Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

By Glenda Winders

It's not exactly headline news that I went to Santa Fe looking for art and found it. A table in the lobby of my hotel was stacked with eight different guides to museums, galleries and studios. One listed 276 and still managed to leave out some that I passed during my walks.

What is surprising is the unanticipated art that seems to ooze up through the cracks in the sidewalk and blow on the wind. Art with a small "a" sifts in between the venerable institutions that have put Santa Fe on the map — the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum that contains more than half of the artist's 1,149 pieces; the New Mexico Museum that celebrates artists from throughout the state; the Institute of American Indian Art displaying native contributions; the International Folk Art Museum, where more than 10,000 figures are assembled into dioramas depicting life around the world; the galleries along legendary Canyon Road that represent everyone from Impressionist painters to contemporary sculptors.

It turns up in the giant dancing kachina on Milner Plaza that unites the museums of native peoples on Museum Hill. It's in the plaques embedded in sidewalks around town as reminders of artists and historic figures who once lived and worked there, the labels on chocolates and wines that have been created by local artists, the display of pottery created by the winemaker's wife in a tasting room.

It's in the mix of mediums that go beyond oil, watercolor and acrylic to gelatin silver, pounded copper and stabilized adobe. At the William Siegal Gallery in the recently opened Railyard District, Paula Castillo's "Towards the Star Vega at 12 Miles a Second" appears to be a cluster of stars formed from welded steel.

A stop at the Palace of the Governors, which has housed Spanish, Mexican and American governments, yields more revelations. I came for the exhibit that describes life in the Southwest even before the arrival of the Mayflower on the East Coast and explains New Mexico's path to statehood. The bonus was discovering an exhibit called "Treasures of Devotion," a collection of "santeros" — figures of saints — created by Mexican artists in the baroque style brought to this hemisphere from Spain. Esteban Gutierrez, the security guard on duty, explained that the earliest artists were men and that they carved the saints from roots and soft pine, later moving on to oak, pinon and mahogany. Then they decorated them with colors derived from plants.

Gutierrez directed me to another room that contained a reproduced adobe chapel. The altarpiece was made of timber put together without nails and covered with gesso, then painted with pigments made from plants. He told me how animal blood mixed with mud could result in a smooth, solid floor such as the one in the chapel — and the one in the house where he grew up. Back outside I stopped to buy a turquoise bracelet from a Navajo woman, one of many who had stalls beneath the palace's portal.

The historic palace whetted my appetite for the present-day state capitol, where, among legislative chambers and meeting rooms, I encountered yet another unsung exhibit by contemporary New Mexican artists. One of my favorite pieces was Jinni Thomas' "New Mexico News," in which tightly rolled and brightly colored newspapers appear to be flowers. Paul Trachtman's moving "Los Brazos" depicts rural agrarian life.

The sun reflecting on the adobe buildings, the sculpture of a donkey that stands right in the middle of the street, the twinkle lights that outline doorways and rooftops after sundown all combine to produce a sense of literally walking through beauty.

Even the juxtaposition of art and business throughout the downtown area is remarkable. Small galleries squeeze into narrow spaces adjacent to restaurants and legal offices. Cafe Pasqual, a popular Southwestern restaurant, maintains its own gallery upstairs from the dining room.

Art blossoms in retail stores, too. At Todos Santos, owner Hayward Simoneaux crafts milagros — religious medals — in chocolate and covers them with edible gold leaf before wrapping them in luxurious packaging. Simoneaux's tiny shop is itself candy for the eyes — from the antique chocolate molds that inspired his career to pictures and sculpture that hang from the ceiling and cover the walls. The nearby Kakawa Chocolate House is decorated with tapestries by local artists.

Earth Tones is another shop that is a visual feast. Right next to brightly colored sweaters from Bolivia and Peru are wall hangings, mirrors and Peruvian "retablos," the miniature "saints' houses" once carried by Catholic priests from village to village to be used in religious services.

During an evening window-shopping stroll I discovered art as useful household items — beaded moccasins and jackets, hand-painted lamps, flower-bedecked plates and bowls, Spanish-colonial doors, tribal rugs and rustic furniture. Shops that specialize in cowboy boots offer colorful pairs decorated with playing cards, chili peppers, flowers and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

While there is obviously a healthy spirit of competition in this colorful community, the shopkeepers and gallery owners are willing to direct visitors elsewhere to find what they want. There's even a van service, aptly named "Art Van Go," that will shuttle art-lovers between hotels, galleries, museums and restaurants.

The locals are happy to share their secrets, too. Most museums offer studio art classes, and at Joey Glass Studios, Joey Reich teaches students to make blown-glass pieces in just one class.

"When people go back home they can say, 'This crazy glass-blowing guy in Santa Fe helped me make this piece and here it is on our mantelpiece,'" Reich said.

Emily's Artists Studio tour arranges for visitors to meet local artists and watch them work in their own milieu.

"It's a treat, like going into a laboratory," says Emily Kimball, who is herself an artist. "It's completely different from going to a gallery. You have the truth standing right before you."

My best advice for planning a trip to Santa Fe is to start your visit with the major galleries and museums you'll find in your guidebook. But then keep your eyes open and watch as the magic begins to happen around you.

IF YOU GO

For information on whatever aspect of Santa Fe you'd like to explore, contact www.santafe.org or www.insidesantafetravel.com.

I stayed at the Inn on the Alameda — itself a beautiful adobe complex — because of its central location and proximity to the downtown plaza and the major museums: www.innonthealameda.com; 800-289-2122. Breakfast is included, which makes for an easy start to a day of sightseeing.

Emily's Artists Studio Tour: Tours are $45 per person. Customized tours can also be arranged. www.emilysarttour.com; 505-984-8687.

Joey Glass Studios: www.joeyglass.com; Call 505-570-0555.

Art Van Go: Ask the concierge at your hotel to arrange this for you, or call 505-570-0603.

Glenda Winders is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.