LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUGS AND HOME ALTARS PROFILED IN NEW LYNNE PERRELLA BOOK: ART MAKING AND STUDIO SPACES

Laurie Zuckerman's altars and memory jugs were photographed in her home studio last summer by Lynne Perrella and Sarah Blodgett for Lynne's new book: Art Making and Studio Spaces: Unleash Your Inner Artist:An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Workspaces. The book is due for a January 2010 release. Lynne and Sarah Blodgett travelled the country photographing selected studios last summer. They spent about four hours documenting every room of my house, since my studio spaces are spread all over the living spaces of the house, so people will get to see my home altars and family memorial jugs in context.

Here is the complete list of artists in the book:

Lynne Perrella
Lisa Hoffman
Lyn Bleiler
Monica Riffe
Judi Riesch
Michelle Ward
Pam Sussman
Linda & Opie O'Brien
Ellen Kochansky
Maria Moya
Bee Shay
Terrie Moore
Bill Wilson
Tracy V. Moore
Faye Anderson
Keith Lobue
Sas Colby
Steven Sorman
Melissa Zink
Armando Lopez
Nancy Anderson
R. O. Blechman
Fred Otnes
Sarah Blodgett
Pamela Armas
Jamie Purinton
LAURIE ZUCKERMAN
Michael deMeng
Judy Wilkenfeld
Johnnie Meier

I have also contributed my own photos of my altars to her book, which Lynne is using as the front and back inner pages of the book, plus I completed a long interview questionnaire, so I expect there to be several quotes by me in addition to multiple shots of my artwork in situ. You can pre-order this book at Amazon.com. Here's their blurb about the book:

Art Making and Studio Spaces is a visual studio tour, an opportunity to turn the key and discover the inner workings of artists in their ultra-personal, unique workspaces. The mission of the book is to look inside studios in progress, amidst the throes of the artmaking process, and to investigate the thoughts of the artists within. This book reveals the interplay between artist and studio, and explores how each workspace reflects a different, distinctive creative journey. Photography by Sarah Blodgett, plus contributed photos by some of the artists, combines with personal insights to provide an incomparable studio tour that will inspire you to create your own private work space. Pages from Lynne Perrella’s art journal are included, to give further insight into this bottomless topic of "art and where it happens."

Lynne Kendall Perrella is a mixed-media artist, author, designer, workshop instructor, and incurable collector. Her interests include collage, assemblage, one-of-a-kind books, and art journals. She conducts creativity workshops in the United States and abroad and exhibits collage in galleries throughout the Berkshire Mountains.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS SANCTUARIO DE CHIMAYO IN NEW MEXICO

Laurie Zuckerman visited the Sanctuario de Chimayo in Northern New Mexico, northeast of Santa Fe during Spring Break. They now have regulations against photographing inside the churches, but it is still okay to photography outside in the courtyard below the church. Here are two shots of the wooden crucifix that is so laden with rosaries, petitions, and christmas lights, it is almost unrecognizable as a Christ. The last shot is of one of the cyclone fences surrounding the courtyard. The entire fence is threaded with handmade wooden crosses. The Sanctuario is a world famous shrine. Not to be missed!! It is my personal favorite place in New Mexico.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS HISTORIC FOLK ART SITES IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO

Laurie Zuckerman traveled to New Mexico in March in came across an historic ranch called Pueblo Bonito, just south of Mountaineer. This property built and designed by Pop Schaefer in the 1920s and 30s is listed on the National Historic Register of Places.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS UNUSUAL NEW MEXICAN BOTTLE TREE

Laurie Zuckerman's March visit to New Mexico uncovered a classic folk art bottle tree in the middle of a remote area southeast of Albuquerque. But look carefully. Those aren't blue glass bottles as are typically seen in the South. Those are aluminum beer cans! Someone did a lot of drinking in order to construct this tree. Still it looks pretty good.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS NEW MEXICAN CHURCHES, CEMETERIES, AND ROADSIDE SHRINES DURING 2009 SPRING BREAK TRIP

Laurie Zuckerman just returned from this year's Spring Break adventure to New Mexico to photograph the St. Augustine Church at the Isleta Pueblo, the Salinas Pueblo Mission National Monument, and a host of remote cemeteries and churches in the Spanish Land Grant communities southeast of Albuquerque. It is always a treat to find beautiful statuary in the churches, so I am posting a few of the best pieces from the Isleta Pueblo. Below is a shot from the large shrine on the church plaza. St. Augustine was established in 1613. It is one of the oldest mission churches in the United States.

Discovered the Salinas Pueblo Mission ruins on the internet, having never heard about them prior. All three of the distinct sites were stunning, my favorite was the Quarai Ruins. The scale of this early 17th century Spanish Franciscan Church was magnificent. At least four stories high.


One of my favorite churches along our route was built in 1829 in the village of Manzano. I received special access to the church by the metalsmith who had designed the gates to the cemetery surrounding the church.


As always, the condition of the cemeteries is one of neglect, vandalism, and deterioration. I have been documenting the Hispanic cemeteries of New Mexico and Southern Colorado for at least six years now, in pursuit of publishing a photography book. I found some wonderful folk art graves on this journey to the eastside of the Manzano Mountains. Here are two out of the hundreds of pictures I am sorting through this week.




