Winter Nights Arts: Una Vida Nueva en Mexico

About Winter Nights

Why the name "Winter Nights"? It is during the long, dark winter nights in Alaska that we turned to creative activities. The summers are full of subsistence activities, fishing, berry picking, gathering seaweed and gardening. During the winter nights is when we made the baskets from the materials gathered in the light of summer, mold the clay and fire it and also write books. Winter Nights Publishing is my publication company for producing various projects, the most recent being Raven House Mouse.

Now, in Mexico, the winter nights are also productive as this is when it is cooler, the skies are jam-packed with stars and warm breezes rustle through your hair as you walk along cobblestone streets with lavendar jacaranda blossoms showering down on you. I return to my studio and create clay images reflecting the life here, an Aztec water goddess for the top of the fountain, Spirit of the Egrets hinged panels and masks. I am also working on a book early mornings on my Alaskan path. Life is good.

Email me for any information or purchases.

Welcome to Lake Chapala, Mexico.

This where I now live. We are a community on the north side of Mexico's largest lake at 5000 ft. above sea level. The weather runs about 70 degrees year round except for the months of May and June which are hot. Our rainy season starts then which I, as a Sitkan, relish. (never thought I'd say that after living theTongass National Rain Forest for 12 years.) Everything grows here--just take a cutting, stick it into the ground and in a month, you have a new plant! The local people are friendly, the arts community is thriving; I never run out of image ideas for my own art.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Una Vida Nueva en Mexico

It has been a while since visiting my blog ; I am indulging in a new lifestyle in Chapala, Mexco. I moved there last November to see if the climate and culture agreed and fell in love with the area--so much so I bought a lot a mile away from the town on Chapala, planted a cactus garden and started a compost pile for my organic vegetable garden which will go in during the rainy season in July. The two gentlemen at left are a part of my family now, Luis, my partner, and the wonder dog Pele, who appeared on our doorstep in Mexico, a little street dog who loves living with us.

We returned to Sitka in May, sold the house, a large collection of Alaska Native art and books, ordered a little 13' Scamp travel trailer to be delivered to Seattle which we will haul down Hiway 101 and into Mexico. We'll camp on the lot for a while, plant trees, the vegie garden and build a studio and eventually a house. There in Mexico, I am loving being involved daily in the creation of primative pottery (low fired -smoke and chemical colorants) and making baskets from the miriad natural materals nature offers in a semi - tropical setting. The three-legged pot is an example of recent work along with 7 new masks (the one pictured is entitled "Buho Dream"). Life is good.