San Antonio to Silver City, NM, and back again...

Dawn on I-10 West toward New Mexico

Late Friday afternoon, September 23- We are on the road home from Silver City.  I’ve got my laptop plugged for the first time into our new inverter which is plugged into the cigarette lighter. Ugur is driving.  I really thought we’d get to report in every day and post images from our trip, but our wonderful host somehow lives perfectly well without internet service.  Strange, but true.   The workshop location had wireless but I could not get connected, for the life of me. So, except for a few minutes after the first day’s workshop at the local internet café where I checked my email (which has come to mean a lengthy delete session), I have been INTERNET DEPRIVED.  I feel like I need a transfusion or something.   Quick, somebody! Bring me some intravenous blog-hopping!  I need a shot of image-editing followed by an aimless-surfing chaser.

Texas to New Mexico I-10 West

We arrived at our host Barbara Smith’s house just about sunset on Monday and were offered a great homemade soup and salad.  A couple of glasses of wine later and the effects of the road began to fade. The cool weather was such a pleasure. Silver City sits at about 6000 feet above sea level- a good bit above San Antonio’s 400 or so, in southwestern New Mexico, west of Las Cruces and north of Deming.  It was so good to sleep with the window open and feel the cool breeze.  We woke up Tuesday morning and followed Barbara higher yet and further north to the still-active mining town of Pinos Altos- High Pines.

With Barbara S. at Hearst Church Tuesday September 20

Ugur went on back to Silver City to explore.  I was welcomed by Tom, a photographer member of GCAG, and Setta, an artist member, who were available to answer questions and assist me as I judged the show. At first I took detailed notes- pros and cons of each painting- until I realized there wouldn’t be time to continue that and be done by noon, which was the time allotted for my determination of First, Second and Third in each of four categories- Acrylic, Pastel, Watercolor and Oil, and up to three Honorable Mentions in each. Best Of Show was to be chosen from the four Firsts.

I can usually be counted upon to have an opinion.  Oh, yeah.  But I want you to know that making my final decisions about which paintings would receive ribbons and prizes was very difficult.  I waffled, I wobbled, I went back and forth, and finally had to decide.   There were so many beautiful paintings and each had positives and problems.  Even the Best Of Show, as stunning as it was, had a minor light source discrepancy, but the overall impact was completely impressive and invited the viewer to linger and enjoy.  Ultimately I feel good about my choices.  I’m so honored to have been trusted with the task of making them. 

Setta drove me back to town to meet up with Ugur and then played tour guide for us by showing us around town. We made it back to Barbara’s in time to dress and then drive to Pinos Altos for the evening’s reception and awards ceremony . Barbara Kejr, who had been my “voice of Silver City” in arranging my the trip and workshop, presented the awards to several happy artists.  I was invited to share my thoughts and reasons for my choices for the First Place winning paintings. Then I individually discussed paintings as the artists requested.   It was important to me to offer feedback which acknowledged their triumphs in their particular works, while offering ideas about how the works might have been strengthened. To experience our work critiqued can feel like a personal attack, no matter how delicately it is done. I know how tender we can be as artists, and how we can feel our work is inextricable from ourselves. I understand this and sympathize.  

Outskirts of Silver City

Rainclouds

All and all I was very impressed with the quality of work in Grant County.  Congratulations to the artists whose work was accepted into the show!

The next three days, Wednesday through today, has been a whirlwind of painting with a great group of artists.  I always feel like I try to unzip my head and pour out all I’ve learned about painting into the individual heads of those who take my workshops, so it’s very likely I overfilled the noggins of those artists, but they smiled throughout and worked like Trojans and asked great questions and made a lot of paintings.  Amazing people.  I’m glad I got to know them just a little and I hope to know them even better someday. 

Workshop artists- Barbara K., Priscilla, Barbara S., Nancy, Lois, Donna, Carolyn, Linda, Me, Ruth, Setta, Bev, Gerri

Saturday evening- We arrived home to San Antonio just before six this morning and have spent the day running errands and gathering the things we need for our trip to Istanbul in about 54 hours.  We’re nowhere near ready.  I just hope we’ll step onto the plane with most of our ducks in a row on Tuesday morning, even though my to-do list looks crazy right now.

Stay tuned?