You Might Say.............

I know, I know, I should not be sitting at the computer!  I don't know why I am writing a blog when I have so much to do today!  I think I want you to know that an artists life is not as calm and peaceful as one might think!  This has been the busiest month of my entire year!  I have barely gotten to enjoy the quiet beauty of fall and soak up the last warm summer days. 

Oh don't get me wrong, summer was busy, maybe not working quite as much as most summers.  It started when I discovered that I have played far to much this summer.  Going from Washington DC to Florida, Wisconsin and local Native American Flute Events took big chunks of time away from the studio.  Would I do it again to avoid this crunch time in October?  In a heartbeat, I had a blast this summer! 

I should be finishing laundry and packing right now!   I am leaving early tomorrow morning for my annual fall trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  I am going to a retreat with a friend.  My wonderful husband is staying home to care for the animals and work on the honey-do list I made for him.  I know it sounds like I am having all the fun, but seriously, he also takes his weekend get-aways with his shooting friends.  Then his wonderful wife stays home with the critters and enjoys not having to cook! 

I mentioned the retreat I am heading to tomorrow.  It is called the Mending Medicine Retreat, a weekend of learning about our circle around the Medicine Wheel.  It is really much more now, I am spending time with a family that is called, the Circle of Nations.  I have come to know people from Ireland, France and Norway as well as people from all over the United States.  They all have the same belief that we can change the world by connecting again with the things that are important, getting back to basic needs.   Believing that love, care of our Mother Earth and being connected to nature are the only way to live and survive.  These people that gather have become brothers and sisters in my life.

This yearly trip comes at a good time and a bad time.......... there is a balance here.   I am anxious and even stressed about getting my studio cleaned for my annual open house.  Taking a week (driving time included) to relax and be with friends is a good way to prepare me for my open house mentally.  I know that the important things are not how many gourds I have made or even how perfectly clean the studio is.  It is totally about the people that come to spend the weekend at my studio.  They will be coming to share my passion for gourds and my passion for flutes.  They are the other family that have become my brothers and sisters and I can't wait to see them all again!

Okay, I feel better now.........   I am going to the studio to pack up a mailing, going to the post office, doing laundry, packing my bags, gathering a few flutes, cleaning the car..............    Oh, I know there must be more!

Taking a Break

Yesterday I sat for a moment on the studio porch.  I was taking a break from my gourds and recharging my cordless drill.  I decided that I must get twenty-five new gourds done before my Wild Gourd Studio Open House on November 12, 13 and 14th.  The drill is the most critical tool for cleaning the inside of the gourds.  I will attach to the drill a wire brush or a ball like thing with an abrasive coating to put inside the gourd to remove the membrane that sticks to the inside.  This is the second worst job of gourd work, it is dusty and because of the inside particles of dust mold, I must wear a mask and use my dust collector.  Not the most Zen kind of moments that people think about when they think of "artists". 

The first worst job is cleaning the mold from the outside before you can open the gourd and clean the inside.  Washing the mold is dirty and messy and requires old clothes, a good pot scrubber and lots of water.  It is all part of the process and when these two things are finished I can enjoy the next steps to creating.  Then I can become the artist and stop being the laborer. 

When I work on cleaning the inside of the gourds, my mind wanders, I listen the the music in the Cd player, it is most always flute music.  I think about the performers playing for me in the studio, I have met so many of them, enjoyed their classes, gone to their concerts.  It amazes me the journey the gourds have taken me on, a totally unexpected journey.  Then I remember all the amazing people I have come to know because of gourds.  My gourd supplier, my faithful collectors and the other admirers of my work, they all make me smile.

I started going to Fine Art Shows, selling my gourds because I couldn't stop making them, I knew I couldn't keep them all!  I was then exposed to the sound of the Native American flute during this time.  Then my gourds started changing, I stopped fighting my desire to do designs from the southwest, I started listening to my heart now.  I often ponder when everything in my life started to change.  I have been making gourd art for eleven years now, I am hoping to give an inventory number to my two thousandth gourd before November!  That doesn't count the many Santa's and Snowmen made, the ornaments and necklaces.  I only number the things that are my original designs and big enough to be considered collectible. I rarely make Santa's or snowmen now, it just doesn't feel right.

