Museum Hill, Santa Fe, NM

May 25, 2008
The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture is located on beautiful Museum HillTM at 710 Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We spent the afternoon there at 2008 Native Treasures Event. Some hundred and fifty artists representing 40 tribes and Pueblos come to showcase and sell their pottery, jewelry, glass, painting, sculpture, carvings, textiles and other art. Items were museum quality and the prices represented that. We met Carol Naranjo who creates red willow baskets, and pine needle baskets. She shared with us her techniques and encouraged us to continue exploring the craft.

The museums were free because of the event so we enjoyed each of them. The Here, Now and Always tells the story of the Southwest’s oldest communities. As we walked through the halls of Ancestors, Cycles, Architecture, Language&Song, Plants&Animals, Exchange, Survival and Arts we learned that together past and present make a cycle, a circle that travels in a straight line and we are part of that cycle.

The Museum of Needles and Pins took us through Fiber Preparation, Weaving, Needle Arts, Nonwoven Techniques, Printing, and Toys or Tools. We tried a little weaving and a little embroidery and enjoyed looking at the many masterpieces on display.

At the Museum of International Folk Art Mr. Gerard has an entire hall dedicated to his collection, the larges in the states, of Folk Art. And since he was an architect his displays are done so one can look through and beyond each to another. The entire space of the hall is filled with his massive collection.

We drove around town, past the open markets and found a parking spot near the state capitol building. It is a modern structure and was locked up. Kathy stopped to play tug-of-war with some solid children. We walked around a bit, went to the the old mission church of Saint Michael where Kathy stepped inside for a few minutes of quiet solitute. Then we went around the bend to the oldest house in the US, nothing exciting about it as it is a shop now days and it was closed.

Will bought more hinges from Lowes and installed them while Kathy spent the rest of the afternoon in Borders researching Russia. We headed back to our spot at the Holiday Inn Express and settled in for some Star Trek Episodes.