Out of the Park and in to Holbrook! Demo Day

I had such plans!
Last night I set out to prep the paper and sketch out my piece for the demo.
I inventoried and priced all of my rocks.  Who knew my biggest moral issue here would be the amazing amount of perfect flakes of flagstone/sandstone right out my door!!! I brought about 10 blank pieces and feel GUILTY!  I swear, they are mine and getting them from patio projects and quarry stores in Denver, make for such boring stories, that I might go wandering roadsides on my way home from the Holbrook area. Not much of a visual day, again. I do find it is harder to document a day of work than a day of just BEING here!

I figured a day in town was due.  Made a couple of lists (and lost and found them  many times) and figured Safeway and an hour of McD's so meeting up at 4 at the depot would mean leaving around 1:30 to have two hours or so to play.

I took the first business 40 in to town.  I realized I had not left the park for 8 days! Having become a can and jar pro, I also seem to be eating three meals a day and not feeling hungry.  I have found I may be experiencing actual dehydration, as the wind will suck the moisture out of every cell.  Not at all a bad price to pay.
I found a dollar store in the way in!  I needed TP and laundry soap in small amounts so it was perfect.  I even got my mac and cheese, canned tuna and could leave three bags in the car for the demo.  Never made it to Safeway, headed right to McDonalds, where I was able to post the blog from yesterday and download a ton of podcasts before they started looking oddly at me.





I gassed up and drove to the depot.

I found the part of town that had been referred to as the "old Skid row".....hmmm!  This door was the perfect example of the neighborhood.


Old buildings with lots of rocks and an even more interesting building behind the depot.  I did a bit of snapping and got a feeling for what is pretty cool about Holbrook... and how a lot of it is not even doing business anymore.

The depot was a bit dusty and I wore my only snazzy outfit...which was black pants (ugh) and three nice display tables.

As I was waiting for my hoards of visitors,  I realized all the care I had spent on brewing a bunch of grounds to demo my coffee stain, had eclipsed the simple packing of CHARCOAL PENCILS!! I forgot the medium for the demo drawing.

But I had a lot of fun walking people through the display as they recognized my Pony Express guys by different names than I had them identified by! (!!!)







Two hours and a lot of nice people, I loaded up as fast as possible, as it was my first night after the gates closed..... Spooky!

It was past twilight as I went to negotiate (AND FIND THE POST WHERE I ENTER IT) the gate code.  I am so cool.  I have a small flashlight on my rope of keys, so I entered it, and it didn't turn green, but I drove up and sat at the gate......nothing....
When I went back to try again, I saw a truck pushing buttons and the gate opened.  I waited for him to go past and pulled beside him.  He saw my AiR car magnet and figured it was normal state for a visiting artiste' . As I drove up to the gate I had a key for, the side I was facing was, indeed shut, but the outbound side was open.  I am such a wus.  I immediately began wondering what escaped criminals were doing just what I did!!! (next day I had it explained that the "sweep" every evening started at 7:30, and they began by closing them out, and chasing them down to the main entry.

IT WAS DARK when I got home.  My litte light was great and I got groceries and computer and a couple of bags of art supplies in the house with the flashlight in my mouth!!

NOT keen on after-hours travel.

But I felt so bad, I located the pencils (in the DESK DRAWER!!) and worked on the un-started demo!

Found My Direction!

Because I am trying had NOT to load up my photos every day with beautiful scenery I will not be painting, I had a run down to Route 66 which Kip had mentioned was a place to look down and see JUNK, but we all need to realize it is HISTORY. (.....Forget the fact I was around when it was still a road.)  History does not have to be ancient.  We make it every day and when others are interested, memorabilia becomes historical.

Geology, Paleontology, Archaeology, Anthropology, Biology and HISTORY!  This literally has everything!


I did stay in bed until 8.   No, the cat is still trying to get me up before sunrise, but I am sticking him in the bathroom after he begins digging me out of the blankets.   I feed him.  If he gets wacko, he chills.

It was a day of weather!  We actually got enough rain to call it rain.  The red walls of the patio were red and the ground was muddy.  I had a plan to wait until everyone was working and get in to see how the rec. room and the single washer and dryer worked.  Rumor had it that people left laundry supplies.  I forgot that in Holbrook too.  Although I had a bunch of tops and blue jeans, I was not sure how large the machine was so decided the sheets and I could hack it until after the trip into town on Friday.
LUCKILY one load was left in a bottle of Tide natural and the washer could easily handled my sheets.  So now I know it is a big loader.
The rain had completely stopped by the time I got in and I posted the blog from the cafe while it washed.  It is very slow but it was raining intermittently as I arrived.  The patio was not healthy for electronic devices. The power had gone out a couple of times... once while the clothes were in the dryer.  I met a couple of paleontologists who were moving casts with bones and they showed me the breaker boxes...which were unnecessary.  Came on all by itself and apparently was park-wide, as I had to reset the clock in the casita.

I fruitlessly went seeking someone to see if I could be a vendor in the park stores but I pretty much realize, like our own zoo, local artists who are not into mass production are out of the loop.  So I guess the trip into Santa Fe us still a venture to plan.  Much harder to market and get info on galleries from a wifi from nowhere. But it is nice to check in with civilization in the AM.

I loaded my piece of Jorge in the car in case there was a break in the weather and possibility of painting on it.  The PDI was pretty action packed.  There was a young man and his mother again selling their rugs and wares but they were excited to let me paint them.  I may use them as the demo in Holbrook.

I ALSO RAN INTO KIP!  We had a long and productive discussion about what I am doing and what is expected of me.  I have been fighting the guilt to be making things, which is sort of counter-productive to feeling artistic.  He basically gave me permission to paint where I want, and just text it to him, in case there are issues.  He gave me the info and game plan for Holbrook and encouraged me to bring my wildlife and work on some rocks to show on the weekend as it is Mother's Day and they are having a migratory bird seminar.  I do wish I had more visiting fine feathered friends, but the sparrows and ravens are lovely subjects too.

NOW I have things to be involved in.



I even seemed a bit energetic.  Although the light is pretty wacko, I did work late on Jorge.  In the morning light I see a bit more work but it is good for the unveiling.

This is how I feel about the journey in the park.

The smile on the ranger in the tiny office as you come through the gate.  This is a place where people don't just work, they love what they do.  They have a passion for the actual locale.  Some were born inhaling the dust of the Painted Desert, others migrated from far and wide to have the experience of just being here.  Jorge is always there with a beaming grin, crisp uniform and so happy to see me and ask what I am doing!

This is such a privilege.

First Event is on the Schedule - May 12

Holbrook, the little metropolis on the edge of the park, has wonderful arts events featuring the Artists in Residence at their historic Train Depot!

The Park cosponsors the Holbrook Art Series featuring the monthly artist in residence and give a great way to see what the Park is doing and help me with promoting my art.

I am planning a demonstration of my Tin Cup style.

I did a lot of the Pony Express historical re-enactors from the area a few years ago.  I figure showing my pieces and explaining my technique would be a great way to make a new PeFo related piece and interact with the community!  I will post the images when we get going.