The High Road Art Tour!

Excerpted from the High Road Arts 2011-2012 Map and Guide (because I simply couldn’t say it any better):

“Each fall in northern New Mexico artists on the High Road to Taos open their studios and galleries two consecutive weekends for the High Road Art Tour (September 17-18 and September 24-25, 10AM-5PM, this year). This is when the trees turn yellow and the autumn sky deepens to cobalt so the tour offers one of the loveliest drives in the loveliest of seasons. It is also an historic trip that winds through tiny, old Land Grant villages and rural countryside.

But best of all, the High Road Art Tour allows visitors to see the multiple crafts, traditional and contemporary, sculpture, painting, and more by the local artists. Many of their studios are open annually only during the tour while other galleries and studios are open year-round as well. The tour allows visitors to meet and purchase directly from these artists.”

Here is a map of the tour route, cross referencing all the artists to their location on the map. You can see it’s a very large and dynamic tour. This is the best overall look at what the tour has to offer (click on the map to open it full size in a new window)

I want to try to give you a little more personal glimpse of what we’re doing up here although, since I live in Truchas, much of my experience centers around this place and I don’t have a lot to show you outside of this very small section of the tour. So, for those of you in the area, I suggest you come up for a visit. Beyond Chimayo, Cordova and Truchas, you really must continue on to Ojo Sarco, Las Trampas, Chamisal, Penasco, the Llanos and Vadito. There is so much wonderful art to see and buy. Be sure to refer to your tour map often so you don’t miss artists for whom I have no photos. For those of you unable to do the tour in person, check out HighRoadNewMexico.com for a great overview. You’ll find contact information and many websites for all of the artists on the tour.

I’ve done posts on some of the participating artists previously but, as I’ve said before, there is so much talent to showcase and so little time. One day I hope to get around to everybody (and it’s been suggested that I come up with a few standard questions I can send to many artists and have them do something of a self-interview, which I think is a GREAT idea) but, for now, let me offer the posts that have been done.

Starting in Chimayo, at the base of the tour, see previous posts:

Centinela Traditional Arts Part 1 and Part 2	Marco Oviedo: Keeping Art Alive.
Heading up to Truchas (remember to take the scenic side-trip to Cordova on the way), have a look at previous posts:
The Farmer’s Mantra	The Art of Anna Karin, Truchas, New Mexico
Trish Booth: Painting History	Judith Hert, Artist
Renaissance Man	A Journey of the Soul
Disparate Pieces	Traditional Hispanic Arts and the High Road Marketplace.

Sally Delap-John is new to the tour. You’ll find her studio/gallery in Truchas.

The Montez Gallery, new to Truchas, is located in the old adobe church across the street from Hand Artes Gallery.

Continuing up the High Road, be sure to follow your tour maps and watch for the bright yellow tour flags so you won’t miss anyone. There are many studios and galleries you might drive right by and, trust me, you won’t want to. There are artful surprises waiting to be discovered, nestled within these old adobe walls. Perhaps next year I’ll have more stories written and more photos to share with you, fingers crossed.

Just north of Truchas, in Ojo Sarco, you’ll have a chance to meet Kathy Riggs and Jake Wilson of Ojo Sarco Pottery. Kathy sent a photo of some of their teapots, unglazed.

Just outside of Las Trampas, watch for Vallencitos Road (it’ll be well marked with tour signage). You should definitely take this turn off the main road to experience gorgeous scenery as well as the whimsical furniture and lamps by Claude Francois of Mesdames Carton.

In Chamisal, be sure to stop at the DC Arts Studio where you’ll see nature-oriented acrylic paintings, etchings and giclees by Donna Coulton.

Continuing on to Penasco, stop by the Penasco Community Center where you will meet several different artists, offering diverse creations from quilts and pottery to baked goods. Among them you’ll find Patty Torres’ colorful paintings (Patty also shows year-round at Art for the Heart in Panasco).

Don’t let the simple exterior of Gaucho Blue Gallery fool you. You will be amazed by what you find inside—definitely worth a stop.

Speaking of Art for the Heart, you won’t want to miss what Jean Nichols has to offer. Along with her own paintings and pottery, she showcases several other artists, and also carries a line of her own “upcycled fashion”—a restyling of older garments, making them new again.

A must-see is Walking Woman Gallery, on the same property as Art for the Heart.

And just down the road a bit you’ll find Marx Studio Gallery. Nicki Marx shows the work of six artists, including beautiful jewelry. Much of the work is made using nature’s art—feathers, shell and stone.

Just across the street from Marx Studio Gallery is the Sugar Nymphs Bistro, a great place to stop for outstanding food.

Everyone taking the tour simply must make it out to Llano de la Yegua and Llano San Juan. These are two of the last villages on the tour and are very much worth the trip. Among the eleven studios and galleries open there, you will find Karen Cordova Caraco’s lovely hand-coiled, pit-fired micaceous pottery, on its own, worth the gorgeous drive.

Last but not least is the village of Vadito. There you will find Mundo Viejo Gallery in its beautiful old adobe house. The homestead itself is worth the short journey out there, not to mention the fabulous contemporary paintings, folk art and textiles you’ll find.

If I wasn’t working the tour both days, both weekends, I would definitely get out to all of these locations because I want those of you who can’t make the tour to have a good idea of what we have to offer. Perhaps more artists will send photos of their work to me and I can do a follow-up post next week.

Learn more about the tour at HighRoadNewMexico.com

Love to you all,
Jeane

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