VIVA LA VIDA A visual Odyssey

STEVE JOBS by Albert Watson

2011-11-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

i Portrait Steve Jobs by Albert Watson

There are portraits and then are PORTRAITS. Contemplative; inspiring - a collaboration between photographer and subject - Albert Watson, a photographer whose work I greatly admire for his portraiture made this classic portrait of Steve Jobs - founder of Apple. It is now apart of the visual vocabulary of our times. It speaks to timelessness - a moment and forever - engaging - interesting - even though many have tried, some nail and others only copy the iconic work of Richard Avedon's portraits of people on a simple white background. It's an interesting story of an image that has taken on a life of it's own and yet has become public domain as what represented such a creative genius who change our world as creatives and photographers. Click.

"Connecting the dots will keep your faith when you feel lost on the path."

Here's the story behind the scenes:
iPortrait
TED.com Steve JOBs How to LIVE before you Die

Notes to Self - Art journals

2011-11-06T21:36:00.001-08:00

Art journal, a set on Flickr.

I have been filling empty books for 35 years - these are some of the recent ones from my time in Chihuahua, Mexico and my visual odyssey back and forth across the borderlands and my home in Northern Arizona. I enjoy their randomness - sometimes I see lines I'm following unfold in odd or non-linear patterns - an archtypes- mermaids; southwestern imagery; exotic women- fotos from my friends- fotos I admire - paintings -elegant oriental or colorful folk art - I still want to draw more -but find myself blogging or face booking- but I still love to sit and drink coffee in bed with my half full book/ books. I am less hung up on staying in one book - I often find myself carrying around a couple of them these days - letters, notes - torn out magazines, words that catch my eye. I still travel with a glue stick, and enjoy a new pen with a thin line - my journals have been my best traveling companion and refuge where I return to myself when I feel lost and dare to dream.

TEDxSF - Louie Schwartzberg - Gratitude

2011-10-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

There are some mornings when you receive a gift; your heart opens and you become connected to the bigger picture. Sometimes it's a message from a friend you haven't seen in a long time; or your best friend makes you an appointment to receive bodywork to soothe your Soul and heal your pain; somedays you help someone and other days they help you. It's being reminded to be and live in GRATITUDE. Here's to the beauty of the world; the gift of yet another day.

A GRAND Return : Grand Canyon, Colorado River Trip

2011-10-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

"Hey Raechel, this is your sister Chelsea; I'm trip leading and there's a spot. We leave monday- wanna go boating? "

14 days on the river after barely emerging from south of the border I barely touch upon home ; 12 hours later I am heading to Lee's Ferry down stream with a first timer boatman, Ryan a California boatman and the OARS crew- a posse of guides and guests. It is great to be back - so many years of my life and all the memories - Science camps- guitars - frost and wind; baking sun; cool shadows; a cast of characters all within the fold of earth, river and sky. After 5 years gone I am assured with a smile that the River still runs downstream - the river songs - light and shadows of the changing seasons - continuing doing what they've always done - storms; floods; some rocks move and others seem forever in they're place - soothe jazz and poetry - a river note and laughter - a soft cheek on hard rock -

Raechel Running and jetsonorama

2011-10-02T13:16:00.001-07:00

Raechel Running and jetsonorama, a photo by xomiele on Flickr.

I have been inspired by JETSONORAMA's visual dialogue from the streets of downtown Flagstaff to the bead stands along HWY 89 -
I hope to help give voices to the walls of my communities on both sides of the fence -

VIRTUAL FRIENDS : RV's, pool time... & Meatloaf AGAIN?????

2011-08-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Skype. What would I do without it? When no one comes to Mexico Skype dates are the next best thing to being there - family photos - a walk around the yard ; Dkish is on a mission to climb Yosemite - she's not quite living the dirt bag life - but living out of a custom van with her climbing partner, the VERM.

My usual question is, "Where ARE you now?" ....we laugh from afar ; we still make each other laugh ; share photo tips and geek out on what the photo industry is doing ; we're both taking Digital Story Telling workshops - and each of us following our passions ; Jason is running the photo center - is house sitting for DKish. One day he sends photos of the NEW pool while Dawn's gone - just never know what he'll come up with next, but its sure to be good -virtual summertime.

DAWNKISH Blog SPOT

FlagstaffPHOTOCenter

She sent me this video about RVing about life on the road

if you've ever worked 'on location' with a video/movie crew this is HILARIOUS....

Be forewarned contains LOTS of ##$$(@&!! expression.

When friends are faraway.... BEWARE anything could happen.

POOL??

Absent but DEAR....

MEANWHILE on FACEBOOK Class reunion means something completely different.

It has been amazing really; some of us liberal; others more right than right itself; the lines of division of the social order we grew up with blurred and we discover one another for all the diversity of a lifetime.

It's been truly inspiring and endearing really - and I find myself Laughing out loud hysterically at times. We give each other marital advice; recipes; calls to action; birthday shout outs ; support ; watch the kids and the gardens grow; go on first dates; lament lost loves and cats; celebrate new loves ; meet the wife; the husband; breakup; make up; and rekindle new friendships. I mean really, who needs reality TV when the characters who star in your own life are just as real if not more ?

Sometimes I wonder WHY some people want to be friends but you never hear from them anyways; or you might not agree with a 'Friends' political stance especially these days but they're like family and the point counter point can "un-friend" some and people you've never met ' become more than 'friends'.

It's a phenomena of Social Media. So how to start your day ? with a little song; a photo; some love; and forgiveness. Exercise our first amendment rights and get proactive on issues that mean something to you. Here's a little shout out to the world to share some of my dearest and funniest -

Class of FHS 83 with Geoff Gonzales and Skip Spackeen on my last visit to Tucson.

I grew up with some great people who make me laugh out loud thirty years later. They make you smile at the irony and oddness of life's little je noi se quois ..... This was classic.

Many of us were in Mr Bame's 7th music class. Rocky theme song was one of our favorites.

Darrin played Sax; and we were in the flute section. Our Facebook reunion has been a startling heart felt connection to the Flagstaff we knew and loved; we laugh out loud wherever we are.

SILENT SPRING: RACHEL CARSON LINK

WIKI Rachel Carson

Try to not use the word "STILL"; just DO IT.

2011-08-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ceramic Artist EvaZeisel:

Making art at 104

"the playful search for beauty

was called the first activity of Man"

"Still" is not a word Eva uses when discussing making art.

What I find inspiring is most of my friends in the 60s,70s,80s are DOING their work with passion and gusto - there is never enough time in the day it seems no matter what age when there are things to learn and one remains curious about the world. Eva lived through some of the most interesting times as we are now. So many people overwhelmed by the fast pace; the impersonal; the destruction of the environment; meanness and apathy abound. So what of it?

So will the world as we know it END? I don't think so. I perfer to think of new beginnings - and that's where the dream begins . How do you envision the world? How does one be ? and what can one do? Don't buy into the fear...and never think you're too old for it; We live in such amazing times and hearing Eva's reflection on life and see how she continues to do her art is truly inspiring.

I came across this beautiful quote from an old love letter from years ago. It holds true for these times as well.

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.”

— T. H. White, The Once and Future King

Pierfranco Fasola 50+

TED TRANSLATOR ASSOCIATE

Oct 30 2009: I find it interesting when she says, "the playful search for beauty was called the first activity of Man". I think Joseph Campbell once said something along these lines. There is a point in the history of humanity, around 500,000 years ago - I think - in which you start finding stone tools that are not just useful but also very well crafted. Tools with excellent symmetry, shape and proportion. It's what Robinson Jeffers called the "divinely superfluous beauty". The British Museum in London has some of these stones on display, and there you see very clearly that whoever cut those stones was making not just a tool but also a very nice object. Campbell says that no animal would do things like that. So, may be, this is what defines us as human beings: the search for beauty, in objects, in words and in what we do. I think this is why we care about design. Usefulness alone is not enough.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1987/04/13/1987_04_13_036_TNY_CARDS_000345268

http://modular4kc.com/2010/03/26/design-friday-eve-zeisel-104-years-of-living-artistry/

Manifest Destiny & Fake Snow

2011-08-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

KEEP IT REAL : SAVE THE PEAKS

San Francisco Peaks wiki
Truesnow.org

THE KATCHINAS:
KatchinaChaching

BLACKFIRE

Why Is the Mountain Sacred? Star Maps and Orion

The HOT SPOT... Needs to COOL DOWN.Pray for Rain.

