My daughter and I spent 23 days in Santa Fe this past summer for a vacation, to attend the International Folk Art Market where I volunteered as a Block Captain, and to attend a SchoolArts Magazine Workshop and also a workshop with a well known children's book illustrator who lives in Santa Fe. More about that later. On Sunday afternoon we decided to go on a road trip up north of Santa Fe, north of Espanola, north of Abiquiu, to the area of Ghost Ranch. The month prior to our Santa Fe trip had been pretty stressful. Sometimes we just have to acknowledge it and deal with it. There had been a lot of people going thru some pretty tough times that had needed me and I had felt pulled in a lot of directions. I had noticed that in a physiologically sort of way, I had been noticeable stressed; a different sort of phenomenon for me. So, Chloe and I got a Starbucks for the planned drive, and headed off on our afternoon road trip. She fell and sprained both ankles about a week before our trip, was in two medical boots, and we used a wheelchair a bit too, so her vacation wasn't very easy. We both noticed a weight come off of us as we began our drive north. Soon we were smiling, laughing, and the further we drove north and the more beauty around us, the more I noticed our spirits had really lightened. I didn't really say much about it to Chloe, but we both remarked over and over how fun this road trip was. But, inside while I drove and we talked, I kept finding myself thinking how can a drive help destress? You see, I think I gained a glimpse of what Georgia felt. She had lived in the concrete jungle of NYC and had lived a life in the spotlight, especially after her photographer husband did a show with some revealing pictures he had taken of her. Her life became much more complicated after that. And so I think coming out here inspired her as a painter, yes, but I think it also helped her find peace like she couldn't find in New York City. She blossomed, so to speak, as a painter surrounded by the beauty of the southwest and Ghost Ranch. I think in some regards Georgia, Chloe, and I were kindred spirits on that drive. I felt the blues and greens and terra cottas of the landscape...the bright yellows, hot pinks, and reds of the wild flowers and cactus, singing to my soul. It was the most soothing thing I have done in a very long time. I often remind myself to soothe my soul. Maybe it's the artist in me. I don't know. But it's important for all of us. Believe it or not I took these pictures with my iPhone:
"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."
-Georgia O'Keeffe, American Artist
