Great Timing

by Wolf Schneider

Luminaria's red-chile biscotti and blue-corn muffin

We got a wonderful five-minute summer shower in Santa Fe this evening that made everything feel fresh again, just at the same time as Stevie Nicks and Javier Colon were performing that beautiful rendition of “Landslide” on “The Voice.” It was such great timing! For a few minutes, everything felt so right in the world.

Summer is Santa Fe’s high tourist season, so restaurants and hotels are bringing out their best now. Consider Luminaria at the Inn and Spa at Loretto, with a summer menu sporting a Blood Orange Mojito and house-made Sangria, flavorful blue-corn muffins and red chile-pumpkin seed biscotti, a light and tasty Green Goddess Caesar Salad, and a luscious yet not-too-caloric dessert of Seasonal Fresh Berries with Marsala Marscapone Chantilly Cream (http://www.innatloretto.com/new-mexico-dining/santa-fe-dining.php). Shrugging off the calorie issue entirely, I recently split a fabulous wood-oven, thin-crust pizza and Caesar salad dinner with a friend at Pizzeria da Lino on Guadalupe (http://www.pizzeriadalino.com/). It only cost us $15 each including a generous tip!

Wolf Schneider has been editor in chief of the Santa Fean, editor of Living West, consulting editor of Southwest Art, and also blogs at www.wolfschneiderusa.com.

Photographer: David Alfaya, Taken in Artist Studio: Gregory Lomayesva

Santa Fe Season Starts

Summer starts June 21^st according to the calendar but the gallery summer season is in full swing.  Gallery openings occur every weekend with Canyon Road leading the pack.  Every Friday at 5pm when most galleries close down the fun is just beginning. For those who are not familiar with this yearly ritual, let me explain how it unfolds.  Canyon Road gallery art openings start at 5pm and end at 7pm, occasionally spilling over to nearly 9pm. 

If you’re a visitor you can start at either end and work your way up or down the road.  If you start at the bottom, park in the lot at 225 Canyon (visit canyonroadarts.com for maps) where you will find lots of good artwork from galleries like Manitou, Meyers and McClarry Fine Art.  If you start at the top and want to work your way down there is a public parking lot, which has plenty of room (you do have to pay).  There is also some limited parking on Canyon Road (my last choice) and its side streets Delgado or Camino Escondido. Most Friday nights you will find at least 40 openings and many of the galleries will have food and drinks and of course lots of great art.  A list of all the gallery openings can be found in the New Mexican’s Pasatiempo on Friday if you’re looking for a specific gallery or artist.

Francis Livingston, Kachina Harmony, Oil on Panel, 36" x 36"

You can expect to see hundreds of locals, artists and visitors alike walking up and down Canyon Road and live music as well. This routine continues all summer and in many galleries through the fall.

In July the Opera season opens which adds another dimension to the fun.  Medicine Man Gallery will be having 3 openings in July: Francis Livingston July 8^th, Veryl Goodnight July 23rd, and Dennis Ziemienski July 29^th.

Veryl Goodnight, Ready to Ride, Bronze Edition of 30, 24" x 9" x 9"

We start with Francis Livingston who will be bring a group of new paintings with his well known traditional Native American imagery and also this year his abstract and modern works including collages incorporating antique Navajo weaving remnants.  Veryl Goodnight, a well known sculptor who’s book “No Turning Back” just came out, will be having a show, exhibit and book signing. Finishing out the month will be acclaimed California artist Dennis Ziemeinski who will be doing a show dedicated to Route 66.  A well sought after illustrator, his imagery has been used for numerous magazine covers and I have included this one to tease you.

As August approaches I will give you another blog of the happenings around the City Different, till then…

Dennis Ziemienski, Fill'er Up?, Oil on Canvas 48" x 24"

Where There’s Smoke…

by Wolf Schneider

Tesuque horses endure fire-scented air

My plan for the day was to be outside walking early in Santa Fe’s cool morning air, but as soon as I woke up my eyes were tearing from the smoke. Arizona’s massive Wallow Fire is 200 miles away, yet it’s suffocating Santa Fe with gauzy skies of hazy smoke instead of our usual sapphire blue mountain skies. Cars are covered with ash, eyes sting, and we’re being advised to stay indoors. Afternoon highs are hovering around 90 as the drought persists here.

The giant Wallow Fire is said to be bigger than New York City and 0% contained right now. It is likely to spread into New Mexico. Our New Mexico fire fighters are on their way to help out at the inferno. So far, Monday night’s burning smell and smoky skies were the worst I’ve ever experienced in Santa Fe. Tonight my eyes still sting and a severe weather advisory is in effect for most of the state, with visibilities reduced to below three miles in Santa Fe, and less in other western and central swaths of New Mexico. The whole issue of fire control is a complicated one, with environmentalists, government, and communities often at odds about when and how to squelch a wildfire: for more on that, read Philip Connors’ excellent book “Fire Season,” which I wrote about in an April blog.

                     

Wolf Schneider has been editor in chief of the Santa Fean, editor of Living West, consulting editor of Southwest Art, and also blogs at www.wolfschneiderusa.com.

Photographer: David Alfaya, Taken in Artist Studio: Gregory Lomayesva