born and raised in Taos. He says he was fortunate to have grown up there. He married Consuelo (“Connie”) Rivera from La Loma. She was also born in Taos.

“Fortunately, our whole family is in Taos. We have no relatives out of town,” Chavez says.

He graduated from Taos High School in 1959 and married in 1961. He and Connie recently celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.

Reflecting on his upbringing, Chavez notes that his mother did not work outside of the home. But when he was a junior in high school, she took a job to send Chavez to college. Except he tried college and lasted only a month. The reason? He simply did not like it.

“This is not for kids to follow in my footsteps, but in a way I am glad I didn’t go to college. Because if I had gone to college, I probably would’ve become a teacher. And, unfortunately, I think teachers are underrated; they’re not paid enough,” Chavez says.

After graduating high school, Chavez went to Utah and California for work. He eventually returned to Taos. He worked at the post office for 15 years and then went into construction.

“I was a contractor for 10 years and built several homes here in Taos,” he says.

In 1985, Chavez was elected to the Municipal School Board and served for six years. When the Taos Municipal Judge position became open, he decided to run for it.

“And fortunately, I won by eight votes.” Chavez says, out

of the eight or nine candidates on the ballot. “I was elected in 1990.”

As of the last election, this is the seventh time he has been elected. He plans on running again.

In 1990, the same year he became a judge, Chavez won an art kit at a Randall Lumber drawing. The kit contained a small canvas, some brushes and a couple of tubes of paint.

“I’ve always loved to draw, ever since I was a kid. I painted a church and we didn’t like it. But there is this professional artist friend of mine, Tico Mascarenas. He saw my painting and he told my perspectives on it were great –– because I know buildings. So my building was perfect but my colors were all messed up. So I took lessons with him for 10 years,” says Chavez.

The judge eventually set up a studio and has been painting ever since. But he doesn’t paint to sell.

“First of all, I’ve been painting for my wife. In fact she’s my biggest art critic. She knows nothing about art, but my work is not finished until she says it’s finished,” Chavez says.

In addition to painting for some family members, Chavez also paints for cancer patients.

“Most of my work, nearly all of my work now, I give away to cancer patients for raffles to raise money for medical

expenses. I find that very, very gratifying,” he says, noting that he gives away seven or eight paintings every year.

Although the judge’s formal name is Richard, he has been called “Dickie” by his friends and family his entire life. But for his paintings, he signs his name as Ricardo Chavez.

He prefers to paint in oils because the paint stays wet for three to four days, which gives him the opportunity to work on the image until it is right.

“I mostly love landscapes. I’ve done one vase of flowers and that’s my wife’s. I mostly do landscapes and Taos. I love to do Taos ‘tapias’ with hollyhocks. That’s very, very Taos,” Chavez says.

The realistic paintings come from the images in his mind. For example, for Taos Pueblo and San Francisco de Asís church in Ranchos de Taos, he says he doesn’t need to look at a picture as it is well-imprinted “up here” (he points to his head).

But there are some paintings he does from imagination, such as a lush winter scene that hangs in his office.

In his position, Judge Chavez handles misdemeanors. Some are critical (such as DWI) and a high amount of shoplifting.

The courtroom contains his paintings as well (an eagle and a Taos tapia with a blue door and hollyhocks). The waiting room houses his large 4-foot-8-inch painting of Taos Pueblo for which he made the custom frame to fit the nicho.

“This is my pride and joy. I did this in 1994. It’s been here for 20 years. I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments on it. The painting was appraised at $13,000,” Chavez says of the painting.

Some of Judge Chavez’s artwork is featured on the opposite page.

‘I’ve always loved to draw, ever since

I was a kid...’ — Judge Richard Chavez

9Artes

The realistic paintings come from the images in his mind. For example,

for Taos Pueblo and San Francisco de Asís church in Ranchos de Taos, he says he doesn’t need to look at a

picture as it is well-imprinted “up here” (he points to his head).

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Katharine EgliClockwise: One of Judge Chavez’s paintings that hangs behind his bench in a municipal courtroom;

Another one of Judge Chavez’s paintings that hangs behind his bench in a municipal courtroom; One of Judge Chavez’s most popular paintings of Taos Pueblo that hangs in his courtroom.