Klee Benally being singled out during a peaceful protest at Macy's Coffee House.

The Sacred Mountain.

Photo by Jason Hasenbank ; After reading all our posts about Klee's arrest
Jason ran into him in downtown Flag after the storms surrounded by rainbows

Manifest Destinynounthe 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the U.S. throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.I was taught Manifest Destiny was a good thing. I remember Arizona and US History for the charistmatic teachers we had- reflecting back on it over beers 30 years later with Skip and Geoff we agreed we were a teachable group of kids - with teachers who took us out on field trips to all the amazing historical sites around the Flagstaff region.

The word came up recently reading Inga Musio's new book ; LOVE in Violent Times ; She refers to it as frontier mentality - I have God's right to do what I want to the land and have dominion over the people, whatever I want and whatever I say.

Words never cease to amaze me. I am in Disbelief over the destruction on the Mountain these days. Shameful for educated people to have such disregard for the First People Nations of Arizona. I will add some of the comments from FB ; or join the dialogue. This is information about what's happening back in the hometown. heartfelt response; tough point counter point.

George Breed

‎--
I apologize. No, no, don’t try to hug me or make me feel better. I feel fine. I apologize for thinking that trees and wildlife and a mountain and a sense of sacredness are more important than profit and revenue and tourists. No, no, I don’t need to sit down, thank you. I’m not that old. I apologize. I apologize that my values are different from the values of the wealthy and the politically connected. I apologize that I haven’t learned that the entire earth is open to plunder. What’s that you say? It’s not plunder, it’s development? See what I mean? How ignorant I am! Okay. I apologize that I have been thinking that development is plunder and pillage and rape. What? I am not to speak of development and rape in the same sentence? I am to re-read the pledge I signed? What pledge? Wait! Wait! I am not done apologiz . . . . . .

6 hours ago · · 13 people
Pamela Desertkid Krueger wish you were on the city council
5 hours ago · · 3 people
Stephani Sarnoski What's going on is disgusting and i wish more people were speaking out against it. It makes me feel powerless to just watch this happen to our trees and our mountain.
5 hours ago · · 2 people
Martha Shideler And now our young people--and others--who speak out.
5 hours ago · · 1 person
Christina Norlin Thank you George....
5 hours ago ·
Pamela Desertkid Krueger Flagstaff has had the "small town environment" for so many years which entices many to come and live there. However, the more people who move there with different and new ideas, the more Flagstaff will become a bigger and more unfriendly town. Very sad...I would still be there if I did not like the snow and cold so much.

SOME RANDOM replies: unedited.

Do they drink that treated wastewater? If so, then I suppose they don't consider themselves very sacred. I smell a phony scheme.

Jim,I heard about them having to come in and do some mojo to get rid of bad Bush spirits. That disgusted me so I felt like screaming. We should go down there and do a few human sacrifices on that oh-so-holy temple of theirs. Idiots.

Posted by: Phoenix | 03/13/2007 at 08:08 PM

Why didn't the Indians assimilate into our culture?

Posted by: Phoenix | 03/13/2007 at 08:09 PM

And another Native American group complained when one of the Apollo Program managers' ashes were deposited on the Moon -- because the Moon was sacred to them
Tough shit, it was sacred to that guy, too.

Posted by: OINK | 03/14/2007 at 01:36 PM

What did those Indians want NASA to do? Go back up there and get the guy's ashes?

ugh....

Posted by: Phoenix | 03/14/2007 at 08:32 PM

What caught my eye and made my jaw drop....

EXCERPTS from WIKI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_Destiny

All Mexico

After the election of Polk, but before he took office, Congress approved the annexation of Texas. Polk moved to occupy a portion of Texas which was also claimed by Mexico, paving the way for the outbreak of the Mexican-American War on April 24, 1846. With American successes on the battlefield, by the summer of 1847 there were calls for the annexation of "All Mexico," particularly among Eastern Democrats, who argued that bringing Mexico into the Union was the best way to ensure future peace in the region.^[23]

This was a controversial proposition for two reasons. First, idealistic advocates of Manifest Destiny like John L. O'Sullivan had always maintained that the laws of the United States should not be imposed on people against their will. The annexation of "All Mexico" would be a violation of this principle. And secondly, the annexation of Mexico was controversial because it would mean extending U.S. citizenship to millions of Mexicans. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who had approved of the annexation of Texas, was opposed to the annexation of Mexico, as well as the "mission" aspect of Manifest Destiny, for racial reasons. He made these views clear in a speech to Congress on January 4, 1848:

[W]e have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race—the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind, of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of mixed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race.... We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged ... that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty over all the world, and especially over this continent. It is a great mistake.^[24]

Manifest Destiny had serious consequences for Native Americans and African Americans, since continental expansion implicitly meant the occupation and annexation of Native American land, sometimes to expand slavery. The United States continued the European practice of recognizing only limited land rights of indigenous peoples. In a policy formulated largely by Henry Knox, Secretary of War in the Washington Administration, the U.S. government sought to expand into the west through the nominally legal (by United States law) purchase of Native American land in treaties. Indians were encouraged to sell their vast tribal lands and become "civilized", which meant (among other things) for Native American men to abandon hunting and become farmers, and for their society to reorganize around the family unit rather than the clan or tribe. The United States therefore acquired lands by treaty from Indian nations, usually under circumstances which suggest a lack of voluntary and knowing consent by the native signers, and in many cases a lack of authority by the signers to make any such transaction.

In the age of Manifest Destiny, this idea, which came to be known as "Indian Removal", gained ground. Although some humanitarian advocates of removal believed that American Indians would be better off moving away from whites, an increasing number of Americans regarded the natives as nothing more than savages who stood in the way of American expansion. As historian Reginald Horsman argued in his influential study Race and Manifest Destiny, racial rhetoric increased during the era of Manifest Destiny. Americans increasingly believed that Native Americans would fade away as the United States expanded. As an example, this idea was reflected in the work of one of America's first great historians, Francis Parkman, whose landmark book The Conspiracy of Pontiac was published in 1851. Parkman wrote that Indians were "destined to melt and vanish before the advancing waves of Anglo-American power, which now rolled westward unchecked and unopposed."^[30]

AFROPOP music FEST in the Desert MALI

One HEART, One LIFE -SAVE A LIFE ENSURE A CULTURE.

2011-07-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

" On the path of service, all doors will OPEN. " His Holiness the Dali Lama

My first trip to Copper Canyon was a cold, wet and rainy January in 2010. I joined my friend, Gil Gillenwater, founder of RANCHOFELIZ.COM. to document the beginnings of the www.Oneheartworld-wide.org charter birth training program.

Arlene Samen, Gil Gillenwater and team at the Instituto Chihuahua de Salud 2010.

Gil Gilenwater presents OHWW a check for their work in Copper Canyon.
Funds were raised with Rancho Feliz' RIDE the REZ in 2009 and help to support health,
education and housing opportunities on the border lands for over 20 years.

We joined OHWW founder, Arlene Samen, and her team for a couple days. We bounced down dirt roads, forded the Urique River, and climbed, steep and winding canyon paths to attend and participated in a traditional Raramuri Ceremony that was held to bless the success of the project in a remote community. After an all night vigil, and mornings visiting the midwifes homes we returned. I met women, mothers, daughters, and sisters who lived in traditional cave dwellings and lived down by the river under the shelter of towering cactus.

I returned earlier this year again to Urique,with OHWW to document their gift of a sonogram
for the community of Urique. I documented their doctor/ net of safety training program to help Mexican doctors better interface with their Indigenous clients with Dr. Janette Jager. The miracle came in the middle of the night and I was able to attended an amazing birth with Dr. Jager at the clinic one early morning. The first cries of life and a safe birth was a gift for me to remember why I am a photographer.

Train to Urique : Depart 6 am Chihuahua City

Doctor and Network of Safety Training Urique

First Sonogram Patients at the Urique Health Clinic

BIRTH: 2AM

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with their organization. Please visit their website to learn how you can support LIFE and the continuation of these special cultures.