On the way to the town of Mountaineer, New Mexico, I stumbled upon this roadside shrine, just outside the boundary to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Very sweet Madonna.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S SOLO ALTAR AND MEMORY JUG EXHIBITION AT LOVELAND ART MUSEUM OPENS AUGUST 29, 2009

Laurie Zuckerman is working furiously on new artwork for her upcoming solo exhibition at the Loveland Art Museum in Northern Colorado. I am working on altar installations, memory jugs, memory boxes, and shrine photography, most of which has never been exhibited before or in Northern Colorado. Almost all of the three-dimensional assemblages have been created to memorialize each of my deceased parents, Blanche and George Zuckerman. The show is entitled Memento Mori: The Deconstruction of the Nuclear Family.

It'll take me two weeks just to set up the show, as the gallery is nearly 4000 square feet. That kind of space holds a lot of altars. The museum curator and her new exhibits curator are coming to my studio at the end of this month to finalize the construction details for the exhibition. I have everything laid out on a floor plan for them to review, although I keep erasing things and shuffling them around.

The opening reception is set for Saturday, August 29, 2009 from 6-9 pm. The show closes on The Day of the Dead—November 2, 2009. I have friends and family flying in from around the country. Loveland is only a few stunning miles up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS IN OAXACA, MX: EL NOCHÉ DE LOS RABANOS, aka THE NIGHT OF THE RADISHES

Laurie Zuckerman spent two weeks photographing the 2008 Christmas holiday festivals in sunny Oaxaca, the highlight of which is El Noché de los Rabanos. Here are my favorite radish displays from the Night of the Radish Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. I was fascinated by the traditional religious themes carved out of hugh gnarly radishes that begin drying out the minute the artists start carving. These are my picks for the most magical of these spiritual displays, including the birth of Jesus, Oaxaca's patron saint—the Virgen de Soledad, a Mexican funeral, and a nativity scene.





These next photos are the two most complex cornhusk creations, known as Totomoxtle. I was completely amazed by the intricate details in this first creation showing a procession of Jesuses in front of the Catedral. I am hoping that this artist won the contest. I spent hours photographing the man setting up this installation.







My next favorite cornhusk creation is this tableau of Christian themes, including the Crucifixion and the Last Supper.



And this little display of is Jesus on a donkey or a horse, at least I think it is Jesus, was very touching. I never saw anything like these for sale, but I would have bought this one.


Here are my favorites from the strawflower, or immortal flower competition. The first photo shows the Crucifixion. The next three figures are the three most popular Virgins of Oaxaca: the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Virgin of Soledad, and the Virgin of Juquila. A little abstract perhaps, but sweet and colorful.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUG INSTRUCTIONS BOOK FOR SALE! Make Memory Jugs, Memory Jars, Memory Bottles, Memory Vases, Memoryware, etc.

Laurie Zuckerman's new how-to-make a memory jug book for sale. MEMORY JUGS: Images, Instructions, and Theories, is designed for anyone interested in creating traditional or contemporary American folk art memory jugs. This 160-page, full-color book on CD contains in-depth, step-by-step instructions, an extensive photo gallery of traditional and contemporary jugs, and a vast array of internet research sources exploring the history of this Victorian-era memory jugs, jars, bottles, and vases and other related folk arts, such as memory ware and bottle whimseys. I have been getting excellent reviews about the book from women around the country.

I am offering two options for purchasing this "workshop in a book." The first option is the book alone without instruction. The second option includes the book along with two hours of my personal assistance, via email, during the construction phase of your memory jug. You will receive one copy of the book on CD with complete instructions.

Please specify your preference when you order.

OPTION #1: Memory Jug Book: $20
OPTION #2: Memory Jug Book + 2 hours of email assistance: $65

Shipping charges: $2

Email your request to: Laurie Zuckerman: zucky@qwest.net

I accept payment through Paypal, personal check, or money order. A Paypal invoice will be sent to you after your request is received, if you choose this payment option.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUG "A BONE TO PICK" APPEARS IN PASTICCIO QUARTZ #5

Laurie Zuckerman's new memory jug, "A Bone to Pick," is featured in the gallery section of Pasticcio Quartz #5, a 72-page Holiday Mosaic Extravaganza published by artists Sarah Fishburn and Angela Cartwright. This jug and many other new and never before exhibited memory jugs will be on display next summer at the Loveland Museum & Gallery, when Laurie Zuckerman fills the museum with home altars, memory jugs, and shrine photography. The exhibit opens on August 29, 2009.

In the tradition of the finest art salons, each issue of Pasticcio Quartz offers a "panoply of new art, books, food, history, movies, people, photographs, products, quotes, music, thought, and words served up as a delectable printed pastiche."

To purchase a copy of this issue or other back issues, log onto: http://stores.lulu.com/cartwrightandfishburn

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR ON DISPLAY AT THE ARTISTS' NOOK AND THE BELLVUE STORE THRU NOVEMBER 2

A simple Diá de los Muertos Ofrenda altar by Laurie Zuckerman is on display at the historic Bellvue Store. The altar was up for the 1st Annual Dia de los Muertos Celebration in conjunction with Bev Perina's monthly Fine Art & Antique Shows and The Artists' Nook Diá de los Muertos Art Challenge, October 10-November 2. The community was invited to participate in this ofrenda ritual by bringing offerings and photos to celebrate the lives of their loved ones, and a couple of artists brought photos at the opening. I created a nicho in honor of the "Mexican Kitchen" to top the altar. The altar is not dedicated to anyone in my family, as I wanted it to be a neutral space for people to contribute to.


The Coloradoan newspaper's entertainment Ticket editor, Stacy Nick, interviewed me by phone for her article on Day of the Dead art and altar events in Northern Colorado this week. Here's the text of the article. The newspaper version included a photo of my Day of the Dead altar installation that was on display at the Loveland Art Museum's Grave Matters exhibit in the summer of 2006.

