Emergence

They call the wind Mariah…

Oh now, Mariah blows the stars around
And sends the clouds a-flying
Mariah makes the mountain sounds
Like folks were up there dying

The lyrics of this old cowboy tune paint quite an image, don’t you think? As I sit in my studio this Sunday morning, the sky is speckled with tuffs of cotton ball clouds in an azure blue background. The trees are swaying with the roar of Lioness wind…she arrived to the high desert.

Since moving here from coastal California, I have cursed the wind. Three years ago something shifted on a trip to Crestone, Colorado. Passing the San Luis valley the wind was furiously creating sand sculptures dancing across the plateau. I returned home to my studio and began making the “Desert Wind” series. Through this process, I made friends with the wind, although, not so much so that I want to live in the flat lands, but enough to ease my endocrine system when she arrives - along with the sound of moving water by way of small indoor fountains.

I recall my early years in Abiquiu (after designing and overseeing the building of my live-work studio) researching Bedouin life. How do these nomadic people life in the ferocious desert - I wanted to know. They cover up from head to toe and place their encampments away from the wind. I chose to just not be in it.

My multi-storied home-studio is the perfect place for me. Winter has been absolutely magical facing the mountains. The white laced trees now offer protection from the southwest wind. Moonlight and starry skies soothe my soul. I look forward to experiencing the seasons in Arroyo Hondo and making paper with rain water outdoors this summer.