One Heart has just released these PSAs to help raise awareness of their work in the far reaches of the world. From Mexico's Copper Canyon to the other side of the planet, in China and Nepal. What is in common with these places is the remoteness of these Indigenous cultures ; and at the heart is the intention to empower communities to within their own cultural frame work with their own traditional birthing knowledge and integrated modern safe child birthing practices to help ensure the continuation of life.

Tarahumara of Mexico from Sibylle Kristensen on Vimeo.

Arlene recently spoke in San Francisco about her work saving

mother's lives in the remote regions of the world. TED.com

Arlene Samen, Founder Director, OHWW

RUNNING Around the WEST

2011-06-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Stoic Indians; Geri Curls; Edward Curtis;
the Parallax Effect

and
Running Around the WEST

  Indigenous Today - Assimilated Tomarrow
   An Exploration of
"Native"?

Photographer, Edward Curtis and his portraits of Native America.

"The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other," he wrote, "consequently the information that is to be gathered, for the benefit of future generations, respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost for all time."
Edward Curtis 1900

Edward Curtis:
The Imperfect Eye of Edward Curtis
Cristopher Cardozo Fine Art Gallery ; Curtis Collection

I work on my computer at all odd hours of the day and night processing images of Copper Canyon, and the life of every day Mexicanos from my community that feels like a love affair with no end in sight - I continually review my archive of four years of my work living bi-nationally in Chihuahua - I am in my fourth year of documentation ; compelled to follow a feeling and following the visual lines wondering how long it will be or if the body of work, an archive will ever come to an 'end'. I live less and less state side, and find myself living a sequestered life following the lines that brought me here. I listen to HOPI radio late into the night.

I was inspired by this talk about NATIVE identity / and how contemporary Americans perceive 'Indigenous', Native American cultures, tribes and their histories. It was an interesting discussion with Dine' photographer, William R. Wilson and Professor Janet Berlo of the University of Rochester about cultural "Identity". There is much to think about -

HOPI RADIO KUYI
Native America Calling:Archive
www.NativeAmericaCalling.com

Monday, June 27, 2011– Parallax Effects: (listen)
Do you feel Native Americans are seen by other Americans the same now as we were 120 or 150 years ago? A professor of art history and visual cultural studies thinks so, and she’s trying to change these perceptions. The Native community is also trying to re-create our image. The term “parallax effects” refers to the numerous ways culture can be presented from different points of view. Do you think images of Indians from the 19th Century have become so powerful that people have difficulty seeing us in any other way? Guests include Professor Janet Berlo of the University of Rochester (N.Y.)

This discussion on Edward Curtis and the contemporary works of William Wilson
caught my attention. One, the fact that Curtis worked for 30 years on pursuing his vision making a historical documentation of the Indigenous Cultures of the Americas. Curtis' photos are widely known and are available at numerous Stop N Go's through out the west on dollar postcards and coffee cups; campy authentic 'Indian' art on Rt 66 and wild west outposts adjacent to Diary Queens AND simultaneously sell for thousands of dollars in fine ART galleries through out the designer southwest in high end galleries; I find it a bit disconcerting and ironic, Edward Curtis, one of the great documenters of our time, left this incredible legacy, like so many artists, died broke and alone. Yet his work stands the testament of time.

William Wilson work is strong in conception; pushing boundaries and as a Dine' photographer, shares his thought provoking images within the context of his own culture. Powerful. Beautiful and well conceived. I look forward to explore the work he curated for the VISION PROJECT. I was also inspired that he is making a greenhouse 'hogan' to collect traditional stories related to food. Another aspect of photography to document culture and how artists/photographer's explore their own cultural identities - He teaches photography at IAIA. I actually considered what it would be like to return to 'school' again if I could afford it after hearing this talk - to gain academic credibility - to be within the context of the regions that continue to captivate me - but then again - it's a matter of just doing your work....and following your lines and exploring your medium of expression.

Check out the powerful work by Dine' Photographer, Will Wilson...

WILLIAM R WILSON: Auto Immune Response

The Parallax Effect; Native Imagery ; Then and Now

WEBSITE: William R Wilson

Elizibeth AVEDON Blog: WILLIAM R WILSON: Auto Immune Response:

IAIA: VISION PROJECT LINK

RUNNING AROUND The WEST:
My dad and Curtis

Two Marines. Family Reunion Blue Mesa AZ

Buffalo Dancer John Running

I have been influenced by Curtis' work all my life it seems. I grew up with the comparison of his work to my dad, John Running's work- All these visually attuned designers,art directors, and photographers, knew of my father's work because Running was renowned for his 'Native American' portraiture and classic cowboys. Running's work epitomized the spirit of 'The WEST'.

My dad would pull me out of my miserly high school existence so I could get some worldly experience. It was the beginning of my learning to become a photographer as my father's assistant. Traveling with my dad, road trips and flying across the country are some of my favorite memories- we continued to travel together on assignment for many years to follow.

We went Washington DC and on to NYC to present an audio/visual show on Indian Water Rights in the early 80's at the US Senate where the Watergate hearings took place - and atop the TIME Life building. It was my first time in a high rise building over 5 stories tall; and I got stuck in the elevator trying to navigate a huge box of projectors; Dad walked out and the doors closed on me. Down I went and back up again - there was a garbage strike and there were huge bags of trash all over the roof tops and sidewalks- I slept on a futon in a loft and watch Saturday Night LIVE, LIVE from from NYC !! Fiorucci and Canal Street Jeans - I came back to Arizona feeling mighty Hip .

But really what has always stayed with me was the meeting of great designers and visionaries. I wanted to be an art director, graphic designer/illustrator or so I thought. I will always remember walking into the Museum of Modern Art in NYC to meet  James Miho whom we never met before. We walked right into each other amidst the crowd of strangers as if we had been long time family friends. I would meet him again years later when I attended California College of Arts and Crafts on the school lawn. We would later meet designer and Art Director, B. Martin Peterson; and our crazy Fetish photographer friend, Eric Kroll. Even in the big city, we were connected because of photography,design and the western appeal of the cultures and landscape.

The only time I ever got 'grounded' was for my first ever hangover; what was a dad to do? He was so diplomatic that he asked ME what WE should do about it and jointly agreed I should be grounded for a week - meaning no hanging out at Alpine Pizza. Miraculously that week, dad pulled me out of school for three days to meet Art Director Hans Teensma to photograph, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.  Being the rad dad that he is he never made me make it up -

I still think of sipping ice tea with the retired senator instead of being in school helping my dad make one of his classic Running portraits; there I was flying a shiny board in front of a stand of cactus. Senator Goldwater, loved the peoples and landscape of the southwest and made an incredible body of work.

I wish I could say something akin about Arizona's current government besides their obvious racist and narrow minded leadership and no vision. But I digress.... This post is about the LOVE for our amazing cultural diversity ! Another story for another time - these were the formative experiences that have led me to my choice to pursue photography as a way of life ; perhaps that is why my dad is still the biggest supporter of this extended stint in Mexico that has completely changed the course of my life ! He continually tells me to do my work.

Can I blame Vermeer's paintings for his quality of light and good ol' Curtis for his photographic passion that has influenced my father's camera's eye and love for the lands and cultures of the Greater Southwest? Curtis and Running, their work has defined a certain way I see and perceive portraiture. I sometimes play with these styles - I look to the past to give a look and feel to my work.

Some say it's anthropology - others conclude it's exploitation of a perception of what defines being "Indian"; "Native"; "Indigenous". Both Curtis and Running (dad) are critiqued at times for their being "White, non Indians "- I know that my dad has also been embraced by his Indian friends because of his 'good heart' and that his Dine' "Navajo" friends would say , "his pictures tell the truth".

By the expressions and what Curtis was allowed to photograph, it looks to me like he was trusted by the people he photograph. I can't say for sure but that's a feeling I get when I look at his work. Both photographers have been drawn to document the Indigenous cultures of their time and place in history. Theirs is not strictly an objective viewpoint but is also a personal love for the people they photograph.