During this time I have learned to play the Native American style flute.  It was a surprise to me that I could play and I found that it seemed to fit somehow with my gourd art designs.  It seems both were allowing me to express something inside that I didn't know existed.  It felt like such a natural thing to me, creating these designs and playing the flute.  When you come to visit my studio, I hope that you can feel the spirit that lives in this peaceful place.  I am weaving a story in the designs on the gourds, I play my flutes and drum my drums for the gourds.   I burn sage and say prayers here too.   All these things are woven into the heart of the gourd work and it fills my life with gratitude.

My break is soon over, there are other things I could be doing while the drill battery is charging.  I work on the post card mailing for the open house.  A mailing of almost 600 cards will go out with the date of the open house and featuring guest artist and flutemaker, Billy Crowbeak.  I get excited, oh, I know it is still September.  Time is getting away from me, no time to sit on the porch and day dream while flute music plays in the background.  

Now I am wondering why I am writing a blog, I have gourds waiting! 

Self Discovery

This morning I am sitting with coffee and thinking about conversations and encounters I have had in recent weeks.  I have tried to write down my dreams, ponder their meaning and I often wonder if there is a message in them.  I always have more questions than answers and often ask for help from the angels, guides and our Creator.  I think many of my answers come instantly and instinctively and very often, in talking with my friends.  I believe that  people come into my life for a reason, helping me along the way to grow, discover and learn another perspective perhaps.  I also believe that things are shown to me, if I don't get it the first time, it could mean I just wasn't ready.  By the second or third time it is shown to me, I will have this "Ahaaa" moment!  I love when that happens!

I have discovered many teachers on my journey through this life.  I'm not talking about classroom teachers.  Self-discovery has come throughout the life experiences with everyday friends as my teachers.   I often wonder why certain people are immediate friends and others just don't seem to click.   I marvel at how our paths crossed at that one moment to make a forever impact.  It is times like this that I feel I've known someone forever and maybe we've only just met.  I love finding those people in my life, I find it most interesting that they come to me just when I am ready for them.  Or maybe they came once before and I wasn't ready, only to have them return, at that perfect moment.   Just when I am ready for what they bring to my life and hopefully I bring into theirs.  Weaving this web, it is always connecting with people who help make the web bigger and stronger.  Recently, at a retreat, it was discussed how we are all in our own circle, our circle touches several other circles and those circles touch other circles.  What we do in our circle effects all those other circles as it ripples outward.  Fascinating to think about, don't you think?

I like thinking about the people in my life, I wonder if they know how important they are to me?  I wonder if I am making an impact on someones journey.  Do I make a difference to someone else in this world?  Isn't that what it's all about........... making a difference?  We can all make that difference to someone, your spouse, your family, a child, an elder, someone you pass on the sidewalk.  My self discovery is being open to the possibilities.

Floating on a "Flute Cloud"

It's never easy when coming home from a vacation.  My best girlfriend and I have just returned from six days in heaven.  We went to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.  It is in the Gulf Coast area.  My wonderful husband could not go with us, this is his busiest time of year, in the spring, he helps the Ag. teacher in the shop every morning at the school he has retired from.  Our critters need to be cared for and his real retirement job is mowing and grounds care for a home on the other side of Cedarville.  Plus this is planting season, he also farms a little on the side.   Did I say he retired? 

So my friend and I drove to Florida, we were attending for the first time Musical Echoes, a Native American Flute, Art and Cultural Festival.  We were excited enough to drive the thirteen hour trip in one day!  Having never been to this part of Florida when we saw the white beaches and beautiful Emerald Coast with white sands, we couldn't stop smiling!   I worry this morning that the oil spill from the off shore drilling disaster will touch this beautiful coastline and all the life that lives in these waters will be harmed.  Sending flute prayers today for all that live in these waters.