10 Artes

Merce MitchellSeeds of art

By Mel A. James

A delicate copper wire framework gently cradles a fuzzy woolen pod, fairly pulsing with perceived life. It’s almost as if one could carefully plant this thing in the ground, patting it over with soft loam and the most fantastical fauna could emerge.

Merce Mitchell’s work has that effect; her seeds and pods reflecting nature’s aesthetic, yet they exist in an imaginative world.

Mitchell pays careful attention to the juxtaposition of textures and of color through her use of soft felted wool and natural materials such as lichen, alongside the cooler/harder feel of metals like copper. Through her use of a multitude of techniques and materials, many of which are under her control right down to the dye she uses, Mitchell creates pieces that reflect years of trial and error, and a bit of play.

Mitchell majored in environmental studies and geology in college – this interest is a clear influence on her work – and minored in fine art. She explored papermaking and photography while in school, but later found fiber to be her preferred medium and began to teach herself to felt. She has also been hand-spinning on spinning wheels for more than 20 years and just began dying her own wool in the last year. In the past she outsourced it, but has found that doing it herself gives her more creative control.

The last 25 years in Taos have found Mitchell involved in a multitude of endeavors including a yarn-dying business, teaching and involvement with the Taos Wool Festival for the last several years. She has taught felting all over the region including classes in Colorado, at Santa Fe public schools and The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. These days, however, most of her classes are in Taos and at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center in Española. Mitchell refers to teaching as a “two-way street,” citing how the act of teaching provides an avenue for learning new approaches. By watching and interacting with the students she finds inspiration to look at her own work in new ways.

Another one of Mitchell’s endeavors includes the continually successful Taos Wool Festival — she has been on the board for the last seven years and as the acting activities coordinator for the last four. This is her first year as the event’s chair, so she will be the site coordinator for the festival, overseeing everything on the field from the vendors to the events. This will also be the first year in which the Town of Taos is a partial sponsor, which she says she finds “Very supportive. It feels like the town is now recognizing that this is a successful and vibrant event.” She feels part of the success of the event is due to location and timing.

“Who doesn’t want to come to Taos in October?” she asks with a smile. She refers to the festival as “The Farmer’s Market of Fiber,” due to its similarities with a local farmer’s market; firstly, dollars are spent on local and regional vendors, keeping money in the area and secondly, both

events take pride in not adding to pollution generated by shipping and large-scale production.

Besides her community involvement, Mitchell still has time to create her sculptures, which have been shown at a myriad of gallery exhibits and festivals including the World of Threads Festival in Canada, a recent group show in Santa Fe and the popular annual Seed show (2009-2012) here in Taos, just to highlight a few. When asked about the influence Seed had on her work, she had this to say:

“The show was a turning point for me, it changed my artwork. It pushed me from two-dimensional work into more sculptural forms.

The impetus for the show was a book called “Seeds: Time Capsules of Life” by Rob Kesseler and Wolfgang Stuppy. The book, with its rich and vibrant macrophotography of the basic structure of fauna, served as a springboard for local artists to explore this deceptively simple theme. For Mitchell, it moved her deeper into her own work.

When queried about her artistic process, Mitchell says, “I start with a very general size and form. I like to be really very open about how it’s going to turn out. I try to respond to that creative flow, where one thing will lead to another. Sometimes, when there are things going on my life — that emotional energy will become a part of it, it makes the artwork become what it is. When a friend of mine died, I was working on a piece and everything he had done for me as a person went into that — it’s in there.”

In keeping with her “explore and learn” process, Mitchell is planning to pursue more frequent use of metalwork that she will incorporate into her fiber pieces. Already using crocheted wire and some found metal, she seeks to manipulate it more and explore the combination of found object versus a new creation. From these seeds, even more biological wonders could emerge.

For more information on Mitchell and her work, visit mercemitchell.com.

Courtesy photoPOD (Hermannia), 2015, wool, beeswax, thread, pigment, metal, recycled fill; hand

felted, stitched, embroidered, encaustic by Merce Mitchell.