The bright colors and mocking skeletons used to celebrate Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) may seem a tad morbid but it's that artwork that has captured the interest of people around the world.

Art has been heavily tied to the Day of the Dead (Nov. 1 and 2, when people erect altars to honor and communicate with deceased family members), especially after artist Jose Guadalupe Posada (1851-1913) created his cartoonish skeleton characters, said Laurie Zuckerman, a local altar installation artist and photographer.

"Folk artists kind of jumped on that whimsical art work," said Zuckerman, who for years has travelled to regions in Mexico to see the various ways they celebrate the holiday.

Day of the Dead altars, featuring flowers, photos, food and drinks, traditionally were used as a way to encourage the souls of deceased family members to visit. But they have also come to highlight a unique niche in the art world.

Many local museums host their own Day of the Dead celebrations this week to examine the cultural and spiritual significance as well as the artistic expressions.

There is a strong American fascination with Day of the Dead celebrations and art, said Zuckerman, who puts a less religious take on her altars, using them as both creative outlets and as a way to honor her family rather than to communicate with them.

"The thing that caught me was just the attitude about celebrating death in such a way, really mocking death," she said. "Then there's this belief that the Mexican people believe the souls are really coming back once a year and they better throw them a pretty damn good party.

"I don't know that many Americans can go quite that far, but I think they're intrigued by it," Zuckerman added. "It's so opposite from anything we do here. It's so colorful and positive, and I think it really flies in the face of how our culture deals with death and mourning."

Check out this on-line version of the article.
http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081030/ENTERTAINMENT/810300302



Had a wonderful write up on Leaua Phillips blogsite in response to my Dia de los Muertos altar at the Bellvue Store. Check out her blog at: http://leauaphillips.blogspot.com/2008/10/tis-season.html

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S DAY OF THE DEAD ALTARS AND PHOTOGRAPHY AT VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008

Laurie Zuckerman currently has an installation of three Day of the Dead altars in Virginia Tech's Diá de los Muertos exhibit at the Perspectives Gallery in Squires Student Union. It is a colorful and lively show, excellently curated by Mary Tartaro, director of the gallery. The show was mounted to coincide with Hispanic Awaremess Month.

Best of all, my bestfriend and altarmaking pal in Blacksburg, Kathy Pinkerton, is also featured in this exhibit and has a spectacular altar display as the centerpiece of the show. It is the closet thing I have ever seen to the over-the-top exuberance of Oaxacan Day of the Dead ofrendas. Below is a wide-shot of Kathy's installation.



The gallery invited me to fly out to give the keynote lecture on my travels to photograph Colonial Mexico's Day of the Dead altars, prior to the opening on October 3, 2008. I shipped all the myriad pieces of the altars and set-up my detailed installation the day before the show opened. (14 hours and many gallery helpers later, it was complete.) I also have 25 of my Day of the Dead photos from San Miguel de Allende, Guanujuato, and Oaxaca included in this exhibit. Three of my photos are used on the show announcement included with this post above.


The News Messenger of Montgomery County, Virginia published this front page article on October 8, 2008. Here are some quotes from the article by reporter Lauren Page, who interviewed myself and Kathy Pinkerton.

"Zuckerman describes her altar as more mournful that the rest of the pieces on display at the the exhibit. The altar, entitled "Devil May Care", is mostly black with an orange background. Zuckerman said the altar contains many references to Hallowe'en, including vintage American Hallowe'en decorations beside Mexican Day of the Dead artifacts. The black and orange color scheme has a three-fold meaning, she said. First, orange and black are the colors of Hallowe'en. Second, the orange represents the marigolds traditionally used at Mexican Day of the Dead festivals. Third, since it is next to [Kathy] Pinkerton's fuchsia altar, the two colors side by side look like the signature VT maroon and orange, Zuckerman said." [Actually this is bit of a misquote, as I was referring to the maroon and orange colors within my own altar installation being chosen in homage to Tech's school colors.]

"I like puns and double-entendres," Zuckerman said. "I like things to have a lot of different [visual] meanings.

"Devil May Care" is an homage to Zuckerman's parents. There is a large altar in the center, flanked by two smaller ones. The left side memorializes her mother. The right side memorializes her father. Zuckerman described her parents as "difficult and contentious."

"It was very painful dealing with their anger and bitterness," Zuckerman said. "This altar...represents the lighter side of what I kept bottled up inside."

The following web article at Virginia Tech University announced Laurie Zuckerman's altar installation, photography, and slide lecture in conjunction with the Perspectives Gallery group exhibition of Diá de los Muertos, October 3-November 8, 2008. The other artists included in the show are The Artgirlz group, Mindy & Baldwin True North, and Gilda Machin-Scarpaci, who all created wonderful altars for the show.

http://www.uusa.vt.edu/news/dayofthedead.php

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUG WEEKEND WORKSHOP AUGUST 2-3, 2008

Laurie Zuckerman is teaching a two-day weekend workshop on Memory Jugs, Saturday and Sunday, August 2-3, 10 am-5 pm.
Please email Laurie at zucky@qwest.net for reservations and more details before July 30, 2008.

If you have ever wondered about memory jugs, now is your chance to delve into this mysterious Victorian American folk art tradition and make your own enigmatic jug. This small intimate workshop will be offered at a private location in Fort Collins. Bring your own jug, jar, or teapot and all the little memories you've been saving to create your own piece of American folk art, or purchase an antique jug from Laurie. All other supplies will be provided. An instruction book is included in the cost of the workshop. Cost will be $145. Advanced reservations required by July 15, 2008.

