It's always a good time of the year to have a talisman gift.  In all faiths this is a protective sign.  I think my wonderful beading teacher, Joni, who inspires and teaches with her talent and grace.  My classmates are a wonderful inspiration, too.

Below is our fearless (and I do mean fearless) leader Piers Watson AKA 008 James Bond.  He made this class great and I say that though I was horrified there was math and science to be worked out.  Thank goodness I could cheat and get 008 to do some of my cyphering for goodness sakes.  

Look at the mess I made of trying to put wax on my little piece.  But also, note the little heart shaped drop of wax.                                                       Someone's always with me.

The last picture shows how 008's helped explain the percentages of copper and tin to make each bronze piece.  Pretty cool.

We all love Make Sant Fe and our fearless leader.  #lutecrucible  #makesantafe

Decided I'd like to incorporate new art I've learned while here.  Why not gourds?  Beading class is a favorite.  Learn a lot from Joanie, our teacher, and my lovely classmates, artists all.  Add paint sticks from a workshop at Artisans in Santa Fe and another interesting workshop, fiber weaving.  And I fell in love with cholla when I first arrived here.  Decided to bleach this piece.  Really a great excuse to keep taking classes to add to the gourds.  My dear friend and great ceramic artist Betsy Doan decided I needed an art deadline.  So she signed us up for a couple of shows and off we go.  I owe her big time.  It's amazing how a deadline will perk me up and get the creative juices flowing.  Course she did threaten to hurt me if I didn't get my act together.  She's scares me.  I got my act together and will continue each time she tells me to.

Denise took me along when she was invited to a grand afternoon tour of multi-million dollar homes sponsored by Santa Fe Properties with a reception after at Gerald Peters Art Gallery.  Denise's friend and realtor, Abby Salinas, who found Denise's house just a few miles me, made this happen.  A wonderful afternoon touring incredible homes, one who's neighbor is Paul Allen of Microsoft.  We were impressed, we are just that shallow.
During the reception, after checking out incredible art, eating delicious treats and visiting with others who toured with us, I fell in love with a bronze tumbleweed in the gallery.  How on earth does one make a mold of a tumbleweed that turns into a bronze?  If I had guts I'd have taken a picture, but I don't want to go to Artist Prison and I do want to be invited back to Gerald Peters Gallery and any tours Abby might send us an invitation to.
Today during the Katie Belle evening walk, look what she found.  This tumbleweed is more than double the size of the one in the gallery.  But I think even without opposing thumbs, she could make a mold.  We talked about this.  Also talked about me trying to bead a cow skull similar to this one I took a picture of in another million dollar house.  I could work on the skull while Katie Belle is making the tumbleweed mold.  Looking at her face in this picture,  she seems to have the same look Bob and Randall use to have when I'd suggest they take father/son cooking class so they could bond.  But the real idea was to have someone living in our house who could cook. 
The talented Marti Ratcliff just opened her Etsy Shop Celebrations by Marti.  We might call on her to help.  Check out her shop for some must haves for your home.  Probably a better idea than waiting on Katie Belle to make a bronze or me to bead.  Art is so hard.

When I moved here the spirituality of the place grabbed me quickly.  Talking with friends at dinner one night about the Land of Enchantment, somehow my voodoo dolls came up.  Friends suggested it was time for me to make Spirit Dolls and give up the VooDoo Dolls.  For some reason,  that night stayed with me and I've experimented with Spirit Dolls.  Research and all the art classes and workshops have helped me in my quest to make spirit dolls not only aesthetically pleasing but helpful as well.  
But first to pay tribute to my last VooDoo Doll.  And may I add she did her duty and I'm proud of her and our heritage.  She did nothing awful, just a little something to help others.  And I love she is treasured by those who appreciate her gift.  Check her out  in progress.
Here's to good friends with Great ideas.
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Today I met Rob in town for lunch at Santa Cafe.  Driving in I watched the biggest white fluffy clouds.  On Old Pecos Trail, I looked up to see a hole in the clouds shaped like a heart with the bluest/purplest sky background.  I pulled over so fast you'd have thought I was curb shopping with Cynthia in Forest Hills like back in the old days.  Screeched to a halt, grabbed the phone and was out of the car.  The heart already  dissipated.   But I saw it and it was true. 

Lovely two hour lunch with Rob.  He had some ideas for Virginia and Jim who are driving in from Forest Hills this weekend.  Rob knows the most interesting places here.  Lots to talk about during Sunday lunch on the Plaza.