Left to Right: Gentry Haukebo, Carlos Amador, Antonio Pena, Diego Gallegos, Angelique Rodarte

Government-In-Action Youth Tour application information and deadlines can be found on our website: kitcarson.com/content/government-action-youth-tour-0

Sponsors five Junior students yearly to take the trip of a lifetime; all expense paid trip to Washington, DC. The Government-In-Action Youth Tour Contest is open to all Junior students in our service territory. The students submit a 750 word essay on the selected topic, the reports are judged and a winner from each service district is selected. Our selected winners take the amazing trip to Washington, DC with over 1,500 other students from across the United States. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative Inc was represented by the following winners this year:

Kit Carson Electric Education Foundation is available to qualified high school students who attend either a public or private school and whose parents are members of the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative service area. Scholarships are granted to qualifying high school students who will be attending a recognized and accredited institution of higher education. Applicants are selected by their levels of good character, academic achievement and can demonstrate a coherent degree plan and willingness to pursue a course of higher learning. Over the past 18 years, the Foundation has been proud to help these students achieve their dreams where they may not have been able to move scholastically forward without the Foundation’s assistance. Kit Carson Electric is proud to announce that since the inception of the Kit Carson Electric Foundation, it has awarded $477,750 in scholarships. 526 scholarships have been awarded since 1997, as follows: District 1 = 176, District 2 = 90, District 3 = 89, District 4 = 88 and District 5 = 83. Scholarship application and deadline dates can be found on our website: kitcarson.com/content/scholarship-information

District 1- Anna Donaldson HannaGunther

Roy Madrid Larissa Lynn Martinez

Shay Moon

District 2- Matthew Cisneros Bridgette Herrera

District 3- Damonica Alderette

Reina Duran

District 4- Gabrielle Martinez Megan Martinez

District 5- Amy Gonzales Nathan Mieras

2015 Scholarship Recipients

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If you are ever in need of immediate assistance look for the Safe Haven bumper sticker on any Kit Carson Electric, Telecom or Energy company vehicles.

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Artes2 0 15 Tr a d i c i o n e s • T he Ta o s Ne w s

Courtesy photoDiatom (Skullcap), 2015, wool, beeswax, thread, recycled fill; hand felted, stitched, encaustic by Merce Mitchell.

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By Yvonne Pesquera

Original art is found throughout Taos, defining the creative character of our community. And even in our moments of routine health care or urgent medical need, we find the healing power of Taos art.

Holy Cross Hospital on Weimer Road is part of the Taos Health Systems network. In this one-story building patients, visitors and employees enjoy an astounding, unique art collection of 450 pieces. The works represent all mediums –– mixed-media, paintings, photography and sculpture.

Most of the works are done by Taos artists, many of whom are still living. Many have achieved prominence in the art market regionally, nationally and internationally.

“The collection started out years ago. People were either expressing their gratitude or paying their bill,” says Mark Russell, former director of development for Taos Health Systems.

In the 1930s, Mabel Dodge Luhan built a hacienda for her son, but his wife was not interested in living in Taos. So Luhan donated the large house to the Town of Taos recognizing the need for a community hospital. She was responsible for bringing the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth to run it.

“The nuns were not great recordkeepers when it came to the artwork,” Russell says. “We do know anecdotally that artists gave out of an expression of gratitude or literally paying their bill. That’s how the collection got started and it’s blossomed.”

The donation of art is not a thing of the past. At the time of this interview, Russell had accepted a donation of signed lithographs. “We’re very fortunate,” he says.

To date, the hospital has not had the resources to properly curate the collection. That would include researching the history of the collection, and optimally hanging the pieces for conservation and viewing.

“Ideally, I’d love to have an advisory committee of artists and art historians from the community who can help us with this,” Russell says.

There also is a hope of integrating the art as a formal part of a therapeutic program.

“We know our patients staying in the hospital get great comfort walking up and down the hallways, stopping and

Healing power of Taos artIncomparable collection graces Holy Cross Hospital

Katharine EgliArt lines one of the hallways in Holy Cross Hospital.

Katharine EgliFor many years, artists have been donating works to Holy Cross Hospital.