Laurie has been making memory jugs since 2004, using her eclectic found art assemblage style. Laurie is best known for her altar installations and memory jugs, which have been on display at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the Loveland Art Museum, and the Durango Art Center. Her memory jug artwork has been published most recently in Lynne Perrella's new book on assemblage artists around the country entitled: Artmaking, Collections, and Obsessions. Please browse this blog for examples, articles, and reviews of Laurie's assemblage art.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN TOURS CEMETERIES AND MISSIONS OF WEST TEXAS

Laurie Zuckerman just returned from her latest photograph journey to the mission churches and cemeteries in West Texas. Despite the 400-year history of Spanish and Indian settlement along thie Mission Trail in El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, I found the churches to be much less decorative and distinctive than the churches in Northern New Mexico. The oldest of the churches is in Juarez, but it was closed the day I walked across the border. Had to settle for some beer and guacamole and helado on a stick.

As far as the cemeteries in this region, I was even more disappointed. The graves were not particularly unique from a folk art standpoint and the level of vandalism was the worst I have ever witnessed. I managed to get just a few photographs of any note. The most unique cemeteries were actually far afield in the towns of Terlingua, Lajitas, and Study Butte, all neighboring Big Bend National Park. The Terlingua ghost town cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places and was truly decrepit, but the locals tell me it is cleaned up and decorated annually for the Day of the Dead.

Also took the tour in Marfa of Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation, and decided once and for all that minimalism is not my game. I did appreciate, from a found object assemblage standpoint, John Chamberlain's junked car part sculptures. Marfa, Texas may be the up and coming "Santa Fe" of West Texas, but it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN LECTURES ON MEMORY JUGS FOR THE REMARKABLE WOMEN SERIES

Laurie Zuckerman was invited to speak on Memory Jugs for the Remarkable Women Series sponsored by A Place for Every Woman's Spirituality in Fort Collins, Colorado. The well-attended lecture was held on April 4th. Since there is so little known about folk art memory jugs, I concentrated on my personal history with making memory jugs and memorial jugs. I plan to offer a workshop through this women's center later this spring or summer.

http://www.everydaymysteries.com/Remarkable%20Women.htm

"Laurie Zuckerman constructs enigmatic memory jugs from antique and vintage found objects. She has conducted memory jug workshops at the Loveland Art Museum and the Artists' Nook in Fort Collins. she has exhibited her altar installations, memory jugs, and shrine photography since the mid-1990's, at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Chicago, the University of Northern Colorado, the Loveland Art Museum, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Durango Arts Center.

"Memory jugs, an American vernacular folk craft from the Victorian era, are believed to honor the dead with personal tokens once belonging to the deceased -- shells, jewelry, toys, buttons, beads, etc. Some art historians propose that memory jugs are linked to Southern African-American funerary traditions, and may have been used to decorate their gravesites.

"Laurie's memory jugs appear in the 2008 book by Lynne Perella: Art Making Collections and Obsessions (Quarry Publishers). In 1999, Laurie was included, along with 99 other woman altarmakers, in a book by Kay Turner, A Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women's Altars.

"Laurie was born in Los Angeles and received her B.A. in Fine Arts from the U. of California, Berkeley; and her B.F.A. in Painting from the U. of Oregon. She is a painting and drawing instructor at Front Range Community College, and lectures publicly on altarmaking to universities, colleges, museums, galleries, libraries, and arts organizations."

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S PHOTOGRAPHY AT SLIDING DOOR GALLERY IN DENVER

Laurie Zuckerman's digital image, "Baja Madonna" was juried into the new exhibit, "Current Works on the Front Range," at the Sliding Door Gallery in the popular Santa Fe Arts District in Denver, Colorado. The show presents a survey of photography by 22 regional artists and photographers and includes a range of work from traditional photography processes to digitally manipulated photographic collage. The exhibit was timed to correspond with Denver’s Month of Photography. My photo is one of my all-time favorite digital photos I shot in a decrepit graveyard in a remote town in colonial Baja del Sur. This altar was inside a private mausoleum whose door had been broken open.

Two public openings: Friday, March 7th and Friday, March 14th from 6-10 pm.

The show runs through Sunday March 30th. Regular hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5 pm.

554 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204, Phone: 720-979-4448.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUGS PROFILED IN BEAUTIFUL ART BOOK BY LYNNE PERRELLA: Art Making, Collections, and Obsessions

Laurie Zuckerman's memory jugs are profiled in Lynne Perrella's newest book: Art Making, Collections, and Obsessions: An Intimate Exploration of the Mixed-Media Work and Collections of 35 Artists. I am one of the 35 obsessed artists she has selected for this publication, and I am proud to be in such great company with Michael deMeng, Keith LoBue, and of course, Lynne Perrella. My copies of this beautiful hard-cover book just arrived in the mail this afternoon. I took some photos of my four-page spread that features several of my very obsessed memory jugs, along with the "fixin's" for another jug not pictured. Lynne has also used one of my photos for the frontispiece of her book. Thank you, Lynne! You did an awesome job putting this book together. Amazon.com already has twelve 5-star reviews of the book.

Amazon.com website to order book:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Collections-Obsessions-Exploration/dp/1592533639/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202864898&sr=8-1

Book Description from Amazon.com:

"A glimpse into the personal collections and work of 35 major artists.

"This large format, full-color, inspirational book is about how artists use their collections to make artwork. The gallery-style format allows readers to see what artists collect, and the resulting spectacular artwork they make from it. The book will feature the collections and the artwork of thirty-five major mixed-media artists. The artwork will include journals, assemblages, altered books, as well as jewelry pieces, and detailed descriptions of the materials and techniques used, plus tips and insights into using unusual materials and collections.