Snake Dance Edward Curtis

Hopi Snake Priest : Edward Curtis

Edward Curtis has been celebrated and critiqued for his Native American portraits. Regardless of what camp you land in - what remains true in the proof of the work is it is a spectacular collection of Native Indigenous America - spanning over thirty years and twenty volumes. I had NO idea -

I am awed by his dedicated vision and obsession to follow his passion.
He followed his calling and he took the time. Now people want to have instant access to cultures and instant enlightenment. I wonder what he felt and how he kept his courage up. Who did he speak to in his moments of doubt.

How de we see and define Native"culture" from different viewpoints? How do others see "us" and "them" ? how do we perceive or know "ourselves"? Sometimes we get trapped in stereotypes of what we think people should act like or look like for that matter. What is it that fuels the dialogue ? The hateful retortic of racism? Some folks try to get to a common humanity and others fight like hell to divide and segregate because of the definitions of 'the word'.

I remember being about three years of age going to the pueblos in New Mexico when my dad was following his photographic passions. The family would pile into the green VW bus and we would camp out and go to San Ildefonso , Acoma, Zuni pueblos. Signs at the pueblos would say ' NO WHITES'. But our mother, Helen, was a beautiful brown skinned woman and from the West Indies, from the island of Trinidad. It sounded Native to me - I often felt sorry for my white father ; and had no understanding of the differences of color or cultures ; Indian way always involves teasing and my mom looked like a beautiful Puebloan or Navajo woman... we were the undefinable 'brown children'.
I can still remember sitting in the back of our green VW bus and the tribal representatives of the pueblos would teasingly say, "we'll keep your wife and kids" cause we were brown like them but not my dad with his blue eyes.
The memory still is a bit disconcerting. I felt sorry for him and I barely could comprehend the differences of us and them. The photos my dad made still are vivid in my memories. The smell of the kitchens; the firing of pots,all the grandmas; the pageantry, beauty and mysteries of the ceremonies I saw as a small child return to me all these years later and influences my love for this adopted land of Mexico I now call home.

As an image maker I have to question my own work documentation of different cultures other than my own. I am not Mexican or "Native American" or am I ? I was raised around Mexican and Indian people, does there culture become apart of me? or am I a 'Wanna Be"? Indian, Mexican - or were we all suppose to assimilate and take on the dominate culture and join the "Jones" of Americana? I hardly know anything about my own heritage - Chinese who escaped China's Revolution to work on the Panama Canal and lived in Suriname ; and my African Slave roots who were brought to the Americas. The mixing of bloods and cultures with all the taboos regardless. What is assimilation?

In my own work I wonder if I am perpetuating a 'stereotype' ? or making a historical record/archive? Is it an identity "play"? an imposed reflection? or a anthropological documentary of a time and place of people and history? What does "Native", "Indigenous" mean ? Throw in what's PC; Should I feel shame or be more 'white' than "brown"? or am I a "brown-a person of color" reacting to the definitions because of what I look like? or identify with?

I am brown because I have African Slave blood in me... but I am not African American; I am more Afro Caribbean in DNA but feel more Mexican because I was born into a Mexican community. My parents moved to Flagstaff,AZ from the island of Trinidad where I was conceived so my dad to attend NAU on the GI bill and study anthropology. There were no Trinidadians in a mountain town of Arizona in 1965. It has been a point of redefinition - learning how to articulate in words and in images; at times disconcerting and I have to back up and look for the meaning of words and rewrite them.

What is the definition of what constitutes 'Native'. Does it mean " Indian" or does it mean 'Native' to the land; like the line in the song, Train to New Orleans, "I'm your Native son..." does being born in the Americas regardless of our colors, and ethnic backgrounds mean were Native Arizonans ? or Alaskans ? Americans? Are 'Mexican's' Native? or 'Illegals' ? It sometimes is painful and confusing to sort out the definitions -  I get caught in the definitions because of our last name RUNNING; which is actually Swedish, which I of course don't look Swedish at all,except to people who are Swedish - Our last name has often has been mistaken as short for "Running BEAR" or some adage that may reference some kind of "Indian" heritage. Even now when I cross the border - although my passport says American Citizen, I sometimes have been asked what kind of American am I - "No, I am not Mexican - SI, mi gusta habla en Español - No I am not Indian - I am actually Chinese, Black and White I say smiling ; PURO American thanks to the US Marine Corp !! It can be interesting and nerve wracking - it can be scary too as I have been with friends when they were racially attacked - It is not something I grew up knowing but witnessed sometimes and it was horrible - I still get caught in the definition or prison of checked boxes of race to define who, or what I am or belong to - I still have to rethink my words / images and the people I care for the most make me rethink what am I saying/ feeling/ thinking ???

WANNA BEs - JHERI CURLS -

Real INJUNS

KEEPIN' UP WITH THE JONES

Sometimes I see "New Agers" and Germans, Wild for Winnetou, Wanna Be Indians dressing more "Indian" than traditional 'Native' peoples. I remember when the Jheri Curl look hit the rez and everyone sort of had 'black' hair in the late 70's. Rare to see the long traditional Dine hair style - a bun wrapped with long stands of white wool; or Pueblo style stepped bangs that represented clouds the and beautiful whirls of hair on the young maidens people now refer to as "the Princess Leah hair do" to represent the flowers of youth.

THE TRANSPORTATION OF PLACE: ANDREA ROBBINS & MAX BECHER

Weekend Indians in Germany

Meanwhile in the 80's men and women were sporting the Michael Jackson inspired Jheri curly mullet hairstyle that is now iconic - the 90's long in your face, heavy metal layered hair; Year 2000 - E- all of the above mixed with Rastafarian dreads and inner city gangsta, hip hop and punk rock and death metal - shaved heads and black baggy, prison culture style permeates REZ culture - When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The Jheri Curl LOOK with Michael J!

Dine' Painter, Shonto Begay's paintings
are documentary reflections of the contemporary juxtapositions of tradition, modern times; the wasted landscape and the enduring beauty of what remains.

I gaze into the Kivas at night to see the families sitting together in their Phoenix Suns T-shirts and tennis shoes holding babies and gifts of corn - the towering shadows of Katchinas dance behind modern portraits on the ancient adobe walls. Modern culture and the effects of 'assimilation' and TV Brady Bunch consumer culture can be found more and more in the far reaches of the world - I often am stunned as I watch the changes before my eyes.

I have been at ceremonies on the rez for the dances and remember 4th of July Pow Wows in downtown Flagtown; All the tribes came to Flagstaff in the 70's for 4th of July weekend. It was crazy,colorful, and a celebration of all the cultures of the region. It had it's dark side with extreme displays of drunkenness that hold painful memories of the efforts of alcohol amongst the visiting tribes; pride; profit;getting your kicks on Rt 66; KC and the Sunshine band and Coca Cola Cowboys, the A.I.M.sters, 49's and Injun Kars . Forty years later, 4th of July is more is more of a predominately homogenous patriotic celebration in spite of the Hopi show.  Pow Wow back in the day was a surreal world for us kids. Stoic Zuni Women with amazing pots balanced on their heads; Navajo Princesses; Aztec dancers; Grass Dancers; Fire Dancers; and the Apache Spirit dancers- who made you stand closer to your mom so you wouldn't get "kidnapped" - It was an amazing colorful event ; All America, all Indian, Five and Dime popcorn and Icee slushees; the smell of the camp fires and rows upon rows of every kind of Native American arts and crafts; Pow Wow, rodeo and carnival - an experience . Everyone in the best Western, Indian, Hippy wear - milling through the mud of the summer's monsoon rains.

Still in these 'modern' times, traditional Katsina dancers pray for rain on the mesas maintaining traditions that have been passed down for thousands of years of migration and communing with the Spirits of the land of this world. Ancient ceremonies to keep the world in balance . The Katsina's represent the elements of the natural world; clouds, rainbows, stars; The scene still looks like a time when Edward Curtis photographed but different with the changing times. Stepped adobe pueblos rise above the mesas now with satellite dishes; people on the roof tops, sitting in rows in the shade near the plaza, the younger generations are wearing Bob Marley and Motor Head Heavy Metal T-shirts ; Homie Gangsta Rez Style, black and baggy silhouettes stand on the roof tops; Children in traditional dress and wearing Sponge Bob Square Pants and Dora the Explorer t-shirts - the multifamily generations - tradition meet mass marketing brands; still traditional grandmothers in colorful shawls and old Grandpas sport classic western shirts with snap pearl buttons, with their family heirloom Squash blossom necklaces, a turquoise earring; a cowboy hat or a colorful scarf around their head. Now there's baseball hats and every kind of graphic logo under the sun.

