An art collector

If purchasing two small pieces of Native American art makes me an art collector, then I've become just that.  I have items at home that I would consider pieces of art, but they were gifts.  My friend Lesley brought me a boomerang from Australia, although admittedly it's not appropriately displayed right now.  My brother Ryan brought me an African vase that's in my living room.  Today I bought the pieces you see below.  The one on top is local pottery.  The one on the bottom is a wood carving done by a Native American artist from southern New Mexico.  Neither are huge pieces, but I was intrigued and taken by both.

I suppose the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a true statement.  I've discovered in the last couple of days that beauty can be found in a variety of surprising places.  I realize not everyone finds the same things beautiful, which I suppose is where the beholder part comes in, but I think if you look you can find aesthetic pleasure anywhere.  Santa Fe is a beautiful city.  It's primarily brown, earthy tones and I would describe the architecture as thick, heavy and strong.  It's exactly as I imagined southwest architecture would look.  I started my day at Starbucks reading a new book and drinking a mocha.  I then found an amazing toy store with tons of puzzles and games that I'd never even heard of!  I bought a dot-to-dot book for myself.  Before you laugh, or roll your eyes, you should know that this is an Extreme Dot-to-Dot book with puzzles containing up to 1400 dots.  You can't tell what the pictures are until you work the puzzles, so I'm looking forward to trying it.  I also got a couple of things for my classroom....I know, I know....but these are fun things!  Wikki Stix and finger puppets...my kindergarten students are going to be excited.

I roamed around stores and shops most of the morning.  I visited the Cathedral Basilica.  The stained glass, art and architecture throughout the sanctuary was beautiful.  I also went through the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.  There were some amazing paintings on display.  After lunch I headed to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum.  I realized within five minutes of being there that I knew very little about her.  I learned so much about her development as an artist and her life with her husband and friends.  I also visited Loretto Chapel which has the miraculous staircase.  I learned there that choir lofts were often accessed by ladders because choirs were usually made up of men.  However, at Loretto Chapel the choir was made up of women and a staircase was necessary.  It's considered a miraculous staircase because it doesn't have a center support or side rails.  After a little more shopping I headed back to the hotel to relax for the evening.  I'm hoping to get an early start tomorrow so I'll be in bed early tonight.

The weather so far has been beautiful, albeit a little cool.  According to local meteorologists today is the coldest day of the month for Santa Fe and about fifteen degrees below normal.  It's been about 40 degrees today.  Other than being a little cool however, it was a beautiful day.  The skies are a glorious blue and the sun has been shining brightly all day.  Below I've included some pictures from my visits today.  If you've not been here, I would definitely recommend it as a vacation spot!