"Mixed-media artists are naturally collectors. They are fascinated by the stuff of life, and they are always looking for the right elements to add to their collages and journals. This book offers a juicy combination -- sort of a walk through an artist-filled flea market, and a gallery of the pieces created using these collections with tips and insights on collecting and creating, and how they go hand in hand."

About the Author:
Lynne Perrella is an artist, author, and workshop instructor. Her art interests include collage, assemblage, art journals, and one-of-a-kind books. Her first two books, Artists' Journals & Sketchbooks and Alphabetica were published by Quarry. Her third book, Beyond Paper Dolls came out in September 2006 by Stampington. She contributes articles to a variety of magazines, including Sketchbooks, Martha Stewart's Body + Soul, and Mary Englebreit's Home Companion. Her work has appeared in various books on mixed media including: Collage for the Soul, True Colors, Crafting Personal Shrines, Altered Books, The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery, Quilted Memories, and others. Lynne also appears in the documentary film, ?1000 Journals?. She conducts creativity workshops at venues throughout the United States and abroad. She exhibits collage and assemblage at galleries throughout the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Her website is www.LKPerrella.com.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S NEW MADONNA SHRINE

For my Christmas present, my husband Tom Mathies spent days sawing, carving, and painting me an exquisite shrine out of alabaster, cholla cactus, rusty tin, and gold leaf. For the focal point, I gave him a chalkware Madonna head I had found in a trash can in Southern Colorado. Tom used found materials that he had located in Wyoming and New Mexico. Last year he carved an alabaster grotto for my birthday. I can't wait for him to make another shrine!

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF DAY OF THE DEAD ALTARS IN OAXACA, MEXICO TO APPEAR IN INDIE ARTS DVD MAGAZINE

Just received my copy of Karen Landey's Indie Arts DVD, Issue 7. A collection of Laurie Zuckerman's Oaxaca, Mexico photos are profiled in the gallery section of the DVD. I attended Michael deMeng's Day of the Dead altar workshop in Oaxaca last fall with 20 other artists from around the country. I am very excited to be in this issue along with Michael deMeng and Lisa JonesMoore, a Seattle artist who was also in his workshop. The photo above was taken in Teotitlan del Valle, at the home of weaving family. The other photos included on the DVD concentrate on the ornate El Diá de los Muertos altars in Oaxaca's cemeteries, churches, and public squares. This issue features an antiquing painting demo with Artist and Author, Michael deMeng during his 2007 workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico.

If you want to check it out, follow these links to Indie Arts' website for previews of this issue and ordering information:

www.indieartsdvd.com/guideissue7.htm
www.indieartsdvd.com/Previews.htm

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S PHOTOS OF MEMORY JUG, BOTTLE TREES, & FOLK ART MEMORIALS FROM SAVANNAH

I returned from a great adventure in Savannah in January, hunting for folk art in flea markets and antique stores, visiting museums, and traveling through Gullah country in South Carolina. On my journey with my best artist buddy, Kathy Pinkerton, we photographed two bottle trees, one on the historic island of St. Helena, SC, and the other right around the corner from Kathy's home in Savannah. The bottle tree was in front of a huge African-American/Gullah folk art gallery named Red Piano Too.

Bottle tree's can be traced back to African origins. Sarah Fishburn just sent me this blurb from The House of Voodoo:

"The belief in and use of spirit bottles can be traced back to 9th and 10th century Congo where colorful bottles, traditionally cobalt blue, were placed on the ends of tree branches to catch the sunlight. It was thought that when an evil spirit sees the sunshine dazzling from the beautiful bottles, it is enamored and enters the bottle. Like a fly, the spirit then becomes trapped within the bottle; too dazzled by the play of light, the spirit prefers to remain in its colorful prison, rather than trouble the world of the living."

I spent the week asking about memory jugs, and on the last day, in the last hour of my trip, Kathy and I got lucky at the Telfair Art Museum in Savannah. Here is a shot of the only jug they had on display in the children's area of the museum, under the category of, "What is this?" It was beautiful. It is the first jug I have ever seen in a museum, besides my own at the Loveland Museum. It is only the third antique jug I have seen in person in the 14 years since I bought my first one.


An interactive computer display next to the jug helps kids or adults to decipher its true meaning.

Here is a shot from Kathy Pinkerton's altar exhibit at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2002. I love this Madonna altar!
Missed the exhibit, unfortunately, but was still living in Blacksburg, Virginia when Kathy was working on this shrine.


The most brilliant piece of folk art we found was in Savannah, in a neighborhood outside of the historic district. It was created entirely of papier maché by artist, James Kimble, and is called The Black Holocaust Memorial. Kathy had the opportunity to buy a smaller version of the memorial, which was equally beautiful.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR FEATURED IN CURRENT ISSUE OF PASTICCIO ZINE

Laurie Zuckerman's huge altar installation, "In the Pink" appears in the current issue of Pasticcio, a collaborative "zine" venture by artists Sarah Fishburn and Angela Cartwright. The issue is filled with beautiful artwork by artists around the country. I am thrilled to be included in the gallery section of this publication, thanks to my new friend, Sarah Fishburn!

"PASTICCIO is a pioneer in the next wave of a dynamic arts publication arena; with this 72-page Holiday 2007 issue, it has evolved into a QUARTZ: a QUality ARt Zine. To be specific, PASTICCIO 2 QUARTZ is meticulously jam-packed with a plethora of compelling (and fun!) information and incredible work from well known artists (and a few up and comers as well). Find inspiration, specific tips and techniques, reviews, art history, and a few special “gifts” within its pages. Printed on high quality glossy paper, its essence and design are as integral as the contents."