The exciting part about this trip is knowing that we'd be meeting up with friends who would be performing, friends that were vendors and friends we have come to know at other flute events.  It is always fun when people come together and share a common interest.  This is a "flute family" we are associated with and it is an amazing family. 

Because of some very wonderful friends, we were invited to go out on a pontoon boat the day before the festival was to begin.  Armed with sunscreen and food, we played in the water, walked the beach and generally soaked up the sun and the company and friendships offered.  What a wonderful day.  Can you have "too much fun"?

Our wonderful friends are vendors at the festival.  It was our pleasure to help them prepare their booth for the weekend.  As it turned out, because of the evening winds and storms, their booth had to be dismantled each evening and prepared again each morning!  Vendors work really hard at events with weather issues!

Helping them was always fun and many hands make fast work.

I entered the Art competition, the theme was Red-Tailed Hawk.  I made a beautiful gourd bowl with a carved Red-Tailed Hawk, some carved feathers, turquoise beads were inlaid and it got a third place ribbon!

It's hard to put a finger on what part of the festival we liked the most.  Of course hearing the different artist's perform is always wonderful.  Maybe it was trying out all the amazing flutes, maybe it was all the awesome people we talked to, many strangers, never to see again.  Many are now new friends who share our common love of the Native American Style Flute.  Perhaps it was talking to the performers, getting Cd's signed and becoming acquainted with their music style.  I can't forget the fun we had at the Drum Circle, it was awesome and it wasn't long enough!  Or maybe it was the big Flute Circle that formed back at the conference room of the motel because the evening concerts were cancelled due to weather.  Sixty-five people came, memories of Hawk Littlejohn were shared. Flutes and drums were played, it was AMAZING!

Between moments at the Emerald Coast beaches and the festival, we were definitely on cloud nine!  It is hard to relate all the funny things that happened and  hard to share how much love is in this community of flute people.  It is truly heart warming seeing people come together to help one another, pray for one another and I am blessed to be a part of this caring family.  I long for the next event.  In the mean time we will keep in touch by phone, emails and facebook.

Can you tell, I am having difficulty coming down from the "flute cloud"?  I want to hold tight to the moments.  I look at the photos, I am back again, at Ft. Walton, Florida.

I better make a list of things I need to do...... the real world will not wait on me to come down from my moments of flying.   I must get my feet back on the ground, finding a new washer is today's project, how is that for reality? 

I am looking forward, our Flute Circle meets on Saturday, yes, I can go back to my "flute cloud" again!


Photos:   Upper right, the Emerald Coast, Florida
               Middle left, me standing at the landing in Ft.Walton
               Lower right, some performers & guests at Musical Echoes

Our Little Home

Our home is a wonderful place that sits on 12 acres of land.  My horses have most of the rights to this twelve acres.  Their pasture is big for just the two of them.  But then I know there is more going on out there that two horses grazing.

I have written a couple blogs about my family history or lack of it.  Today I have decided to tell you about the house we live in and how connected we are to things and don't even know it.

When I was a young girl, maybe ten, we lived in a woods back a long lane.  Surrounding this medium sized forest of trees were farm fields.  One of these fields belonged to us and the other three belonged to two other neighbors. 

One day an unexpected car drove down our long lane, the driver and his wife got out and talked to my Dad.  They wanted to walk back to a place in our neighbors field where a house once sat.  The gentleman talking explained that when he was a child, he lived in this house with his grandparents.  And so they went on their adventure to the place where a house once sat in the middle of a big farm field.  I wonder now if when he lived with his grandparents, if there were trees surrounding that home, if there had been a barn of some kind and why this man came to live with his grandparents as a child.  Did he live there full time, how old was he when he lived there, were there other children there, I could continue............

The summer of my sixteenth year, I met a young man who is now my wonderful husband.  We dated until I was twenty and then married.  I then had a new family to get to know and learn about.  Although, I should have been more interested and paid more attention, much has been forgotten.