13Artes

looking at the art; for families, too. If you have a family member in the hospital for an extended period, it’s great to have something to do instead of walking up and down empty hallways. So in that regard, there is a therapeutic component that I would love to see grow,” Russell says.

He points out that long-term, the art collection could be the genesis of a true art therapy program.

“So that we’re working with children and young adults in the community, and using the art as a means to help them with whatever their therapeutic needs may be. Whether it’s physiological or psychological,” says Russell.

The Holy Cross Hospital art collection –– as well as the art found throughout all the satellite offices of the Taos Health Systems –– is an incredible asset. Different from big city hospitals and institutions, executives didn’t buy art to further the value of a “portfolio of investments.” Like the best things in Taos, the art collection just grew organically.

“We have not paid for any of it. So that’s what makes it unique. Other organizations deliberately go out and buy art for investment purposes. This is just so Taos. Especially the bill-paying part. Instead of chickens, we’ve got paintings,” Russell says.

The Holy Cross Hospital Foundation, which manages the art collection, is a nonprofit organization. All donors complete and receive a donation form for their tax records.

In the past few years, Holy Cross Hospital had the collection appraised by Julia McTague from Questa. McTague is an accredited senior appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers (mctagueappraiers.com).

As a local, McTague has long been familiar with the art collection, even when it was located in the old hospital.

“In its present location the halls are open and well-lit, giving the collection maximum exposure. It’s a fine show of work,” she says.

She was pleased to be hired to appraise the collection. She had experience appraising several other historic collections in Taos available for public viewing.

“And the hospital collection — in terms of artists, content, period and quality — continues in this tradition of Taos and New Mexican arts,” McTague says.

The appraisal was prepared in the fall of 2009 with 424 works. The project was completed in three months. An update to the original report was prepared in 2013 with the addition of 36 works.

An appraisal is the process of developing an opinion of value, competently, in a manner that is impartial, independent and objective. Each appraisal is unique.

“The Holy Cross Hospital Collection is an ambitious body of work, numbering several hundred pieces. Hanging the collection is a challenge, but there is always room for more. Gifts to the collection benefit donor and viewer alike, and strengthen the cultural and creative energy of the community,” McTague says.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Taos Society of Artists. Mabel Dodge Luhan had a close association with the society members, and that had an ongoing impact to the broader community.

“Sharing and showing art didn’t just stay among these small groups of artists. It really became infectious to the entire community,” says Russell. “They created a lasting legacy that continues to this day, which is why we celebrate them 100 years later. We’re still the benefactors of their generosity, their talent and their investment in this community.”

Indeed, today’s living local artists continue to showcase Taos on a national and international scale. Taos, too, is an international town. People visit here from all over the world to enjoy our culture, history, outdoor activities and natural environment.

“Sometimes people on vacation –– like hikers, bikers and skiers –– end up here as patients. They see the art,” says Russell.

Whether a native-born Taoseño or a visitor, everyone experiences the quality of the artwork –– making the Holy Cross Hospital art collection a true Taos treasure.

‘We know our patients staying in the hospital get great

comfort walking up and down the hallways, stopping and

looking at the art; for families, too ... So in that regard, there is a therapeutic component that I

would love to see grow.’— Mark Russell

Katharine Egli From top: A painting donated to Holy Cross Hospital by George Chacon; One of three

moon paintings in a series by Beatrice Mandelman.

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14 Artes

By Andy Dennison

Reuben Martinez, Tom Martinez, Larry Martinez, Miguel Martinez, Mike Cordoba, Iggy Peralta, Pat Montgomery and Paco Santistevan. They were all born in Taos around 1950, just as the automobile cemented its grip upon American culture.

Small towns like Taos wholeheartedly embraced all things motorized.

The boys were from the neighborhood around Los Pandos, Montoya and Cordoba streets and they all loved cars. They were related either by blood or by proximity – or both – and the eight of them ran together for nearly two decades.

They called themselves the Drag Specialists and, recently, five of the original club members got together in Peralta’s garage off Los Pandos Street to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of their informal yet enduring club.