My painting from one of my photos in collaboration with my ex husband, Dine' artist, writer Shonto Begay

Real Indians Eat Jello ;
Assimilation in the good ol USA.

What's defines what a real Indian look like these days ? Hollywood ? Louis Lamour? Mel Gibson? Who defines our identities ? Are they blue aliens like in recent movie, AVATOR? Or do we really want to perceive ourselves as cartoon figures in cyber world? Are we apt to believe the movies and still not get the lesson that the land is still Sacred ? Many of these tribes had to adopted and usually by force, to assimilate into the dominant society. How is it Native American Boarding Schools were justified in their imposed views towards non-whites? If they resisted they were killed - forcefully removed from their families; raped; tortured; punished for speaking their own languages; taught to hate their own cultural identity. The effects now are high rates of alcoholism and suicide; diabetes and subsistent living on many of the reservations created during the encroachment westward ho!  What has been the long term effects of Manifest Destiny  ??

BROKEN TREATIES:

Perhaps one of the strongest bodies of work I've ever come across is by photographer, Aaron Huey. For a little history lesson do yourself the favor and watch his TED talk about LIFE on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

AARON HUEY: PHOTOGRAPHER

KEEP IT REAL : SAVE THE PEAKS

It's the year 2011. The Flagstaff City Council has over ridden logic and foresight and has approved the diabolical plan to pump reclaimed water on the sacred mountain - The San Francisco Peaks.  The University of Northern Arizona, NAU wants to cut down the old grandfather trees for more modernity at the expense of history and more collage students who will take on huge debt; the quaintness and multiethnic community that I grew up in disappears - along with the melting of the polar caps.

Question is why do a majority of NON NATIVES have such a narrow perception of INDIAN people? It is quite stunning - shocking, sad. Why do so many people stuck in a rut with limited and outdated ideas of who are Indigenous peoples? Why are contemporary environmental struggles still play out like the ol' black and white Indian and Cowboy movies my dad grew up with?

Why isn't there millions of people as concerned about the state of the natural world? or care about the effects of logging, mining and water issues ? It seems obvious our planet is in a state of duress -

Listen to their cultural concerns about the Sacredness of mountains and trees ? unless they're wearing feathers or is there something that we just want to believe these endearing cultures have disappeared so we don't have to be accountable for the horrible history that came with the self appointed right that harold the making of United States of America Manifest Destiny ???

Our 'civilized' world continues to desecrated and destroy the forests of the Amazon and the last enclaves of wilderness; Big business wants to mine the earth and displace traditional peoples across the globe. At what expense to the well being of the world?

The 1973 Indian Band, XIT "Color Nature Gone' is a prophecy of our times....

The genius of culture is the ability to survive in impossible conditions, Davis concluded. We cannot afford to lose any of that variety of skills, because we are not only impoverished without it, we are vulnerable without it.

Wade Davis, The Wayfinders

My Dad's work :

John Running HONOR Dance:
Amazon.com Review of HONOR DANCE.

It is a widely held--but false--notion that the Hopi do not want to be photographed because they feel the camera will steal their spirit. The real reason, says John Running, is that "they don't want photographs taken that make them feel like curiosities." Running, in the words of a Navajo friend, "takes pictures of the truth," which not only describes his remarkably candid photographs, but also explains how he got them. Here in color and black and white are images of Native Americans of many tribes, deliberately and proudly posing for portraits in their homes and Running's makeshift studios, doing ceremonial dances, and above all, being themselves.

Mentor extraordinaire, RUNNING and the Studio BABEs ;
Muses and visual artists :

Ceramic artist, Chelsea Atwood,

Photographers and Muses : Margeux Bestard and Kristen Caldon.

Hopi Traditional Dancer

Dine' Musician, RC Nakai John Running

Visual explorations of my work influenced by the Edward Curtis aesthetic

with my friend and muse, Rex Bizaholoni over the years.

Time Travel shot for Arizona Highways 2006

Homage to an old hat

Paquime ; Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, MX

Birth
Confluence of Havasupai
and the Colorado River Grand Canyon

The Crossing by Cormac MaCarthy ; BOOKDRUM

2011-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

THE CROSSING:

http://www.bookdrum.com/

Second prize was awarded to Gordon Knox for The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy.
What the judges said: "Clear, thoughtful and enticing, written with a brilliant understanding of the book - covering not only its strengths but also those elements that might present obstacles to readers. Genuinely exciting - it really makes you want to read the book."

Anyone who has a passion for reading OR CHIHUAHUA will enjoy this website.

It is completely inspirational - very interesting facts, links, movies, photos, songs; art and history. It is a great example of how access to knowledge and social media are being combined in new forms of communication. I find this completely inspiring and really embraced this opportunity to join in the process of detailed story telling.

One of the best parts about being a photographer is all one has to learn at any given assignment. To know more of a place through the words of poets and writers deepens the understanding and illicits a deeper response. Sometimes one is informed after the fact and that too is interesting.

I was contacted via Flickr a few months ago by Gordon a nice British chap who expressed a passion for Cormac McCarthy's book, THE CROSSING, for a book review contest that was in full swing.

Three years ago I was asked to document and create a website for a hunter's ranch here in the Sierra. The economic and media wars has thrown a damper

on many people's dreams to create eco'tourism businesses-

I wasn't a hunter, a cowboy, or familiar with this world. this was my introduction into wildlands/ranch/ conservation. It is a journey I continue to explore in depth on the borderlands.

I asked my client what could I read to get into the mind set of the feeling he wanted to convey and that is how THE CROSSING became an integral part of my Chihuahuan education/experience. I return to this book again and again. I like having it near by -

LINKS and local reference and my photos:

The Crossing: BOOKDRUM:

Arroyo De Los Monos

Hacienda San Diego

Gordon Knox' book reviewer 2nd PLACE in BOOKDRUM 2011

Congrats Gordon! I hope you get to come to Chihuahua sometime.

The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz:

2011-06-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

Scott Peterson showed up in Casas Grandes not long after I did. Four years later he is ready to screen his independent film ; The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz: Please find him on Facebook, or contact him for a screening in your community. It feels like just yesterday I came here. Four years goes by in a blink of an eye. A lot of time and effort to bring a vision to fruition; whether it an Olla, a movie, or a body of work.

Congratulations Scott!! I look forward to seeing it!!

For donations or to see a preview in Spanish OR English please visit:

The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz:

: JUAN QUEZADA, Workshop AT RANCHO SIERRA

2011-06-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

JUAN QUEZADA

A week with Master Potter

RANCHO SIERRA MADRE

ESCUELA DE LOS ARTES

Chihuahua, Mexico

SEPT 2 TO 11, 2011

Tuition : $900 per person

Covers all expenses

including travel from Windmill, NM

NEED 10 people to Confirm by

DEADLINE : JULY 8

DEPOSIT DUE

express interest for next year 2012

ABOUT:

This is Juan Quezada’s favorite of his workshops. Here he teaches all aspects of the distinctive Mata Ortiz clay techniques he originated. No previous clay experience is necessary. Since 1998, Jim and Jo Jarvis have offered a class by Juan Quezada at their working ranch near the Cueva de la Olla in the Sierra Madre Mountains an hour west of Mata Ortiz.

At the Jarvis’ ranch, which has been in the family since 1878, You will see and experience a lifestyle untouched by telephone, electricity, or Internet (emergency radio available). Extracurricular activities include birding, rock hounding (particularly fire agate), and exploring cliff dwellings. Prehistoric rock art, both pictographs and petroglyphs, are within a ten-minute walk. This is a time when the mountains are their prettiest with wildflowers in full bloom.

SCHEDULE:

Groups caravan from and to Windmill, New Mexico (south of Lordsburg near Animas), visiting on the way the Museum of Northern Cultures at Casas Grandes and the Mormon colony of Colonia Juárez, stopping briefly both ways at Mata Ortiz.