I do remember this however.  Richard's Grandfather was the gentleman that came to our house in the woods ten years before we married.  The other amazing part of this story............   We live in the house that used to sit in that farmer's field.  We found out after we moved into this humble house, that it had been moved from the farm field, closer to the road, back in the fifties.

I love these little webs that keep showing up in my life.  Isn't it AMAZING?


picture of our home on Tarbox-Cemetery Road in 2010.

Doors

My dear friend Linda and I spend lots of quality time together.  We are high school friends that connected again after 30 some years of living our lives.  We suddenly seem to be sharing the same path after so many years.  We have learned many lessons on our separated journeys.  We often talk about things that happened and how we reacted to events that changed our whole perception of what we thought and where we thought were going.

I'm am constantly amazed about the fact that one door will close, sometimes be slammed closed, in my face.  I could stand in front of that door being shocked, hurt to the point of crying or maybe even happy that door closed.  I know now there is another door waiting to open.  I may open it with hesitation and reluctance, in most cases I just open it and plunge inside.  I never know what will be behind that door.  Can I waste time worrying about that?  Can I waste time standing at the door that was closed in my face?  The answer to both questions is "NO",  I just rush through that door.  I am not easily held back.  It is not to say that I didn't stumble across the threshold on more than one occasion.  I have a few scars on my knees (heart) because of those falls.  Those were lessons in my life and I hope I'm stronger because of them. 

Way back, when I was just living life, being a Mom and wife.  I probably spent too much time worrying about things I had no control over.  It is so much easier now to just go with the flow.  I am grateful that at last I am learning that lesson.  It's amazing when I open a new door now I am looking for the pleasure of new adventures and wonderful friends that will enter my life with such ease.  Life is AMAZING! 

I say decorate your doors with beautiful wreaths and flower gardens as you walk the path to the next door, open the door and be joyful!  Your next new adventure is about to happen, ready or not! 

The Power of Flutes

Yesterday I purchased two new Native American woodland style flutes.  Both were created by my friend and Brother, Billy Crowbeak and painted by his lovely wife, Kosh.   My intention was to pick up a beautifully carved Ivory Billed Woodpecker flute and bring it home to introduce to my other flutes.  The Ivory Billed flute is a beauty, and the sound magical.  I was so excited!   I also saw laying on the trunk another beautiful flute.  I ask the Billy if  he would play this flute for me.  I find it difficult to say what occurred, I felt a vibration happening inside my chest, it was my heart.  I totally felt the medicine of the Elk flute.

I have learned that the elk to the Lakota people has the healing medicine of love.  Could it be why my heart was so effected when I heard the song coming from this flute?  We took turns playing this flute throughout the afternoon, my friend Linda, then Billy and myself.  Each time it was played it had the same effect on me. Before leaving I realized I didn't know what key this elk flute was, for some reason it hadn't been marked on the flute.  Billy left to put it to the tuner and see.......  it was an F.   This was a certain sign the flute was calling me, the Key of F is the musical note to identify the Heart Chakra.  This only made the decision to purchase second flute easier.

As my flute collection grows, I remember back to my third flute circle.  I came to this meeting with my second wooden flute.  It's interesting to me now, it
was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Billy Crowbeak and seeing his flutes.  I said that day to our flute circle leader, when he noticed my new flute; "yes, this is my second flute, I think I have enough now."  He laughed and laughed and stumbled his way over to Billy Crowbeak and told him what I said.  They both knew far more about the power of the flute than I had yet to discover.


I find this to be another interesting web regarding paths crossing and later becoming a trail to one another's door. I never in my wildest dreams would have expected to find such a kind hearted friend in that flute-maker at our flute circle four years ago.  And yet today, it's as if I've know Billy Crowbeak forever.  I am proud to call him my Brother.

As for my flute obscession............  I think the only cure is to enjoy each flute and the songs that they bring to me.  I beleive they have changed the direction of my journey.  I have a calmness about me that I enjoy every moment.  I have a song to sing, that I never knew before flutes.  I share my love and songs with anyone who wants to know and I honor the gift of medicine each flute offers.   I am truly grateful and blessed by the flutes, their songs and the people who craft them.


