Friday, December 26, 2008

Weekend Slice!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Blessed Yule, Merry Merry!

Anyway you slice it, the warmth and joy in your heart that this time of year brings is a great feeling to have. Here's hoping all of you have had some wonderful quality time with your family, friends and community.

I've got a great sale going on here at the gallery! Everything in the gallery is 20% off for this weekend only. Over 30 artists are represented in the gallery. All the artists at Studio C are known to me either locally, regionally or by way of my friends' or my own travels.

We have local landscape art cards, JR Gilstrap prints and the memorial 18 month calendar(2009-2010), leather gift tags, natural goat milk soaps, naturally scented soy based candles, stained glass mobiles, wind chimes, a gorgeous stained glass window, antique bottle ornaments, fused glass earrings & window hangings, slumped glass candle screens, hand blown glass ornaments, and vases, bead bracelets, necklaces and earrings, pottery, poetry, books, music, pastels, imported hand-batiqued t-shirts, star flowers, archival photo prints, fresh-roasted, freshly ground fair-trade gourmet coffee beans and chocolate, Father Christmas dolls, accent pillows, incense(Nag Champa), sweet grass braids, watercolors, landscape prints on canvas, and…more!

Your patronage supports an array of artisans and artists and of course the dreamer who believes that an ArtSpace in the middle of nowhere is a great idea. That dreamer just happens to be an artist too. Thus, I'm building my model on an artisan/artist-first framework. What I'm building here, with the help of so many talented individuals is an oasis for the imagination. Can you think of a finer reason to choose to shop here? By shopping here you are making a stand for beauty, innovation, independence, freedom and creativity! You are actively engaged in community and economic development here in Union County New Mexico. Studio C is where creativity grows. Come on in and feel it yourself.

I'll be stoking my own creative fires in January. Studio C will be open by appointment only for the first 4 weeks of 2009. We are taking a winter break. That will give me a chance to work on some ideas I've had percolating for months now but haven't been able to attend to. It all feeds into the ongoing plans for creating a thriving business here in Des Moines, New Mexico, the place my husband Tim Keller and I have adopted as our home. We've been here over nine and a half years. Each new day is an affirmation of the rightness of our move.

Speaking of Tim, his gorgeous framed archival prints are currently hanging in the gallery. This would be a great weekend to come visit the gallery and take one home with you!

My friend Nancy the nurse stopped in on Tuesday and asked me how Tim & I ended up in Des Moines. She heard the whole story and the telling reminded me of the faith in dreams that brought us to this beautiful landscape. It comes as no surprise to me that so many of the people who live here are blessed with a deep respect for the land and its beauty. Nancy is a relative new-comer too and has been very successful in helping to bring a school-based health center to our town. There is so much opportunity here. It is great fun to be part of a new blooming that is happening in the area.

As you can imagine, part of the bloom involves the arts. The Raton Arts & Humanities Council is one of two local arts councils in our area. Drive 38 miles west of Des Moines to get to Raton, New Mexico, at the crossing of I-25 and highways 64/87. It is a small town of just over 6500 people. There is a bustling arts community which is striving to bring arts-based economic development to our area. They are currently engaged in application for Arts & Cultural District designation for the downtown area. Gaining this status will be a big step towards increased visibility on the arts map. I invite you to visit their gallery in Raton: The Old Pass Gallery. Then come on east to visit me here. I will be here all weekend after which I'll be happy to open by appointment during my winter break.

One last bit of news... I am expanding our regular hours! When we open on January 29th our regular hours will be Thursday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Sunday's noon - 4:p.m. I'm always open by appointment if you are coming through town Monday through Wednesday.

I plan on keeping my blog updated weekly during my break so keep watching for news and cool links to follow... use your browser's back button to return to the post. I'll keep you updated with what I'm up to. Don't forget that I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment.

Blessings & Beauty,

Christina

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