The magazine can be ordered at: http://www.lulu.com/content/1619814

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM LAURIE ZUCKERMAN

Happy holidays to you, particularly my two favorites: Winter Solstice and New Years. Here's my favorite holiday altar I photographed this past Octover in the village of Ocotlan, just outside of Oaxaca. Even my own altars don't have this many Jesuses, and that's saying something.

From my altars to yours, Laurie Zuckerman

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR LECTURE AT HARMONY LIBRARY, DECEMBER 7, 2007

On December 7, 5:30-7:30 pm, A Place for Every Women’s Spirituality is hosting their first Women’s Spirituality Altar Making seminar session at the Harmony Library’s Community Room. The entire community is welcome to attend a photo lecture by altarmaker, Laurie Zuckerman. Laurie will discuss her sixteen-year obsession with Catholic and Vodou altarmaking. Cost is $10.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR, CEMETERY, AND CHURCH IMAGES FROM EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN OAXACA, MEXICO 2007

I just returned from ten terrific days of El Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, Mexico in conjunction with Michael DeMeng's Day of the Dead shrine workshop. It was a rich and varied experience, thanks to Michael and Colleen Darling.

http://picasaweb.google.com/iconarteimages

If you would like to see my best Day of the Dead altar photos and cemetery decorations from Oaxaca, Mexico and its neighboring villages during El Dia de los Muertos festivities, just open my Picasa website in your browser. You can view any or all of the pictures in the four Oaxaca photo albums. You can even turn them into slideshows.

http://picasaweb.google.com/iconarteimages

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S El DIA DE LOS MUERTOS PHOTO LECTURE AT HARMONY LIBRARY

Here is the press release for the Coloradoan newspaper announcing my upcoming lecture on the Day of the Dead festivals in Colonial Mexico. My presentation features my color photography from my 2005 journey to the cemeteries of San Miguel de Allende and Guanujuato. I will be photographing the Day of the Dead festivities in and around Oaxaca, Mexico this fall.

"Laurie Zuckerman, an art instructor at Front Range Community College, will give a slide show presentation on "El Día de los Muertos: Altars and Cemeteries from Colonial Mexico" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 23, in the Harmony Library Community Room.

"Zuckerman’s presentation is one of the activities to recognize El Día de los Muertos, a Latin American tradition in which people build sometimes-elaborate altars in memory of deceased loved ones. The tradition corresponds with Christian recognition of All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2). Altar decorations, including sugar skulls and vintage dolls, will be exhibited in the display cases of Harmony Library.

"The activities are co-sponsored by FRCC’s Latino Club, Student Life, and the Psychology of Death and Dying class taught by Beverly Leslie, psychology faculty. The Fort Collins Public Library also is a sponsor."

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S PHOTOS EXHBITED AT "FRIGHT • FEAR • FOBIA" SHOW IN COLORADO

I have two of my photos in an upcoming exhibit in Fort Collins: Fright • Fear • Fobia, which opens on October 5th. The CoCOA Gallery is hosting the exhibit that was organized by the museum studies class at Front Range Community College. They put out a national call for work to be juried, and since I am an art instructor at FRCC, I entered two of my digital roadside America photos. Here's one of the photos. Currently, I am showing a couple of digital transfer photos from the same roadside America series in our annual Front Range Art Faculty exhibition at the CoCoa Gallery. Here's one of my favorite images from that series, shot in downtown Las Vegas.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN DOES DURANGO AND TAOS WITH ALTAR-MAKING PAL, KATHY PINKERTON

Here are new photos of two of my favorite roadside sanctuarios from southern Colorado. The first Madonna is inside this folksy roadside shrine on the altar. The second Madonna is the focal figure of a sandstone grotto called The Shrine of the Blessed Mother in Huerfano County, which I have been photographing since 1999, often several times a year. The Madonna is always changing, as you can see by this last shot taken just months before. "The St. Mary Club of Walsenburg put a statue of Our Lady of Grace in the grotto in the mid-1960s, and since then travelers and residents have added objects to memorialize their loved ones," according to Mary Jean Porter at the Pueblo Chieftan. I wonder if this Madonna is the original statue. I found an old plaster statue tossed to the side of the grotto, unfortunately decapitated, so I am not sure.

I was photographing this grotto sanctuario again on Labor Day. I am working on a large series of photographs from roadside shrines in Colorado and New Mexico to be included in my upcoming solo show at the Loveland Art Museum in 2009. I was visiting there with my best altar-making buddy—artist Kathy Pinkerton, from Blacksburg, Virginia. Kathy came out for the holiday weekend to accompany me to the Durango Arts Center to see my altar and photography exhibit that was ending September 1st.

We stayed with artist, Mary Ellen Long and her husband in their beautiful art-filled home. Kathy and Mary Ellen are both papermakers and painters, so they had a lot in common. After packing up the car with the artwork that hadn't sold, the three of us lunched and shopped at a couple of antique stores, where I scored some old dolls and little goodies for my memory jugs.

Sunday morning, I awoke with a wild hare to drive Kathy to Taos, instead of heading home as the crow flies. Mary Ellen told us about the Richard Diebenkorn retrospective of his New Mexican paintings at the Harwood Museum. Being that it was ending in a few days, I knew this was my only chance to see the show. Diebenkorn has always been one of my favorite American painters. I had studied with two artists from his gang of Bay Area Figurative painters: Elmer Bischoff, when I was an undergraduate at Berkeley; and Nathan Oliviera, at Centrum in Port Townsend, Washington after graduate school.