Pictures:  upper left, Elk Flute
               lower right, Ivory Billed Woodpecker

The Web We Weave, part four

This is to wrap up the story about Michael Soutar, the con man from my previous stories.  The man who was ultimately responsible for the journey I am on today.  The man who escaped  his prison sentence and was on America's Most Wanted.

I believe that Michael was on the run for a year.   The Boston Globe writes that Soutar was first noticed in the early 1990's, by '96 he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, forgery, fraud, embezzlement and credit card fraud.  He was serving prison time, but escaped when he was released to have knee surgery.  Charged with bigamy in Texas, but not convicted.  He was always charming and loved the high roller life.

Attorney Generals office called me to advise me of his capture in August of 2005.  They were working on extradition back to Santa Fe.  It seems like there were some other states trying to get a hold of him as well.  Now, after all this time has passed they are asking me questions again, they really wanted to nail this guy.  Again, they wanted me to come and testify.  I finally had to contact a lawyer friend and he started talking to them.  Interestingly enough his daughter is a lawyer in Albuquerque,NM and when everything was said and done, I didn't have to go to testify.  It is not that I didn't think he was guilty and he had over charged my credit card, but I really was just a very small part of the big picture.

Michael Soutar was accused of taking between $150,000 and $200,000 from investors at the Santa Fe Market.  He was charged with securities fraud, securities sales by an unlicensed broker, racketeering, forgery, check and credit-card fraud.  The Jurors deliberated only an hour before returning the verdict of guilty.  He will be serving a 36 year sentence.  I can say I was conned by one of the best!!!

I could say "thank you" to Michael Soutar for his part in my journey.   Today, I am content with where I am and selling gourds at Fine Art Shows in Ohio.  Being "out there" isn't as important as it once was.  I have made amazing friends from Eureka Springs, AR and many places beyond.  All because of this little event, an entanglement in my original plans, turned out to be a wonderful thing! 

If you are incline to learn more about Michael Soutar, you can google him, he is on the first page!  Amazing.

The Web We Weave, part three

And so I went to the Artist Retreat in 2006.  I didn't think I would be able to even talk to John Two-Hawks.  I remembered how he overwhelmed me with his energy at the Jackalope in 2004.  Oh, it was good energy, just a little powerful somehow.

The retreat was amazing and yes, I could talk to John Two-Hawks, he is just a person after all, he has become a friend and confident.  It was an interesting path that brought me to this place.  Where one door closes and another one opens, we are standing always on the threshold, just stepping into the next great thing.  And so it has been for me an interesting journey to this point.

I am getting ready to do my ninth retreat with John Two-Hawks.  Each spring I do the Artist Retreat, now called Creative Expressions.  It is a place for us to learn that the struggles of an artist are really just personal struggles within ourselves.  We are all amazing no matter what our talent or degree of talent. We are all important in all our efforts, however big or small the effort.   It is a place I go and confirm what I know already and be with like minded people.  The "Ah haaa" moments always come at these retreats, the moment when it all fits together.  It is always amazing and wonderful.  I am grateful to have the ability to create anything my heart desires, that my husband, Richard, supports me at every turn.  This is something every artist needs to know and feel.  I know how lucky I am, I am blessed and grateful.

The retreat I am heading to this weekend, October of 2009, is called the Mending Medicine Retreat.  I have been going to this retreat since October 2006.   Every year I go with no expectations. I know I will see friends from other retreats, meet new ones and learn new lessons about the Medicine Wheel and our journey around the wheel.   I look forward to traveling to Eureka Springs, AR, a place that calls to me, a place that brings tears to my eyes when I visit the Blue Springs Heritage Center.   I know when I walk on the ground at the Blue Spring that the Cherokee ancestors also walked there.  I have played my flute in their honor as I sit in the beautiful gardens and tears streamed down my cheeks.   I was suppose to find these people and this place......... The web continues to grow and grow. One of my favorite quotes from John Two-Hawks; "We are all wrapped in the same ball of yarn, All connected, all important."    Later I will share the end of the Santa Fe story.