COLLAGE CREDIT AVAILABLE:

Western New Mexico University in Silver City grants two academic credits.

PLEASE CONTACT:

Jim or Jo Jarvis

(575-436-2589, Cell 575-538-1854),

HC 65 Box 634, Animas NM 88020.

snjjarvi[at]hotmail.com

About CASAS GRANDES / MATA ORTIZ:

CENTER FOR CASAS GRANDES STUDIES

MATA ORTIZ CALENDAR

JUAN QUEZADA MASTER POTTER WORKSHOP : SEPT 2 TO 11 2011

sm@look.net

emaliecaley@fastmail.fm

Casas Grandes,Chihuahua, Mexico 31850

USA phone (rings in México): 915-261-0502

Local phone in Mexico 636-692-4402

NOTE:

Visa and Passport required for travel in Mexico

IS IT SAFE ?

We can offer our experiences of living and traveling in Mexico

for those who have questions or concerns; Please contact us.

TRAVEL / TOURS / SPANISH /ENGLISH:

www.agavelindotours.com

QUE LINDO CHIHUAHUA !! Valley of the Caves

Casas Grandes Paquime
Mata Ortiz
Colonia Juaraz
Hacienda San Diego

Field NOTES : El ARIBABI Ranch The Return of the JAGUAR

2011-06-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Sergio Avila under the canopy of a Cottonwood tree.

Aribabi-The Cottonwood trees rustle as I stand under them waiting at the green gate for Carlos' son, German. After a 5 hour drive across highway 2 from Chihuahua to Sonora I arrive as the sun sets. German takes me for a walk where we wander down the stream bed; I stand in AWE of the trees that remind of the those along the shore of the Manu River in Peru; the headwaters of the Amazon... how familiar it seems ; different and the same - the spirit of nature speaks.

My first impression are the Alamos; Their long graceful profiles- A rock. A river. A tree. I try to conjure those Cottonwoods I've know along the shores of the San Juan river and those planted along the Colorado to bring them back. I stare up and long... listening; gathering their pressence; they remind me of Yeii' dancers on Navajo rugs; Long Spirits dancing on the world.

There is a place not far from the fearful headlines of the borderlands where the river sings beneath towering Cottonwood trees. The wild nature has returned because of the visionary efforts of rancher, turned conservationist, Carlos Robales. It is the revolutionary act of stewardship to protect water resources and habitat for the flora and fauna who live within the canyons and rolling folds of the grassland valley of El Río Cocóspera.

The watershed of Cocospera Canyon rises and drops across narrow canyons. Bears and Jaguar roam deep and high in the Sierra Azul. The Canyon lands and river forests wind, rise and fall and flow to the main stem of the Cocospera River valley. There is the sound of running water under shady Alamo trees. There are patterns in nature, of the land and the movement of predators who walk long, and the prey that runs across the loose trails ; havalinas, deer,man, pumas, birds ; a squirrel scampers and observes us curiously and none too trustful.

I've been told one doesn't really want to personally confront a puma or Jaguar one of these amazing animals in the wild - but like diving in the sea and knowing there are sharks ; or going down river knowing there's a missing person report of some poor soul whose drowned because they didn't heed common sense or underestimated the randomness of natural selection - One looks for the floating corpse out of the corner of ones' eye - I have been intrigued perhaps by the story of Gabrielle Garcia Marquez ; The Most Beautiful Drowned Man in the World ; What is that engages us with the larger sense of LIFE ? there's a desire to see something.

One is aware a stealth shadow could appear - that from where we stand there could be other eyes observing us; just like what people said about the Apaches who roamed and knew these borderlands before they were borders and even after - I want to see and don't want to see 'it' - but you can feel it or wonder about it; you can feel it almost like a breath or an instinct that has been out of use ; the imprint of the presence alone makes you contemplate your own insignificant life in the larger picture. It also heightens the awareness of knowing there are less free places in the world and even those within yourself. Borderland drug wars and the politics that keep the fear machine oiled fade to the background when I reflect of standing on the same path with something more wild and unknown. and even though unseen, I want to protect it's existence; I am content to think even if I can't make a picture of 'one' how do make the beauty real enough to feel? how do I give an image to the words of Carlos' dream?

Camera trap Jaguar Photo from the Aribabi

Carlos and writer Tony Davis

It is the place where the rarely seen jaguars and pumas can exist and roam. It is enough to know they are there - like the early morning chorus of birds I hear but can not photograph because of limitations of my vision and knowing or having the right lens, I hear the magic of their song and pause in the green shade of the wetlands and remain still to feel my physical presence merge into the shimmering leaves; the song of water, and wonder about the unseen eyes that may be watching me.

I think of all the people afraid to come here and thus will never know this beauty -

the passion of one man, and his family's conviction ; the shared stewardship with the alliances who dare to dream and come to know what is of value; this peace and grace and reverence for the wild ; May we have wisdom to protect it and open ourselves to be changed by it. Carlos asks me to photograph his cousins cowboy Hector. I appreciate the invitation because I know it's about inclusivity to bring into the fold not just the conservationist and bird lovers but also for those who are apart of the local community to be seen as being apart of this stewardship. I sip water with his mother in the ranch house - Mexican radio, chickens ; The Families coming home to the ranch.

Carlos Robales and Hector in the old barn of the family ranch.

The day we leave at high noon the quiet but unmistakable track; a barely discernable shadow of retracted claws; the soft padded whisper has left it's indelible presence within the soft river sand barely seen in the blare of the sun. The silent presence belies the puma's great presence knowing it has been here - I wonder about the definition of the Fears we are willing to believe - things seen and unseen ; real or imagined. I contemplate this paw print and think about it's subtle message in the sand.

Come across the line and discover for yourself something that is not on TV but in the presence of what is sacred, mysterious and divine. Replace fear with awe of the land.

elaribabi.org/
www.wildsonora.com/ws/content/rancho-el- aribab

www.skyislandalliance.org/
www.conserventures.org/

Map and brochure links:

Conserventures/El Aribabi

I was so excited to go to the Jaguar Ranch. It has been one of my dreams ever since I came to Mexico. My best friends' husband gave me a book on Jaguars ; I got to thumb through Nick's book dummy when I was the Camp Cookie on his Grand Canyon trip a few years ago -it's not just a book - it is A BRICK of wonder ; heavy and deep for contemplation. I packed it along in the Mariachi Van to share with the Robales - to share the inspiration of how land can be protected and the way photography can help champion the cause. This is a beautiful meditation on natures' wild. Proceeds go towards the established National parks in Africa.

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Place-Earth-National-Geographic/dp/0792238818

Nick Nicholas is the bad ass daddy of camera traps; huckin' it all out there to get the shot. http://michaelnicknichols.com/gallery/cameratraps/

Shot on assignment for an upcoming article in High Country News. www.hcn.org/

In The Shape Of A Heart -Martin Luther KIng and Jackson Browne -

2011-01-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

HOPI RADIO rocks my world. ghost dancers in the moonlight and ol Jackson Browne. JOni Mitchill. The music my babysitters used to play ; and when you made out in the front seat at the Mars Hill Overlook....

I haven't heard some of these songs in years so I ask WHY tonight? a bit melancholic; the night is actually balmy ; haven't started to make dinner yet... want to make prints and put new images behind glass.... look at prints not a computer screen... all of it goes hand and hand but sometimes you got to touch your pictures....the tones, the memories; more than just ink, on the page.

It makes me think of country loves songs and red neon light l; I think of the frontera; and of a woman named Juanita or Maria Guadalupe...she is beautiful and waiting for something to happen ; what is the fate? of one or another? holes in the wall...spray paint,icons of our Lady, Mal Verde, Jesus, Coke a Cola all lined up; my mind jumps ; teenage love; mature love; what the #@k love? rhinstone cowboys ; river stones and naked trees; lost love letters and the faces

of the people I've photographed these years; the screen saver plays random photos of the past 5 years; which file is this from?...changing times / movies. the kids all getting bigger; friends now parents; rocks and water; walking up canyons to touch the heart in the breast of Sonora; wouldn't you know I found two heart stones....one green one sparkly...it felt like magic ; )

Heart rocks make me think of Laurie and Dennis; woo cafe red lights and summer nights in Flagtown ; she has a wall full of heart stones... just beautiful; usually I find worn wood.... still have a bag full of drift wood from the canyon.... old scrap from the rez... worn just so. and now there is the gold of Sonora; walking in tall grass; shades of denim blue mountains; the sycamore trees elegant in winter like ancient monks contemplating the silver sound of water under fallen leaves.

thinking too much tonight. a sentimental sip of tequila for it's long journey with Spence and Emi ; it got here - everyone home again. late night coffee? dark and sweet.... contemplate the moon with milagro and look south to where I go next - the wind is calling.

and now the baddest version of this little light of mine sung by Nina Stapler who sang during Martin Luther King's rallies ; dang KUYI you sure know how to choose em.