They all stood around a bright red “street rod” with beige upholstery. Over the years all of them had had a hand in working on this car, known simply as “The 32,” and pretty much the club mascot since the late ’50s. These days, it’s a few tweaks away from being back on the road — for the fourth time — and it has brought the neighborhood boys together.

Being in the same garage again, the five old friends began telling stories.

Though formalized as the Drag Specialists in 1965, they got their need for speed long before that. Before they could drive, they hooked up wagons behind cars, careened down Questa Hill in a go-kart and hung on for dear life atop a scooter on a rocky road.

Quickly, they began putting cars together from whatever they could scrounge up from the Martinez junkyard or Cordoba’s repair shop. Their first creation was a 1932 Ford with the first flat-head V-8, set on a sculpture-like frame.

Once they were old enough to see over the steering

wheel, they were driving. Tom Martinez looked the oldest so, at age 12 or so, he sat on a pillow and drove around, ever aware of where the cops were.

Soon after that, the drag racing began in earnest.

The Los Pandos boys built street rods geared to come off the line quickly. Most warm evenings there would be a race on a side street, often in the Specialists’ neighborhood but also in other parts of town.

It was important to avoid the police. Burch Street was a favorite; so was the road to the Pueblo. When things got serious — like if the Questa Boys came down — everyone drove out to just beyond the Gorge Bridge.

The money drag strip was in Ratón. That’s where the Specialists got their first taste of the “long necks,” the fuel dragsters with slingshot frames. A number of them ventured out to the airstrip in Ratón to try their rods out against the big boys, without much luck. There is a story of the one Taoseño who made it to the finals. Sadly, he forgot to take it out of reverse after backing into position — and took off in the wrong direction.

The 1960s and ’70s were a great time for kids in Taos.

Everyone knew everybody, people kept an eye out for each other, and the kids had a “carefree” life – if they didn’t screw up.

The best of times, the Specialists agreed.

Eventually, they drifted away from cars — what with marriages and children, mortgages and jobs. A few dabbled in the “muscle cars” of the mid-’70s (Peralta had a Barracuda; Miguel Martinez, a Road Runner), and the young families convoyed to Colorado in vans. But mostly they had to become adults and leave hot rods behind.

However, The 32 didn’t go anywhere.

Its last race had been against Pat Montgomery’s Z-28. Soon after, Peralta sold the engine to buy his wife a better wedding band before he went into the Army.

The car sat under a tarp for 15 years or so until, in 1999, three of the Specialists found themselves unemployed.

What else could they do but start messin’ with ‘rods again.

And now, both the Specialists and The 32 are poised for another run.

Drag Specialists Car ClubThe best of times

Though formalized as the Drag Specialists in 1965,

they got their need for speed long before that. Before they

could drive, they hooked up wagons behind cars,

careened down Questa Hill in a go-kart and hung on

for dear life atop a scooter on a rocky road.

Katharine EgliTop: The Taos Drag specialists pose with their cars at Kit Carson Park on Aug. 25. Bottom: From left, Miguel Martinez photographed with his 1953 Buick Skylark; Tom Martinez, a member of Taos Drag Specialists, photographed with his 1955 Ford F100 pickup; Iggy Peralta, left, and Pat Montgomery, members of Taos Drag Specialists, are photographed with Iggy’s 1932 Ford Roadster; Mike Cordoba and his black 1964 Chevy Nova Super Sport; Paco Santistevan and his 1952 Red Chevy Pickup; Larry Martinez stands next to his green 1966 Chevy Custom C10.

Courtesy photoReuben Martinez in front of his 1956 Chevy Belair in Santa Monica, California, circa 1968.

15Artes

Katharine EgliTop: The Taos Drag specialists pose with their cars at Kit Carson Park on Aug. 25. Bottom: From left, Miguel Martinez photographed with his 1953 Buick Skylark; Tom Martinez, a member of Taos Drag Specialists, photographed with his 1955 Ford F100 pickup; Iggy Peralta, left, and Pat Montgomery, members of Taos Drag Specialists, are photographed with Iggy’s 1932 Ford Roadster; Mike Cordoba and his black 1964 Chevy Nova Super Sport; Paco Santistevan and his 1952 Red Chevy Pickup; Larry Martinez stands next to his green 1966 Chevy Custom C10.

