The reason for New Mexico

Getting back to the trip to New Mexico… there really was a definite reason why we went.  Although we had planned to attend a wedding and it was cancelled, the trip was still on because I have wanted to go to New Mexico, especially northern New Mexico, for close to 20 years.

I am a great fan of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work.  I have a few posters of her work scattered around the house:

But, I have read about O’Keeffe for years.  It is her life story that really fascinates me.  Here is a woman, who although married to a man who could certainly help her career, was fiercely independent at a time women were not supposed to be.  She had a mind of her own and she did what she wanted, like going to New Mexico every summer, leaving an aging hubby behind in New York

All the books all about O'Keeffe

I got to visit the O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was thrilling.  I could stand for hours and look at her brush strokes and the way her work changed over the years.

Here I am at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

But, even better was getting to spend 5 days out in Abiquiu and the general vicinity where she did so much of her painting in her last 50 years.  She lived in this remote region, painting much of it, but also loving the wide open spaces.  It was fun to visit the places where she had painted and to see her homes (although both are closed to the public, you still get such a sense of “place”).

So, that pretty much wraps up the commentaries on the trip.  I am home for a few weeks before we head out on our next adventure.  Because I don’t get enough exposure to young people (!), we are volunteering for three weeks to work with kids from elementary to high school age.  I’m sure I’ll have a few stories to tell you.