The Web We Weave, part two

My gourds were wrapped in Santa Fe newspapers, it made unpacking a fun experience for sure.   I remember running across the picture and promotional clipping of John Two-Hawks performing at the Jackalope where I spent the weekend selling my beautiful gourds.  I saved that wrinkled piece of paper, just for the memory of it all.  I love little memory jogs!

Gratefully most all the gourds survived their trip home, some did get broken..... which takes me to an earlier story about the Water-bed and the UPS Man.  I will also note here, it took forever to recover my claim on the broken gourds, but it was resolved.  That was not the only thing that took forever to resolve.

My credit card company need documentation that the card was used fraudulently.  Than goodness for the Santa Fe police report. They too finally honored my over charge and I did not have to pay.   Not long after returning home I received a call from the District Attorney's Office regarding Michael Soutar.  It seems my charge against him began the ball rolling for more charges.  They wanted me to come back to Santa Fe and testify against this man.  Oh my gosh, I couldn't afford another plane ticket to Santa Fe.  They seemed to understand and I spent several phone calls recounting the information as I knew it.

Michael Soutar was to go before the judge on November 22, 2004.  The District Attorney's Office called me to tell give me the outcome of this event.  Michael was charged with 22 counts of fraudulent activity!  He was to be sentenced in December.  You'll never believe that the District Attorney's office called me the day after he was before the judge, to inform me that Michael Soutar had escaped while on work duty at a park!  Everyone seemed to be in shock and of course, the Santa Fe Market was closed forever.

Time passed, as it seems to do.  In February of 2005 I received a call from a women that wanted some ornamental gourds for her gift shop, The Blue Spring Heritage Center.  She tells me that her shop is near the end of the Trail of Tears in Arkansas, in Eureka Springs.  I'd never heard of Eureka Springs, but sent her the gourds and was content that she ordered them. 

In August of 2005, my daughter Emily calls, she wants me to turn on channel 45 on the TV quickly!  Low and Behold.......... it is America's Most Wanted and they are looking for my con friend, Michael Soutar !!  Yep, talk about falling off my chair!  I got the entire history of his antics on TV!  It seems that he had a real way at persuading women to fall for his lines.  Hummm, guess conning artists is no different.  He had been dating three women at the same time, duping them of their money.  One day they found out about one another and let's just say "stuff hit the fan!"  They took him to court and won and hence the probation issue.  They then went on to tell the story of his fraudulent activities in Santa Fe.  Of course, they were looking to capture him and put him away!   So I sort of felt I'd been conned by the best of them!

In September of 2005, my "Annie Oakley" friend Marcy, who keeps popping up in my stories from the Wagon Train Rides to the first story in "The Web We Weave", was driving back to Massachusetts from this year's trip out west.  We are happily spending a couple days together, working in the studio, and she tells me she'd just spent the weekend with friends in Eureka Springs!  There it is again, Eureka Springs, AR.  Where the heck is this place.   She also commissions a gourd for a friend there that is getting married.  Cool.

Winter comes, February of 2006 comes around, cold and gray.  A newly retired friend and I are in the studio visiting.  We were reflecting on the long winter, how much we needed sun and so on.   It was then I said, "I'd love to be in Santa Fe, where it warm and sunny."   She said, "well, let's go!"  About that time my dear husband walks in the door and hears our talk, he says, "this is a perfect time, I want to go too!".   Well if Richard goes, so must her husband, and now we are driving and I'm seeing weeks of being gone, not just a few days!  I decided to research this idea and find out when the Gathering of the Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque happens.  While visiting this site on my computer, I found myself looking at their listing of musical artists.  (By this time, I'm very much more acquainted with Native American Flute music)  I picked one name from a list of thirty names.  Just one............  when I read the name, nothing clicked in my brain, but when his website popped up, I remembered with a jolt, it was John Two -Hawks.  The Native man playing flutes at the Jackalope in 2004.  I decided then and there to order a CD, I'd heard his music and liked it, yes a CD was necessary.