16 Artes

By Teresa Dovalpage

Some artists discover their vocation early in life. Others blossom somewhat later, embracing a second or third career and excelling at it. Lorrie Garcia, a master santera from Peñasco, is living proof that success is worth the wait.

Garcia taught at the Peñasco High School for 25 years.

“I enjoyed teaching,” she said. “And I loved my students. This is a tight-knit community, so I knew their parents and grandparents, and by the end of my teaching career I knew the children and grandchildren of some of my former students; we were all part of the Peñasco family. However, just before I retired, I also felt I had something to contribute to the world as an artist.”

In 2000, a year before retiring, she and her husband Andrew Garcia (also a high school teacher) decided to take a Spanish colonial furniture-making class taught by one of Garcia’s former students, Daniel Tafoya, also from Peñasco. 

“He offered me a lot of help and encouragement when he realized how much I enjoyed carving, but since I was afraid of power tools, I pretty much became my husband’s sidekick,” Garcia said. “That was fun for a while, but it didn’t feed my creativity, so I began to experiment and try different things on my own.” 

Garcia said she used her newfound carving skills to do relief carvings of wild animals and horses.

Her husband encouraged her to pursue her art when he saw the quality of it, so he suggested that they sign up for a bulto/retablo class in El Rito.

“That class,” said Garcia, “was the beginning of my career as a santera, and I can honestly say that it changed my life. Art became my passion from the very beginning and 15 years later, it still consumes me. I wake up every day either finishing a project or starting a new one.”

She had barely started painting retablos the first year of the Annual High Road to Taos Art Tour. 

“Andrew and I participated and used our front yard as a showplace,” she said. “I exhibited my pieces there and,

to my surprise, we had a very successful show selling my paintings and Andrew’s furniture. Several of my very first pieces were purchased by my former students. Some of them still collect my work.”

Garcia’s artwork can be found in churches, museums and private collections around the U.S. and other countries, but she says the most rewarding and humbling validation of her work comes from her former students, her family and her close friends who continue to support her. 

Garcia has won many awards and values all of them, but attaches special importance to the Archbishop’s Award, which she has won twice.

“Because,” she explained, “it is the highest honor for a santera or santero.”

Garcia has also won the People’s Choice Award twice and the Best Collaboration Award with her husband at the Traditional Spanish Market in Santa Fe. Other distinctions include the Women’s De Colores Award of Excellence; Best of Show at the Taos Fall Arts Festival; Best of Show at the Taos Santero Market and Best Traditional Spanish

Lorrie GarciaA Marian santera

Katharine EgliLorrie Garcia carves a new bulto by hand outside her home Sept. 6.

17Artes

Thank you, to the artists who painted and decorated dog houses for Gimme Shelter part II

Silent auction proceeds benefitting Stray Hearts Animal Shelter and Habitat for Humanity of Taos

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Sam Richardson

Greg Moon

George Chacon

El MoisesSusan Cady

Linda Gottlieb

Richard Alan Nichols

Barbara Ann Downs & Silvia Avenius-Ford

Linda Gottlieb • Susan Cady • El Moises • Greg Moon Barbara Ann Downs & Silvia Avenius-Ford

George Chacon • Sam Richardson • Ann Wyndham Richard Alan Nichols

Ann Wyndham

Colonial Award at the State Fair Hispanic Arts.

The traditional art of the santerosSantera Garcia prefers to call her traditional wood-carved

sculptures santos instead of bultos.

“Before I began to study santero art, I used to think of a bulto as a spirit, not a carving,” she said. “So I’d rather say that I carve santos.”

New Mexico santos, she explained, started as strictly religious artwork that the first New Mexico settlers used to decorate churches and homes.

“In the late 1700s and through the 1800s, the local artists didn’t have access to commercial paints and tools that were produced in Mexico or Spain,” she explained. “They were quite isolated here and had to make their own pigments, adze their own lumber to use for retablos and use local woods for carving santos. This gave rise to a very distinct style of devotional art found only in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. At first glance, some of these pieces may seem rustic, but a closer study reveals a beautiful, free-flowing style which collectors find so enticing, be it santos, retablos or rededos (altar screens).”