Is a glass half empty or half full? is a heart half empty or half full ? what do we put into life? Lots of heart to think about and it's almost Valentines day...

It was a ruby that she wore

On a chain around her neck

In the shape of a heart

It was a time I won't forget

For the sorrow and regret

And the shape of a heart

I guess I never knew

What she was talking about

I guess I never knew

What she was living without

People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of

Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove

Speak in terms of belief and belonging

Try to fit some name to their longing

There was a hole left in the wall

From some ancient fight

About the size of a fist

Or something thrown that had missed

And there were other holes as well

In the house where our nights fell

Far too many to repair

In the time that we were there

People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of

Reach out to each other though the push and shove

Speak in terms of a life and the learning

Try to think of a word for the burning

You keep it up

You try so hard

To keep a life from coming apart

And never know

What breaches and faults are concealed

In the shape of a heart

It was the ruby that she wore

On a stand beside the bed

In the hour before dawn

When I knew she was gone

And I held it in my hand

For a little while

And dropped it into the wall

Let it go, heard it fall

I guess I never knew

What she was talking about

I guess I never knew

What she was living without

People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of

Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove

Speak in terms of a life and the living

Try to find the word for forgiving

You keep it up

You try so hard

To keep a life from coming apart

And never know

The shallows and the unseen reefs

That are there from the start

In the shape of a heart

Earth-Cubed.1

2011-01-16T23:04:00.001-08:00

Earth-Cubed.1
Originally uploaded by Mary Bogdan

a little bit of earth... I keep wondering where do all those plastic bags go - looking for envelop art ; and food stories. I really love this quote.... one earth.

"If people can see Earth from up here, see it without those borders, see it without any differences in race or religion, they would have a completely different perspective. Because when you see it from that angle, you cannot think of your home or your country. All you can see is one Earth...." --Anousheh Ansari, Iranian-American space tourist who flew last year to the international space station.

First prints and the Eternal flame

2011-01-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

I was feeling an inertia and sense of melancholy when I returned back to Casas Grandes after Jason left and the sense of return and life changes - some heart ache and wondering what is it when you feel a long night ahead ; or those 3 am walk abouts and dark lit coffee. The unexpected visitors - how they lifted my spirit up - hundreds of images later and a having to alas discard my old epson printer after the Suenos de Aztlan show I feel I owe it a memorial dis-assemblage ; maybe even a makeover at the Chicas Bravas : ) anyways new printer, new drivers and fiinding the right usb cable I was finally in action. So with the end of the year and the beginning I wanted to make my first images of hope... of my shy friends; their youth, beauty, and the people from whom they come from how I hope what is of essence will survive....

Here's a view of real Mexico and the people who come from her sierras.

I also enjoyed making this portrait of the ranch manager whose name escapes me at the moment... I want to say Santiago , at Rancho Cerro Colorado; He's been there for years; He was the gardener I photographed earlier and then I realize he knows this ranch most of his life as I left contemplating his portrait with a sombrero vs a gardener's hoe. I do a portrait of him and his son Miguel. I show them photos of sustainable building examples made with bottles and adobe... I see the lights go on. I wish I could learn how to make an occitillo fence from them : ) they are sooo cool... and I like that they can grow...

I stand in the old tack room full of history and memoir of a different time and place -

I was reading Carlos Fuentes last night from a book Sal Gal gave me for Christmas. Finally to just sit with a book; and pictures and powerful words... HOw to write to see like that!!! Images I still sometimes see but less and less even now. Can I have regrets about the times I am living in? To know each festival may not come back again next year... As I turn the book's pages, Bresson's black and white pictures under the brilliant blue of Mexico sky; the naked trees with a few golden dried leaves and pigeons cooing in the setting light I think of these words and this music I now play over and over.... the Chinese 6 year old; the orchestra; the violia and violin version.. the father/daughter duet.... It pours out of the CAsa Azul and squeezes some salt out of my eyes ; I just can't help it....

one hopes for different endings ; or thought the story would go some other way - and when you're all alone with music and words and feel the depth of resignation to just feel it for all it is... how would have what I would have seen been different ? how does one just create again?

listen and look around...

I think of Dkish's 40 birthday and I think Bennett would have been 62?? birth - heaven? a life time of memories - what do we record as photographers ? as lovers of light? and dark? what inspires us to blow on the flame or have it be breathed into us? I wonder about Dkish's climbing trip - making coffee in the mornings - and waking up in nature ; we are just on either side of the fence and maybe 5 hours away from each other...so I send her an email ; a fb shout out; look at all our funny fotos; and I wish I could just give her a big ol hug and make her stuffed chiles and toast to her Birthday with Sotol - so close, so faraway and yet right here with me because of the music and the pictures...and the love we share doing it.....

I heard this story about Haitian violinist, Remal Joseph; it inspired me while working on these images ; it was truly a moving piece of music and story of a life still inspired ; if you get a chance check it out. Passion, grace, desire to create and recreate and rise up against the odds - I was listening to HOPI radio and then just had to stop, listen, and take to heart this story...this music; Oh how much time does one really have?? not enough I am sure so best to stay doing something even if it's wrong as Emi would say... she's the Queen so she must know!

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132940504/quake-crushes-haitian-violinists-hand-but-not-his-spirit

http://www.npr.org/2010/01/23/122900781/wife-school-lost-in-quake-violinist-vows-to-rebuild

just like Carlos Fuentes writes for Bresson's photo essays in Mexico....

" The wounds of Mexico heal for one moment so that the world takes shape beneath the watchful eye of the artist. The answer could be found in the sum of moments discovered by the invisible butterfly that is the photographer, which ends up alighting on a portrait of eternity without meaning to - for time, said Plato, is nothing but eternity on the move. To render simultaneously the movement of the moment and the immobility of the eternal could be a way of the forming a poetic destiny."

Just found these from two years ago.

Twist in my Sobriety

2011-01-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

I remember this video late or early in the morning depending on how you look at 3am. San Juan Puerto Rico at my tia's house near the sea. The tropical air moist and salty. This video imprinted itself into my mind. I haven't seen it in a long time; I think it was a defining moment in my life.

Lisa Wiltse - One Life Photos Mennonites in Bolivia

2011-01-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

A poignant dream like documentary of the Mennonites in Bolivia. I wonder if they are related to our Mennonite friends here at Campo Capulin.

It is rare to find such a eye on so an intimate culture. I was very moved by these images.

Lisa Wiltse - One Life Photos

A beautiful series and the art of gift giving on ones journey. jason florio - One Life Photos

MAGUEY una pelicula

2011-01-11T22:33:00.000-08:00

El Charco: San Miguel Allende. Mexico

1st Maguey Festival; Featuring the movie by

Sonora; The Magical Mystery Tour 2011

2011-01-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

Out of the blue Gil asks if I want to go to Sonora. Dkish invites herself and it's a posse! Trigger has a stroke. His 985th life.... one eyed and swaggering like an old Chinese Pirate he has survived AGAIN! needless to say Dkish was indisposed.... other plans totally fall through so why not head the call and just say YES? I say 'Si!' like as in Hell yeah to Gil's invite to visit his old friends down in Sonora . I so want to see something new - My interest is piqued when he tells me that I could actually see a zebra in the magical world of Mexico. And then when it actually does happen he swears to God I could probably hand feed one of them a banana !