I called the number and remember talking to a woman.  I told her my story of hearing John Two-Hawks at the Jackalope and a little of how I happen to be there.  It was a nice conversation, she ask about my art and what I did.  She thought maybe I might be interested in an Artist Retreat in April.  I told her that I'd think about it and ordered the Cd's.

I spoke with my friend again about the trip to Santa Fe and about maybe waiting and going with me to an Artist Retreat.  This certainly fit my schedule better, a nice long weekend, rather than a couple weeks on the road driving to and from Santa Fe.  We agreed to do the retreat.   I called back to schedule it and started asking questions, dates and such.... "oh, yes, now where are you located?"  She replies, "Eureka Springs, AR".  She also tells me that she remembers me from the Jackalope and her best friend ordered gourds from me for her gift shop, the Blue Spring Heritage Center. 

Well, needless to say, you could have knocked me over with a feather!   Oh, yes there is more to The Web We Weave, part three!

The Web We Weave, part one

I decided in 2004 that it was time to get my gourd business "out there".  To me that meant trying to sell my work to speciality shops.  I went for the "big guns" and took them to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It happened that we were guests in a residence and I was able to mail gourds to an address ahead of our arrival.  My daughter, Emily and I flew out to spend a week in Santa Fe. 

Santa Fe is an amazing place, art is everywhere.  The energy of this city in the southwest will inspire any artist who needs recharged.  The landscape is so beautiful, the history is rich and colorful.  Art is in every shop and gallery.  I wanted to be a part of this excitement and claim to have my gourds in Santa Fe.
Well, I did make some major discoveries on my trip to Santa Fe in 2004.  So many that it will take several writings to tell you everything. 

I'll begin at the beginning, where Emily and I start our first morning in town with a rental car load of gourds and the optimism of a proud and excited artist, me.  We had breakfast and from there visited a little shop, then moved on to another gallery.  In speaking to one of the sales clerks I found this gallery to be filled with many artists who rent space and sell their artwork.  The sales clerks are hired to take care of the shop and you just have to provide art and decorate your display area.   Wow, did I ever find the perfect place for my gourds and they had some openings for artists!  The clerk went to find the owner and he wanted to see my gourds.  How easy can it get!   He loved my work, he said all the right things to make an artist blush and thought my price points were great and wanted me to join the gallery.  He was a good looking guy, maybe in his forties and was very charming, but most of all he LOVED my gourds.

I called Richard and he was a little less excited, but then he isn't known to make quick decisions and I had to decide before the space filled up and we were only there a week!   I agreed to become a part of the Santa Fe Market.  I choose my spot and then began the task of painting the space, gathering some display items, bought a rug, went to a Flea Market and purchased a couple antique looking display items and put what I had with me in the way of gourds to make a display.  I would then mail more gourds to them when I got home and fly back down to get everything in order.  Perfect.

Emily and I spent the rest of the week checking out galleries and enjoying our visit to Santa Fe.  We went to really nice galleries and also went to a place called the Jackalope.  A fun place with more affordable gift items for taking home.  It is a giant space under several buildings and yards full of pottery, tents with the local Native people selling their goods.  You can buy anything from t-shirts to furniture.  Love going here to shop.  A fun place and certainly well known to people who travel to Santa Fe.

We flew home after our week in Santa Fe.  I then got busy making arrangements to UPS gourds to Santa Fe and buying tickets for another flight out.   This time my daughter, Trisha and her 9week old, Kellen, were going with me.  We were to leave on a Tuesday.   The Friday before our trip back out, I got a phone call from the owner of the Santa Fe Market, Michael Soutar.  He ask me if I was still interested in the space, I said, "Yes, I'll be out again on Tuesday to finish putting the space together."  He mentioned he had others that were interested in the space and maybe I should have signed a contract before I'd left Santa Fe the first time.  No matter, he'd just mail me one, in the mean time we talked price for renting the space and he agreed that I could try it for three months.  This would certainly be prime time, Santa Fe Indian Market was soon and the Christmas season was coming!  If there was a chance to sell, this would be the perfect time!  So rent was agreed upon, time period agreed upon and contract was being mailed.  To hold my space he wanted my credit card number.  Sounded like a fair exchange.