The show was great, well worth the five-hour drive across Northern New Mexico. Plus the Harwood has a great collection of New Mexican santos and retablos, which I enjoyed visiting for a second time. Last fall, I met with the curator of the Harwood Museum to discuss my work. I am hoping to have some of work, likely my photography, shown at the museum someday. I am in the process of making CDs of my Mexican, New Mexican, and Coloradoan shrine photography to mail to the museum this week, per the request of the curator.

Kathy and I have been altar compatriots since the early-1990s when I lived in Blacksburg and worked at Virginia Tech. Kathy is meeting me in Oaxaca for Michael deMeng's Day of the Dead workshop. I can't wait, as we had a complete blast driving across two states, antiquing along the way, and talking non-stop!! Thank you, Kathy! Still haven't unpacked the car. Tomorrow is another day.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MEMORY JUGS TO APPEAR IN LYNNE PERELLA'S UPCOMING BOOK: "ART MAKING—COLLECTIONS & OBSESSIONS"

Lynne attended the "Grave Matters" exhibit at the Loveland Museum last summer, while she was in town teaching at the Artists' Nook, where she saw my memory jugs and found-object assemblages. She later invited me to participate in her latest book project. I photographed three of my memory jugs for inclusion in the book, and sent Lynne the "fixins" for my latest jug, "Up in Smoke," for her own photographer to shoot. I can't wait to see all the other artists in her book, as I love the concept of artists who collect. The book is due out in 2008. Can't wait!

If you don't know of her work, Lynne Perrella is a terrific mixed-media artist, author, graphic designer, and workshop instructor. She conducts creativity events at various venues in the United States and abroad. She's taught some excellent workshops at the Artist's Nook, and will be back again in 2008. I took her class last summer and loved her teaching approach. She has three other books, “Artists Journals & Sketchbooks," “Alphabetica,” and 'Beyond Paper Dolls." Check out her website: www.LKPerrella.com. Her link is under my favorites.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR APPEARS IN: "A BEAUTIFUL NECESSITY: THE ART AND MEANING OF WOMEN'S ALTARS," by Kay Turner

"Marriage Altar" Detail, by Laurie Zuckerman

If you are looking for the best book on the history of women's home altars, try A Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women's Altars, by Kay Turner. I was proud to be profiled along with 99 other American, African-American and Hispanic-American woman altarmakers in this book. A photo of my Marriage Altar appears in the book, along with some quotes by me, but it is a different detail of this altar.

Each artist received a small profile. Mine reads: Laurie Zuckerman "all but abandoned" her career as a painter when she turned to altar-making in the early 1990s, but she approaches her altar aesthetic with a painter's concern for form, color, line, texture, and concept. She regularly spends time "adjusting" her altars: "They are the most fluid part of my home. Altars are intended to be altered, to grow and respond to life's persistent changes."

Several famous altar artists are in the book, in particular internationally acclaimed Betye Saar. Her work is a must see. Two of my friends were also included in the book. Kay's book was published in 1999 by Thames & Hudson and is available on Amazon.com.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN IS HEADING TO OAXACA, MEXICO FOR THE DAY OF THE DEAD WITH MICHAEL DeMENG

This October I am heading to Oaxaca for a unique found object, shrine-making workshop with artist, Michael deMeng. I'll be spending my free-time photographing Day of the Dead shrines in the cemeteries and public squares. Here's a couple of public Day of the Dead altars I shot in 2005 in San Miguel de Allende and Guanujuato, respectively. I am ready for more color and more shopping at the sugar skull markets, as we will be building a collective Day of the Dead shrine at our workshop.

Here's the Day of the Dead ofrenda I spent the week building with the help of my old friends from Seattle in the home we all rented in San Miguel.



I was excited to discover my Day of the Dead blog entry on Michael deMeng's blog, after I signed up for his Oaxaca workshop. Thanks for the nice plug, Michael.


I am busy collecting up all my miniature skulls and appropriate goodies, and counting the days until we leave on October 25th. Lots of friends from the Artists' Nook are coming, too, plus my best altar-making buddy, Kathy Pinkerton, from Blacksburg, Virginia. Here's a shot of Kathy's Mexican altar at the Apex Gallery in New York City. This show was curated by art critic and author, Suzi Gablik.

PASTICCIO ZINE to show Laurie Zuckerman's "In the Pink" home altar

Artists Sarah Fishburn's and Angela Cartwright's latest joint publishing project is their smartly designed magazine, "Pasticcio Zine." Sarah has invited me to have an image of my altars in the gallery section of their next issue. I am really honored. To buy a copy, click on my link for Sarah's website under favorites, or log onto: http://stores.lulu.com/cartwrightandfishburn

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S UPCOMING CARDS

I'll be printing a new set of these business cards with several photos of my altars and photography. You'll be able to pick one up at The Artists' Nook Gallery in Old Town Fort Collins later this month. I will also have some of my latest photography on sale in The Artists' Nook Boutique for the First Friday Gallery Walk in September.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ART REVIEW IN THE DURANGO TELEGRAPH'S "ARTING AROUND" COLUMN COVERS EXHIBIT AT DAC

Copies of the weekly Durango Telegraph arrived in the mail yesterday with the review of my current show, "Hispanic Legacy" at the Durango Arts Center. I am especially pleased with the title the reviewer used, "Altaring the Past," and the article itself is quite fair and accurate.


