Glass Negative Nun

Isn't she amazing? I went up to Santa Fe (well, El Dorado to be exact) to visit Laura who is a collector/sellor of art epherma. Nope, she doesn't do email (doesn't even own a computer), so there is no link or website to provide. If you want her contact information, just email me through my profile and I'll send it to you. Raine and I have been buying these negatives from her over the past year and a half. We've become self-appointed gaurdians of this mysterious stash of images that are from one of the eight photo studios in Albuquerque at the turn of the 20th century. We'd like to think that it is from a studio that was run by a woman, called the Cobb Studio. However, there is nothing to substantiate it save for perhaps the same kinds of props used in images that are from the Cobb Studio (which makes it inconclusive). There are no inventory markings that indicate which studio these negatives came from. And, I must confess, I'm not done doing my homework as to the exact name of this photographic process. That will come in due time...there are many unanswered questions. There is something about looking at all these images taken from the cross section of life during that time frame. Who are these people? In this case, it's apparent that what we have here is more than likely someone who just took her final vows or just became a novitiate (the period of being a novice in a religious order). I've been waiting for over a year for Laura to release this last batch of images to the world; particularly this one. But, really they are all enigmatic. Maybe someday we will be able to exhibit these images so that others can see what a diverse and interesting cultural community Albuquerque was at the turn of the 20th century.

Voices From the Past...

I had been interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal a couple of weeks ago for an article that appeared in the Rio Rancho insert for the Sunday Albuquerque Journal. The reason for the interview was for the upcoming event hosted by the Art Gallery 66 for the Rio Rancho Art Association exhibition. Only Board and Committee members were allowed to participate in this, and I felt honored several times over for all of these opportunities. But, the point of this rambling is that one of the interview questions was, "what are my sources of inspiration for my art?". How do I answer that in one sentence, let alone, two or three or more? So many things inspire me. Take for example what you see posted here. The paper the work is on is about 5" x 7". It was from an estate sale of a woman who had already left this life as we know it. But she felt so much like a kindred spirit as I went through the endless stash of art supplies. I bought quite a bit which included what look like practice pieces, work in progress and probably work discarded or abandoned for the time being. I bought it not knowing why or what I would do with things that she had begun to make her marks on. This paper had quite a bit of the visual information you see by way of the lines and color. I decided to add to it and develop one area of color into a creature. Then, I added one of my glass negative images that is of a baby in a long gown propped on a chair. Suffice it to say, that the inspiration for this piece came from the past. People who no longer are. My son who is my best art critic, says it is a bit creepy even if he was fascinated by it.