Garcia makes Northern New Mexico traditional retablos

out of ponderosa pinewood and uses pigments and gesso that she prepares herself, following the old santeros’ tradition.

Among her artistic influences, she mentions José Rafael Aragón, a popular 19th-century santero whose artwork can be found in many museums and mission churches throughout New Mexico and Colorado.

 “He was a one-stroke artist,” Garcia said. “I always wanted to be as confident in my work as he was in his. His figures have delicate features with careful attention to detail.”

Santos, retablos and the VirginOver the years, Garcia has carved and painted hundreds

of retablos and santos. It usually takes her two to three weeks to do the carving of the santo, and a week or two to add the iconography and paint before it is complete.

She strives to depict santos in a respectful, but humanlike manner. 

“I hardly ever depict my santos with a sad or gloomy look,” she said. “I look to them as role models and patrons, but I never forget that they started out as regular people and they experienced many emotions, including happiness, of course.” 

Though her work includes a wide range of themes, Garcia considers herself basically a Marian artist.

“I have represented la Virgen as La Guadalupana, La Dolorosa, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre and as many Marian apparitions as I’ve heard of,” she said.

Art and faith“Through my work, I have a spiritual connection with the

saints,” Garcia said. “In that sense, my art is like a prayer. I strive to be a better person because of what I do.”

Though she enjoys the “wow” reaction that her artwork elicits in those who look at them, there is a different feeling that she expects to transmit.

“I feel at peace when I am working and that’s what I try to infuse my pieces with — the knowledge that there is a God and He loves us, and has sent many saints to help guide us,” she said. “For me, being a santera is a calling that goes beyond technical expertise.”

Garcia’s work can be seen at the Spanish Market, the Taos Fall Arts Festival and Garcia Spanish Colonial Art in Peñasco by appointment. Call (575) 587-2968 or e-mail lorriegarcia85@hotmail.com.

Katharine EgliFrom left: One of Garcia’s bultos of the Virgin Mary is intricately detailed with paint and pressed tin; Garcia poses for a portrait in her painting studio at her home in Peñasco; tiny angels surround Mary in one of Garcia’s retablos.

18 Artes

By Jordan Miera

Charlie Acuña makes bows, has worked at summer camps backed by a billionaire and has his very own page on IMDb.com. And he lives in the Taos area.

People around the world have used bows for a very long time, Acuña points out. A Holmegaard bow was found preserved in a peat bog in Denmark.

Carbon dating puts it at being 10,000 years old.

One of Acuña’s first bows was a Wham-O fiberglass bow, made by the same company that makes Frisbees. He also tried making them. When he was 8, Acuña learned about archery at a summer camp.

“I remember, as a youngster, trying to make a bow,” Acuña said. “I would try anything — a branch with a string tied on it, and I thought it was so cool to make a bow and have it work for a while until the branch actually dried out and broke. It has just been a lifelong quest to figure out how this ancient process was done.”

Acuña has been making bows about 25 years now. He was on a road trip with one of his friends when he saw a book: “Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans” by Jim Hamm. This book has step-by-step instructions for making bows, arrows, strings and more. He bought the book and began making bows in earnest.

He initially started off by making Indian-American-style bows, and he later started making other types, like English longbows. He made his first bow in his uncle’s garage in Orange County, California.

Taos beckoned to Acuña 22 years ago, when he left his job in the airline industry amidst security concerns. At that turning point in his life, he had a friend named Bud Quimby who moved to Taos. Acuña began looking at Taos and saw its mountains, ski industry and artist community. He moved to Taos six months after Quimby did.

Acuña estimates he mas made at least 500 bows over the past 25 years, and he’s sold them to people as far away as Norway, Italy and Japan. As far as he knows, he is one of the only bow-makers in Northern New Mexico, if not the only one.

Acuña has made various appearances on television. Most recently,

Jordan MieraCharlie Acuña shoots a Penobscot bow, which he made himself in 2014. The bow is a re-creation of a type of bow that dates back about 1,000 years, used by the Mi’kmaq people of Penobscot, Maine.