Good to have traveling compadres - I flash to Hason reaching his hands out across the void of sorrow laid out on the kitchen table back home before everything changed; he says " I am coming with you to Mexico." Not, I am thinking about it, or...asking... he's just coming. I am grateful to have a visitor from my other home; can't believe it was almost four years since Jason came with me and helped me move into the casa. still cant' believe so much time flies. It's a new experience to see the landscape as a passenger as Jason flies in the Mariachi mobile south; just get to Mogillion - and we do. It takes everything to just get me in the van...loaded with the doors closed and heading east and south.

Mountain passes. A long wait just 15 minutes outside Agua Prieta. Running and Margeoux are meeting us at the border. Apaches. Mormons.Revolution. border wars. Farmers. Old Haciendas. Running brought me my ACME new camera just enough time to share a gran cena, at the infamous BONANZA in AP. Later in the night I reflect on how short the time was; how far they came and we spend a night so close and so far away because a fence is right there...

I am so grateful for the song and the moment like this I don't even have a picture of...the end of the year and the next one right around the corner.

Wild lands and snow topped mountains in the Sonoran desert. Family legacies and a passion for wild animals ; a reserve where Zebras and Bison roam over and around the fingers of gold.

The new year has begun in the middle of golden hills where bison roam; regal Scottish Elk duck beneath naked trees and disappear over the ridge. Rainbows and a cold wind kept at bay from the constant fires burning to keep the rooms warm. Coziness inspires red wine to flow. A song from David in the afternoon - Christmas already come and gone. Friends for years from NY,Miami,Mexico City; Us, Scottsdale and Chihuahua ; ) via Flagstaff, Arizona; what a sad state of affairs these days.

How great to travel with good and dear friends - They inspire you to stop and take part in shared experiences no words can express. They have patience for the act of stopping and making a picture. I think of all the good people we met and connected with on this trip. The unexpected invitation to go where many of our friends don't want to venture to these days is an affirmation of being here - on this side- to learn and see all I can and be sure we have a really GREAT time. The world is mad - everybody is afraid but we're lighting candles and listening to old songs in Spanish; walking under naked trees and crunching leaves into wet earth.

The media onslaught falls silent as we head down the road. It's mute as we pass another roadside shrine. how I love the shrines; god I'd never get where I was going if I stopped at every one.... maybe I should make that a project...Sunlight streaming like God's light onto a cerro in the distance. We meet families and friends as we head south. We make a circle 8 on the Rio Sonora. A two lane road with not much traffic is deceptive in it's pastoral beauty and the rich history unfolds each bend and morning with the fire crackling. I think this is where we'll turn off when we come back... seen and noted. Deceptive blacktop that gives way to dirt and land movers and big work trucks on the uphill. Abandoned work camps of tarpapered 4x 8s. The wind blows in between the two sierras.

Red roof top of drying red chile. A family eats popcorn and offers me some when I ask if I can take a photo of their chiles. A hawk flies over head. A dead badger; I wanted to look at it up close. I wonder why they're sacred animals...what's their stories? A dead horned owl too. A Giant Guadalupe on the side of the road. I relight as many candles as I can remembering the little girl and her mama relighting candles at the shrine outside of AP where people cross.

It's a road trip where we don't know what day it is. Or which path we'll take on the Sonora Trail. The maps are changing with the new paved roads over old dirt, winding mountain passes. The wind blows as we rise up from the river plain to the winding ridges and down the back side.

Rancho Feliz: The Tarahumara Computer Project

The Sonoran Trail:

MAP Rio Sonoran Trail

Juan Bautista De Anza

The Apache Diaries; A Father Son Journey

Cool place to rest:

Cerro Colorado

La Posada Rio Sonora

Rancho Mababi

Chicas Bravas Retroworks WEST

The Chicas BRAVAS!!

Arriving in Fronteras as the golden light goes down. We had out to the Valenzula's. Gil hasn't seen them in eight years. I stop to make photos of trash bags in the fence. The local police stop by ; we're odd out here... just past Geronimo's garrison. I'm reading the Apache Diaries and it's all here.... history on the winds of change in 2011.

The bunk house has a huge stove. We hang out in the kitchen. unload our cooler and get some coffee. It is cozy by the old cook stove that will come to frame and ingrain in me a portrait of Alice framed by the lines of this symbol ; the harth of the home.

Sotol from chihuahua and red wine for Scottsdale.The thick cut bacon disappeared into the black hole of the cooler but miraculously made it's reappearance back in AP. Pork Tenderloin and morning with green chile beer pancakes with real maple syrup; strong coffee... and a nice side of ham ; ) sounds loca que no? but let me tell you it will forever be a taste memory. Sweet and spicy! I added some fresh crushed walnuts too. all flavors native to the landscape...I suppose one could make some mesquite syrup to really make it local ; or serve with warmed up honey with zest of orange.

Chicas Bravas Retroworks WEST will be profiled in it's own post. I want to return and spend a couple days doing portraits and listening to stories. The revolution of grandmothers... mamas with gran corazon! What's amazing is it is NOT an overnight process... there's a dream and there's a lot of work; faith and elbow grease - my mind could not have visualized what I saw. The GRAN picture is amazing; it gave me hope for the women I met in Monte Verde - people want to learn - so how do we make ideas accessible ?

CHIHUAHUA:

A stop at Celso's Rancho Guadalupe. We have never met but I have certainly appreciated his legacy of Sotol. I meet him and Emma on my way home.

I am back in my Mexican Dollhouse, The Casa Azul in El Pueblo, camping. pero que lindo la dias! how beautiful the days! Sunshine and warmth all around. I wish i knew about growing lettuce in the winter... ideas for composting ; heard a cool pod cast on An Organic Conversation that addresses this very issue! A good listen for the new year ; )

Composting Negativity; Jan 8th show

A green house; windows ; pathways; prayers for the dead garden to come alive in the spring. Naked trees with birds in flight ; stalling a minute pausing on the wind. I love washing dishes outside; baking in Dutch Oven treats. It's a process to keep the home fires burning and not chop off my finger with my new hatchet I had to replace since the other one was stolen.

I sit sometimes by the fire reminding myself what it was like camping at the bottom of the Grand Canyon cooking for science in January when the winds would howl downstream and we had to layover because of the snow. The fire the center of our world. The rafts tied to shore. Dog beds under the cliffs up high. The sound of the river rushing by.Cold.grey green.

Milagro the cat sits on the edge of the stove. I like to kick up my boot on the edge when I eat. read a book with a headlamp on just like being on the river and waiting for it to be at least after 8 before going to bed in the long dark winter nights.

Green chiles roast. more hot water for coffee, tea... Lots of hot drinks in winter. My honey do list included adding plastic to some of the windows. A sarape over the door; It's good to

wear a hat or scarf for extra insulation.

I am compelled to make cakes and bake with the coals. A corn bread is next up or banana corn bread ; maybe banana beer pancakes manana... Swedish oatcakes..with corn meal.

more contemplation and kat yoga. Hopi radio makes me feel reflective;

Hopi radio tonight; Love and Happiness, Hotel California, I can't find my way home...classics...streaming from HOPI land... It seems I'm more like Harry Chapin flying through the borderlands in the mariachi mobile vs a taxi in NYC...wondering where I'll land ; what will take root?

Go put another log on the fire.... make some more late night coffee... this still isn't half the story.

Orion Magazine

2011-01-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

I submitted some work to Orion last summer. Turns out Justin the photo editor had been to Chihuahua; and our long time friend Hans Teensma was still designing beautiful magazines. The world of photos, northern mexico, road trips and assignments Bennett and Running did with Hans back in the 80's -

Here's a few of the designs as it progressed.

The photo illustration was for a story by Luis Urrera, one of my favorite writers whose stories have accompanied all the road trips and stories through Mexico's magic lands. Still my work from the San Francisco Mission accompanies me - the urban existence and the call of the natural world. I was stoked to find old pages from the original diaries of Luis and Clark. I have always remembered Luis' reading from The DEVILS HIGHWAY at the Border Book Festival put together by Denise Chavez. For the love of the word and the cultures of the borderlands.

Please have a listen : Orion Magazine

Summary: Lius Alberto Urrea reads his short story, "The Southside Raza Image Federation Corps of Discovery," from the January/February 2011 issue of Orion.

http://www.orionmagazine.org/audio/JF11Urrea.mp3