I am Intransigent

I have two reactions to my new art journal and the art journaling process.

First, at the highest level, I realize that I've taken a step into a larger world and started a huge journey by taking just this one little baby step.

Second, I'm a bit shocked each time I turn the page and stare at all of that whiteness. I've learned to overcome the snow blindness of the page when I write, so I'm confident that I'll also overcome it here. I also realize this is the work, every day, to face the whiteness and take yet another baby step.


I'm totally in an experimenting stage with everything in my studio. I'm learning how the tools work. I'm learning how they interact. I'm learning how to use them and not use them. I'm trying things that I like and I don't like. I feel like a total beginner stepping fully into this realm. In every other enterprise in my life, I've reached some level of mastery from years of work and practice. Everything is fresh with the studio. Yes, I feel the advantage of the years of art in my life. I have ideas and my eye looks for things it likes, things that feel right. I'm just learning how to express these ideas, and learning how to put things together so I like the result. There's something freeing about being a beginner again in my life. It's a bit like walking in the woods after a snowfall and leaving the first footprints. (There is that snow blindness image again.)

Today, I made two entries, two very different experiments. I laid out the start of the background by using one of my new fabric stamps from India that I picked up at the Tesuque Flea Market. I just wanted to see how it would stamp using acrylic paint. The first impression went well, so I decided to lay out a background of them. After it dried, I watered down another color and painted it over the images. While that was drying, I grabbed a dictionary I keep in the studio and randomly opened it to the entry for "intransigent." It means unwilling to compromise. I love that idea, it completely resonates with me and my art journal. I added additional words that express my reaction to this word and my commitment to keeping this journal.

Many years ago, I learned how to make and keep a promise to myself. That may not seem like a life milestone to many people, but it was huge in my life, and changed so much of my inner dialog. I promised myself to start this journal, and I did it.

Something else I've learned in my life: baby steps are important. No matter how small the act, taking action in a direction changes everything. It sets you in motion, it starts building momentum. It signals the universe that you are serious, that you have your eyes open and you choose deliberately to move in a new direction. In my life, it always seems that the angels come rushing in at this point. If feels like every guide and every keeper and every fairy along the road come running out like the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy steps on the yellow brick road. They laugh with glee and cheer me on because they know that the greatest part of this life is the journey, and that each step taken consciously, with open eyes and heart, and with aligned intentions is a moment of heaven on earth. Who wouldn't cheer for that?!

Santa Fe Highlights - Day 3

The big event for the third and final day was the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market. This is unlike any flea market you have ever visited. The vendors bring goods from all over the world. There is no junk here, no resale/garage sale merchandise.


From this inauspicious entrance lies one of the five best flea markets in the world. There is no entrance fee, and no cameras are allowed, so I don't have pictures of the inside. I do have pictures of the many treasures I picked up.


Clockwise, starting from the left: a hand carved angel, a collage, two cards with additional collage images, a blue and purple fabric pouch from Guatemala (my new camera bag), a piece of religious folk art from Ethiopia, the stamp (from the Santa Fe stamp store and not the flea market), fabric stamp from India, shivalingam stone from Laos, tin assemblage (Love is the Key), a fabric pouch from Guatemala, a blue glass door knob. They are all resting on a piece of kuba cloth. I bought a few other things, but these are the highlights.

I spent time talking with several vendors, including a man from Syria selling rugs who talked to me about Islam, a vendor selling wall embroidery panels from Peru, a woman selling textiles from Guatemala, a man from South Africa selling kuba cloth and sculptures, a man from Ethiopia selling religious folk art, a man from Gilbert, Arizona selling rocks (a weakness of mine), and lots of southwestern jewelry vendors.

I spent much more time at the market than I planned, so I had to eliminate the road trip to Taos I had planned for the afternoon. Instead, I returned to the Plaza to hit a few more shops and find a delicious dinner.


I was walking past the Inn of the Anasazi and noticed their outdoor patio was adorable. I figured it was expensive (it was) but decided to eat there anyway. I had a luxurious time sitting there in the late afternoon, enjoying the best chicken quesidilla ever with a spicy mango margarita.

When I was ready to leave, something really amazing unfolded. I was waiting for my check when a woman was seated at the next table. She had wanted a table in the shade, but the only ones left were in the sun. My table was in the shade, so I spoke to her and invited her to join me at my table because I was leaving. She accepted. In the few minutes between her joining me and my check arriving, we discovered that we do the same kind of work in two different cities. The coincidences only got better from there. I ended up spending the rest of the evening with my new friend, Marlowe. She went with me to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum and then we sat in a Starbucks until they kicked us out, gabbing the whole time.

I ended my evening by packing for my return trip and scheduling a few stops for the drive home.

Don't miss the rest of my journey on day 4.