Driving home wonder of wonders - another heart just like the earlier one, a break in the clouds.  I didn't even try to stop the car, just enjoyed every moment I could look without crashing the car.  The first blue heart must have been from Jack on the way to see Judy.  The second from Bob for me.  They are truly in cahoots up there sending both of us similar hearts.  

7:00 pm on the dot, Katie Belle got her leash and we were out the door.  This ginormous heart was right there.  I couldn't back up enough to get the entire heart in the picture.  I'm thinking a bunch of people up there sent this one with Bob orchestrating.  

Insanity or not, I believe I've found my religion out here in skies of the Land of Enchantment.  The second picture is how the evening walk ended.  Magic, every day.

I've joined a group of Dallas artists and we are launching a new FB group business page together that will be fun, informative and exciting.  More on that soon.  Our group has decided we will start with our individual business pages, so I'm announcing my page today.  Please check out "Lottie Kate Minick Artist" on facebook.   Thanks to Judy Whalen for this photo of me and my boyfriend.

Weaving class.  Looms, string, yarns, patterns, needles and lots of redoing.  Lovely talented ladies who encourage the new kid in class.  I love it.

Class is in the big dining room with floor to ceiling windows.  There are plants some of my friends would drool over just like I do.  The geraniums are huge.  I keep wondering if anyone would notice if I pinched a stem?  If I get caught and they tattoo "Stem stealing geranium pincher" on my forehead, would I still be allowed in class?  My dilemma.  

Today was ceramics and I painted some little adornments I made last week.  They went into the kiln today along with some beautiful bowls my classmates made.  Fun playing with kilns again.

​The most important lesson learned in ceramics today is some of the cute little cottontail bunnies out here in the country have a disease.  A friend's dog caught one and now has the disease.  OMG  Just the other day Katie Bell's leash slipped out of my hand when she ran after one.  Thank goodness though she's fast, they are faster.  Classes are about so much more than the teachings.

By the way the New Mexico logo is from a beer can Randall or Rachel drank the last time they visited.  Those two are my best collaborators.  

First week in Santa Fe Cynthia, Lyssa, Trish and I went to a little flea market very close to Meow Wolfe.  A lady in one booth had a cholla branch for a dollar.  Never seen the cholla plant, but fell in love with this dead branch.  Who knew one day I'd live outside Santa Fe and dead cholla would be everywhere.  Needless to say when Katie Belle and I walk, I'm always looking for branches even though I know I embarrass her.  She hopes none of her doggie friends will see her mother carrying (stealing) cholla.

Weaving class began last week and I really like it.  Started thinking, how about a cholla branch for a loom?  I wrapped the cholla branch with some string I had around the house from the Dollar Tree.  Weaved a little stringy yarn from Michaels, then a strip of denim.   I'm going to take the branch to bead weaving class,  for more ideas.  Love taking art classes and workshops here in Santa Fe.

My sweet friend Win called a couple of weeks ago.  She was making her wonderful pimento cheese and invited me to lunch.  Delicious, as was dessert.  Somehow the subject got to exercise.  She does Zumba at the Senior Center, at 9:00 AM for goodness sakes.  I told her though Katie Belle and I walk twice a day, I know that's not upper body.  Because of Win, I went down the Senior Center.

WOW,  they offer exercise classes and so much more.  Beadweaving, ceramics, fused glass, weaving group, open paint, science class and more.  Cynthia is taking Tai Chi in Dallas along with Abbie, Barb and Beverly in Dallas.  So maybe I should check out Zumba or Tai Chi here.  Zumba's at 9:00am, Tai Chi 10:00am.  Class time could be the deciding factor.  And they serve lunch, $1.50.  The day I was there was chicken, such a big piece I put half in my pocket for Katie Belle.  I must keep little ziplock bags in my purse.  Wrapped the chicken in a napkin and stuff it in my pocket.  People in class kept saying they smelled chicken.  I pointed to someone I don't know.

So Win is right, it's a cool place, lovely people.  I'm in.  In beading class I made a little necklace for my first Cholla Spirit Doll.  She's suppose to be a voodoo doll for Judy, didn't turn out that way.  I'm sneaking you a picture of second Cholla Spirit Doll.  Heaven forbid I'd finish the first before starting the second.  I have such a selection of cholla now Randall is going to have to bring his truck up here when I move back home.  Can't fine cholla in Texas.   But as beautiful as it is here in the Land of Enchantment, there's a lot of good things to say about "home".