This post is going to be full of stuff, as vacation was just had with much travel--so prepare yourself for a dreaded TWO PARTER! This will cover the first few days of my trip and travel.
To start: Milwaukee! Hubby and I ventured into a Milwaukee suburb to see our Auntie who traveled from Idaho. She is in the state to see family and celebrate the life of her Aunt who had recently passed away. It was wonderful to see Auntie and share a wonderful meal at a southern food restaurant. Her parents met and fell in love as students attending the UW in Madison, it's always good to hear her stories of her family and her life. She is an incredibly talented creative, as well. She has designed small books, cartoons, and children's story characters and regularly channels the curiosity and kindness of a young kid in her life. It was great to see her and share a meal together.
Next: Tucson! I flew to Tucson, Arizona to see Bestie. My flights got delayed several times and I arrived about four hours later than planned, but we made the best of it. Bestie recently got engaged and started working with ceramics. We stopped by her shared-space studio where she was checking on some of her latest creations. The studio space was absolutely wonderful. Among it's great vibes, it is also accessible 24 hours for the artists! Her ceramics work is really strong--especially for only recently learning how to do it. She ahs a great eye for glazes and design. Besties and her fiancé share a new house that I had not been to before, so it was exciting to see the new place. The back patio pool view of a hummingbird feeder started me out the next morning where a lone fluttering bird had enjoyed the nectar.
Next: Silver City, New Mexico! Bestie drove us about three hours east to Silver City, one of the cutest and most art-centered little towns I have ever come across. This place is great for bird-watching, which bestie loves, and for interesting people and fun. We went shopping along the downtown area where there are numerous galleries and retail shops for visual artists, ceramicists, jewelry makers, etc. One of Bestie's friends is a fabric artist who recently made some stop-motion video about Aldo Leopold. That's extra interesting to me because I had never heard of this man until I moved to Madison. He is very famous for some of his conservation movements and books. The artist, Nan, is a wonderfully delightful person to meet and it was an honor and pleasure to hear her stories. Bestie is friends with Nan and her spouse and we shared a coffee and some fun conversation. The setting couldn't have been better, either--a coffee shop in town that includes an outdoor fountain/garden atrium area. I highly recommend that if you have a out five minutes, check out Nan's Aldo and the Wolf here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB3-bKVDh6c
In addition to great visual artists, there were some fun performance artists performing some fun bits of Shakespeare. Not in a theater, but outdoors near the city's nature path, the San Vicente Trail, known as "The Ditch" which cuts through the downtown area. These performers were having a great time casually interacting with one another along this narrow stage and with the audience, who brought their own lawn chairs. It was a great reminder that art and community can happen anywhere with the right marketing, networks, and support.
Next: Gila Mountains Hot Springs!
This remote area in the wilderness is truly a sight to behold. The high desert smells, Bestie and I talked a lot about because it is like being back in Eastern Oregon where the smell of wet sagebrush, dust, and cottonwoods can bring back the best parts of childhood. But this location and our experience is separate from the people that we met there. I will save the story of the Campbells for the next entry. We spent about three days here, and without setting anyone up for disappointment, I will disclose now that I only did one plein air painting. It was from my view of the mountains in the morning from the campfire area. Using my aqua brushes and hot-pressed Fluid 100 paper, I had a lovely time with mountains and rocks as my subject matter--oh how I missed it!
The rest of the time, we soaked it up in the hot springs and did our best to find alternatives to using the upper deck outhouses that Bestie coined "The Dump Truck." Next up, The Wilderness Family--the Campbells of the Gila Mountains!
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