The art of the Acuña bowA lifelong quest

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19Artes

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he appeared on History Channel’s “No Man’s Land.” The show’s producers called him and pitched the idea; Acuña did not even have to audition. In the show, he leaves his shop in Taos and heads off to survive in the desert outside Bernalillo, where parts of “Breaking Bad” were filmed.

For Acuña, one of the more difficult bows to make has been the Penobscot bow, named for the Mi’kmaq people of Penobscot, Maine. It is a compound bow; a second bow is attached to the back of another one, giving it a counter pull against the main bow. The Penobscot bow dates back about 1,000 years, according to Acuña. He made his re-creation out of hickory, which is what the original bow would have been made of.

Although Acuña acknowledges bows may now be made of many different types of materials, he prefers more traditional bows made of wood. When he re-creates bows, he tries to make them with the same type of wood they originally would have been made of.

A look at how Acuña worksAcuña uses a drawknife in the initial phases of bow-

making to trim bark and wood. He works on a 300-pound iron workbench. He places the piece of wood with the bark facing upwards. The lighter-colored sapwood is the layer found under the bark, and the darker heartwood is the layer underneath the sapwood.

It’s important to follow the growth rings, or the rings produced by tree growth, to the end of the piece of wood;

try not to cut into the growth rings. Doing so will increase the chances of the bow breaking.

If there are knots in the wood, raise them; cut the wood around the knot, but do not cut the knot or flatten it. Flattening the knot will increase the likelihood of the bow breaking.

Some bows are backed with sinew, or animal connective tissue. The sinew gives the bow more integrity. Acuña buys sinew and pounds it with a tool. He then shreds the sinew into fine fibers, usually with a metal dog comb. He dips those fibers into water and uses hide glue to fasten the sinew to the bow. He puts two or three layers of sinew on the back of the bow with the fibers side by side.

“A bow isn’t a bow until you put a string on it and get it to bend and shoot it,” Acuña said. “Otherwise, it might as well just be a hiking stick.”

Acuña makes the strings he puts on his bows. Many different materials may be used to make strings, but he typically uses linen made from flax because it makes for strong strings. There are two main types of bow strings: those made with the Flemish twist and those made with a continuous loop, which is common in Asian bows.

Using the Flemish twist method, Acuña takes two- or three-ply of the same material and twists them together. He makes each ply with four strands of linen. He runs each ply through a chunk of beeswax and twists the plies together so

they braid and form string.

To string the bow, he invented and made a bow jack, which uses a jack to raise and press the bow against padding. The bow bends and is much easier to string than it otherwise would be.

More about AcuñaAcuña considers Kassai Lajos, a Hungarian bow-maker

and archer, to be a source of inspiration. His bows are featured in many films and television productions, including “Game of Thrones” and “The Scorpion King.”

“He shoots from horseback just like it’s child’s play,” Acuña said of Lajos.

Bill Gates has hired Acuña three times to teach archery to children at seminars in Sun Valley, Idaho. Acuña has also taught bow-making to high schoolers at the Santa Fe Waldorf School, and he’s organized various archery competitions.

There used to be archery clubs in the 1800s, and women used to go out in Victorian dresses and participate in these archery socials. Acuña would like to see a return to archery socials with traditional wooden bows.

Acuña doesn’t just make bows; he’s also made flint knives since he was 12 years old. He also prepares food — he is a chef at Southern Methodist University in Taos.

For custom bows or archery instruction, contact Acuña at (619) 916-1385 or email him at stonedge2000@hotmail.com.

Jordan MieraFrom left:After pounding the sinew, Acuña runs it through this metal dog comb to shred it. He then dips it in water and hide glue before applying the sinew to the bow backing; Acuña shows the beginnings of the braid produced using the Flemish twist method of making bow strings; Acuña made these arrowheads. They are meant to be displayed.

Artes

“Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.”

     - Ancient Indian Proverb

Taos Mountain Casino is proud to honor those who both exemplify the best of the past and who help us weave it into the future.

These people are our own links in what continues to be an unbroken circle of tradition at Taos Pueblo.

LEFT TO RIGHT:Taos Pueblo Governor, Luis RomeroLT. Governor, Edwin ConchaTribal Secretary, Antonio K. Mondragon