Magic Cottage Creations

Magic Cottage Creations
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March 18, 2017

Santa Fe, New Mexico

By Maryanna Gabriel 

I knew where I was heading. The Georgia O'Keefe Museum was foremost on my mind as I pulled in. Santa Fe has a population of 67,000 and is the capital of New Mexico. What struck me immediately was the architecture. Gaudi would have approved. The rounded adobe forms seemed so inviting. The streets and buildings were sculptured. I walked into the museum and felt surprised by the size of the canvases. For some reason I thought they would be large. They were not. This museum houses a lot of her earlier work which is exciting and innovative. I walked into a room and took one look at the canvases and burst into tears. "They are so beautiful," I managed to breathe to the surprised onlooker beside me. Composing myself I walked into the next room and promptly burst into tears again. I was so moved by the beauty that Georgia had captured. A lot of the work I had never seen before as it was her later years that made her so famous. I loved that they were small and I loved how she framed them. Seeing this museum and these works in person was something I had dreamed of for many years.

Feeling inspired, I started to explore Santa Fe. I felt I had come home. The place was a combination of the indigenous peoples, the Spanish who had come in 1610, and of course the new world influx. It exploded with colour. Coming from an art town myself I felt I had hit the mother lode. The streets were a jostle of interesting shops, galleries and restaurants. I longed for my daughters, wanting so much to share this amazing place with them. Inspired by what I was seeing I was to startle my family when I returned home by repainting all of the rooms. The colours of this place made me feel so alive.