Today was my good friend, Kim’s, last day staying in Truchas—until next winter anyway. He’s been here living in and sitting Hand Artes Gallery while Bill and Margaret Franke, the owners, were in the mid west with family. We hope he will come back and do the same thing next winter. He’s made good friends up here and we all want him back.
Much of the year Kim lives in his Airstream trailer, which has been parked outside of the gallery, in the back field. I wish I’d taken pictures of it before he had his truck hooked up in preparation for leaving.
It became a lovely fixture of the landscape this past winter, but I never thought to photograph it. In the last week Kim’s moved back into it, making ready for Bill and Margaret’s return.
So we’ve spent lots of time watching movies in his little living room and even having pork roast leftovers (see previous post Delicious Costa Rican Stuffed Pork Roast), which were great, by the way, in the “dining room,” (which is also the living room). I’ve become quite fond of that trailer.
Kim hadn’t yet met my good friends Paula Castillo and Terry Mulert during his stay here, an oversight that simply had to be corrected. So we headed down to their Castillo Gallery in Cordova (one village down the mountain from Truchas) to pay them a visit. Paula and Terry are both amazing sculptors.
Paula works in metal (and now paper as well) and Terry works with wood, carving both traditional and contemporary pieces. They also represent several of Cordova’s well-known traditional carvers. In addition to sculpting, Paula is a painter and Terry a poet—very talented, bright people. And they both teach. It’s a privilege to call them my friends.
Kim and I have formed a meaningful friendship since his arrival. We’re very similar beings and have found connection and inspiration each in the other. He recently said that I am a person who needs a certain amount of solitude, but that the right kind of interaction is incredibly necessary and vital, too. The same can be said of him. We each offer the other the “right kind of interaction.” So his leaving has been a bit sad for us both.
But we’ve been listening to a lot of David Whyte recently and in the current tape, Whyte talks about “leaving as arrival,” making the point that every leaving is also an arrival. He recommends we focus on the arrival, becoming alert to what is being born. So both of us are doing that.
And Santa Fe is not so far away. It’s true it’s not 3 minutes down my driveway, but we will continue to nurture this friendship—a great gift of the universe—that will span both time and distance, I am sure—until next winter arrives and Kim and his trailer are back in Truchas, 3 minutes down my drive.
Love to you all,
Jeane
Lovely:)
I’m so happy you two are birds of a feather that have come together! And now the birth of spring and events to share when you come back together along the year.
My siblings have a love for air-streams it is a sort of kinship among owners of them:) They seem to have a presence like family members and are treasures like fine jewelry at the same time as ones abode, lol. They are beautiful forms of function.
I love you dear one,
Grace
I have always dreamed of owning an Airstream, although I’d never been in one before. It is a wonderful thing, this little functional space that demands one live with only what is necessary. A great discipline.
Kim is starting his spring/summer/fall job managing a campground just south of Santa Fe and has invited me to do some stories on the blog about the kinds of people who come there–many of whom live in their trailers year-round, following the good weather from month to month. So you know I’ll be doing that.
And then I must comment on the beauty of the art in the gallery shown… phenomenal beauty in the objects and gathered items of nature. I ADORE the piece hanging on the wall that reminds me of a centipede…even though they make me wince when I find them in the process of gardening in a glove full of dirt:)
XOXOX
Grace
Yes, when you do come here for a visit you’ll need to coordinate a trip to Castillo Gallery. My photos don’t do the gallery or the work justice. I love that particular long piece as well, but then I love all of Paula’s work, and Terry’s as well. I’m fortunate to own one of Paula’s pieces.
AND, I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with Paula, Terry and their son Francis, in that very room. Everything was moved out and a long table was installed there, a fire blazing in the fireplace. We had a wonderful dinner in that beautiful old adobe room, in the center of their old adobe home, surrounded by many artist friends. Lovely.
I am blown away by the magnificent sculpture at the Castillo Gallery and certainly need to add it to my route the next time I am on the High Road. Thank you for sharing such treasures.
Best,
Bruce
Yes, Castillo Gallery is a must for anyone traveling the High Road. You won’t be disappointed. Hard to show the beauty of their place and work in photos.
Oh I thought he was maybe going back somewhere far like Maine or something:-) Yay for someone so special to only be in Santa Fe!
I agree with you wholeheartedly. He is from the east coast, originally, and it would be very sad, indeed, if he was going all the way back there.
You did not miss a picture of the trailer. It has figured in pictures of your house, and I think some sunsets. He, however, for us is a man with no face. I understand your penchant for protecting the privacy of others, but all your reader knows of Kim is his hands, his work, and his trailer. I suggest that is the part to regret, if anything is.
This is a good time for you, because you can build up your stock of work for next summer. Just remember while you paint that the log has to go in the fire before it goes out.