Trisha, baby Kellen and I flew out to Santa Fe the third week of August.  Indian Market was the weekend coming up and we'd be there for this event.  I was so very excited.   We arrived and immediately finished making purchases for the space, put everything in place and finally happy to call it finished.  I called Richard and ask if the contract had arrived, it hadn't come before I left home.   No, it had not come in the mail that day.  So before Trisha and I left the space I knew I had to get this contract signed and we could go about our merry visit in Santa Fe.  

I found the sales clerk I'd met the trip before with Emily.  She was not quite as  friendly as I remembered, especially since I was asking for the owner, Michael.  I told her that I just needed to sign a contract with him and she said, "Oh, I wouldn't sign any contracts with him, he is in jail!".  Red Flags went up!  I ask why and she told me, "for former probation violations".  It was then I decided to call my credit card company!  Yep, that sinking feeling I got when I talked to the sales clerk was for a reason!   He had way overcharged my credit card!  I called Richard, and he said I should file a police report!

I knew the display I'd just finished could not stay in this place!   The Santa Fa policeman came and took all my information, he told me to write it out on a form and take it to the police station.  At this point the tears started.  I had a booth to take out, I had a daughter with a nine week old baby and was at a loss what to do next.  He was such a nice young man, my tears softened his position, he kindly said, "okay, I'll file it for you, you just do what you have to do and I'll take care of it."

When Trisha and I rented the car, we decided to rent a van, mostly because of the baby stuff.  Well, the baby stuff was covered with display and gourds.  We were packed to the roof and didn't exactly know what to do next.  My mind is ever working on another plan and this seemed to be the case this day.

While Trisha and I were in Santa Fe that week, my "Anne Oakley" friend, Marcy was also in town, visiting her sister. (you can read about meeting Marcy in my Oregon Trail writings.)   I called Marcy and we caught up with one another the next day.  Before meeting with Marcy, I had decided to go to the Jackalope and talk to the owner, giving him my long and sad story.  Now, I must tell you, this took a lot of guts on my part, I was really going to have to sell myself and my work.  Most artist's would understand, making art is one thing, being your own spokesperson is another!

My daughter, the baby and I first spoke with a sales clerk at Jackalope, we were then taken to her manager, from there we were then taken to the secretary of the owner, telling the story over and over about what had happened at the Santa Fe Market and with the owner Mr. Soutar.  We finally got inside the office of the owner of the Jackalope, his name is one I love, Darby McQuad!  Something musical about his name.  Mr. McQuad listened to my long story, interestingly he knew of the mess regarding Michael Soutar! 

Mr. McQuad agreed to rent me an outdoor space under one of his tents at the front of his business for the weekend!  How cool was that!!!!  So for the weekend of Indian Market in Santa Fe, I sold gourds!  I was really selling gourds in Santa Fe, NM......     While we were at the Jackalope, Trisha and I would take turns walking around and it was here that I first heard music from the Native American style flute, it was being played by a Native man, John Two-Hawks.  I loved the music but was still too wrapped up in my own experiences to even consider purchasing his music.  But...... I remember the way he looked and the power he held, it was very overwhelming to me, but in another sense very calming.   I didn't understand it then, but that is another story.

My friend Marcy came to my rescue when we were packing up from the Jackalope to leave for the weekend, she filled her truck with my display purchases and gourds.  Trisha, baby Kellen and I were to catch a flight the next day and Marcy agreed to pack my gourds and mail them to me.  She would then deliver my display purchases to my home on her way back to her home in Massachusetts in a couple weeks.  Talk about a turn of events.  How lucky was I?  When you think about all these events and how it all worked, you know there is a divine plan in everything that happens!  If this boggles your mind, wait until you read "the rest of the story".