Sidetracked Charley

Return of the Yei   For an all too brief summer we had hope. We dared to plan arts events. And as we put in place the preparation for another Angel Fire Studio Tour we became aware it had been two years since we had done any of this. But we soldiered on with hope.  We dared to buy supplies and work on inventory to sell, dusted off the display cabinets and laid in supplies of N95 masks so we could keep ourselves and our customers safe incase the Delta Variant could not be contained within the boundaries of neighboring states. But since residents of those states escape the heat to come to the mountains so could the dreaded Darwin Covid. As it came time to pay the big bucks for brochures and advertising we caved. We could see the handwriting on the wall of the Governor's office. She might be playing nice because she was running for re-election but she considers art and art business non-essential. We cancelled the studio tour but not the studios. We opted to go underground as it were.

Cliff Pueblo The studio is still one of my favorite places in the house but it has not been where I paint. For most of Covid shut down my focus has been on fabric. First with masks to protect my sister and her fellow nurses and then my friends. Then there were scrub caps. Gradually I got back into fabric creations and the  Fabric Arts by Jacqui  page was launched. In the first months of forced isolation and the governor's pronouncement that arts were nonessential I wanted my blankie -- soft and comforting material. Canvas seemed cold. Besides I had just finished a couple of End of Days series of paintings. Cliff Pueblo above was my last. And I began Return of the Yei just before the shit hit the fan as it were. The Yei were  Navajo Gods who returned to the people to save them. Maybe I didn't believe we would be saved, but I stopped work on it until this week. In fact I forgot it was taking up space on my easel. I even forgot how to adjust my easel. Before beginning to work the

  This was the photo of the day. She had the pose just right. So did Mother nature. Even the fog which softened the light worked to my advantage. But I did not set out to take this photo. I set out with my trusty Nikon to find something worthy to record. And was once again thrilled we are no longer in the era of film and each photo I take will cost me money. This was when I first saw her deep in the rain blessed grass and multiplicity of New Mexico wildflowers. It was the wildflowers I had come to record. Or maybe the camera was just an excuse to forest bathe. My justification for wasting time not attending to that list of to do's back home. And why was she out alone? If it was June I would saw to find a quiet place to have her fawn. But it is August. Lately, however, it seems they are getting it wrong. But so have I. I have been lured away from why I take photos. Too many friends recording and reporting their travels or taking selfies of them on their travels. Stuck at home I have

  I have friends on Facebook I first met on Y360 shortly after my head injury. A friend who had been there and done it before told me to practice what I did not want to lose, and at the time that was my ability to read, comprehend, write, and communicate effectively. An on line journal seemed to be the ticket. And a lot of other "damaged" people seemed to be doing the same thing. That was twenty years ago and Y360 is no more but we traveled to other platforms. Facebook announces from time to time that I have been friends with this person or that for eight or nine years and I double it in my head because I know where it was we met in the ether. Sometimes their virtual presence lasts longer than they do. Their image pops up in a nudge to wish them a happy birthday or a memory fostered by FB or a photo I posted in the past. There used to be this sense they were not "real" friends. I always rather disagreed with that especially once neighbors became a large segment of m

  The only photos I have taken this summer have been in my yard. Or while taking care of another's yard. I did not make it out to the high plains to capture the Cholla in bloom or to see the bison calves. Summer is almost over and my garden shed has not been erected. And it took two friends to lure me into one day with camera at a close park. The time without masks when restaurants have been open is almost over but I have not scanned a single menu. Haven't been to Santa Fe to walk down the aisles of a real fabric store. I have listened to a bunch of friends but only talked with a precious few. I know their dogs better. I didn't even know Thicke was pissed with me. Oh, yes I have gotten a lot accomplished. But why? It reminds me of my first year in Washington DC. I was so looking forward to an eastern fall. Even had plans to drive up the coast and see Maine foliage. But I got involved in a political campaign and then found myself enmeshed in Watergate. And the next thing I k