Here is the on-line version of the review which ran color photos of the work.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S DURANGO ARTS CENTER SOLO ART EXHIBIT— “Hispanic Legacy"

NOTES FROM MY DURANGO OPENING AND LECTURE
This summer the Durango Arts Center Library is presenting my show, “Hispanic Legacy: A Photographic Portrayal of Cemetery Shrines of Colorado and New Mexico,” which includes almost all new work: twenty photos, one altar installation, and a huge memory jug to compliment two of my jugs I debuted last summer at the Loveland Art Museum's "Grave Matters" show. The opening was wonderful and I think the intensity and detail of my assemblage work took many people aback, especially my new altar, "Bella Donna."

I created the exhibit to exactly fit the intimate library space, which is upstairs in the historic downtown building. I am really excited about the visual impact of this show, which I installed in one full-day with the assistance and persistance of my DAC host and sponsor, artist Mary Ellen Long. You will want to check out my link to Mary Ellen's website (under my list of favorite art sites.) Her work is so lovely and delicate. Our three inspiring nights at Mary Ellen's home was the best part of my introduction to the Durango art community.

I was surprised that I was to be interviewed by artist, Jules Masterjohn, who writes a column called "Arting Around" for the weekly Durango Telegraph. Her wonderful article printed on July 19th and is posted above. I also feel lucky to have received a large photo notice topping the Arts calendar of the Durango Herald, and a host of press releases on various websites throughout the Four Corners region. I'll attach a couple with this post, as I find it humorous to see my work advertised on these western-themed sites.

Coinciding with my opening on Friday night, July 6, was a huge art opening and fund-raising auction in the main gallery, which involved 77 Durango-area artists, several of which I met as they came up to see my own show.

Saturday morning, I presented a slide lecture about my work that illustrated the over twenty years of Hispanic influences on my own altarwork and photography, beginning with images from one of my earliest trips to Mexico in 1985. The colorful pictures guided the audience through regions of Mexico, Peru, Baja, New Mexico, and Southern Colorado, on my quest of cemetery art and church shrines. I finished up with a variety of my museum and gallery installation altars during the last couple of years, which I have been exhibited in Northern Colorado and Taos, New Mexico.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN SOLO SHOW AT THE DURANGO ARTS CENTER—"HISPANIC LEGACY"

If you find yourself in Durango this summer, stop by the Durango Arts Center and check out my new exhibit of photography, altars, and memory jugs. Show opening will be on July 6, 2007. I'll be lecturing on July 7 at 10 am, for all you early birds. More info can be found at: http://www.durangoarts.org/gallery.cfm

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR INSTALLATIONS, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, AND ART REVIEWS: 2003-06

• LOVELAND ART MUSEUM & GALLERY: "GRAVE MATTERS: ART OF MEMORY AND MOURNING" EXHIBITION, SUMMER 2006


• THE LOVELAND ART MUSEUM NEWSLETTER/BROCHURE RAN SEVERAL IMAGES AND ARTICLES ANNOUNCING MY GALLERY LECTURE AND MEMORY JUG WORKSHOP/LECTURES.
The front brochure photo is one of my cemetery images from the show:



• TWO OF MY CEMETERY PHOTOS APPEARED ON THE EXHIBIT POSTERS AND STREET BANNERS ANNOUNCING THE "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBIT:


• LOVELAND ART MUSEUM: "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBITION, "FORBIDDEN FRUIT" DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR INSTALLATION
Here are photos I took from the Loveland Art Museum's exhibit, "Grave Matters: Art of Mourning and Meaning." This first piece is my Day of the Dead altar to my mother, Blanche Zuckerman. I was able to create this 30-foot long installation to headline this international exhibit, which included works by Kathe Kollwitz and Rembrandt, pre-Columbian and Egyptian artifacts, contemporary Day of the Dead sculptures, among many other treasured objects, and dozens of cemetery photos, of which more than 30 were mine. All the photos in my installation were photographed in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, Mexico.




• IN THE CENTER OF THE ALTAR IS A PHOTO OF MY MOTHER, BLANCE KLEID ZUCKERMAN, TAKEN IN 1946.
Below is a photo of my brother and myself with our Mom. I am probably five in this picture. A true fifties family.



• THIS IS THE PROTOTYPE VERSION OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR CREATED OVER A SIX-MONTH PERIOD IN MY GARAGE.
Fortunately, the curatorial staff allowed me to create a much bigger, wider, and taller altar. I liked this trial one, too;.

• LOVELAND ART MUSEUM: "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBITION, "DEVIL MAY CARE" and "THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND" ALTARS
Both of these altars are dedicated to my mother. "Devil May Care" is a compilation of Mexican Day of the Dead figurines I had been collecting for more than twenty years, including bride and groom skeletons that I had at my wedding ceremony in 1989.



• LOVELAND ART MUSEUM: "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBITION ALTAR INSTALLATION PHOTOS
Here are just a few contextual shots of the exhibition itself showing my dollhouse altars— "Devil May Care" and "The Girl I Left Behind," and my memory jugs.




• LOVELAND ART MUSEUM: GRAVE MATTERS EXHIBITION CEMETERY PHOTOGRAPHY
Some sample shots of the cemetery photography I had on display, including single images and tryptichs taken in New Mexico, Colorado, and Baja. The skeleton in the window was shot in San Miquel de Allende, Mexico and was used for the introductory image to the exhibit. Most of this photography was shot expressly for this exhibit.



• LAURIE'S PHOTOS FROM COLONIAL MEXICO (San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato) were shot during the Day of the Dead celebrations in 2005 expressly for this "Grave Matters" exhibit. These images flanked my Day of the Dead installation which featured similar items seen in the sugar skull markets and cemetery displays. Some of the items I collected in Mexico, but the bulk were purchased at flea markets, thrift stores, and folk art outlets in Colorado and New Mexico.



• GREAT PRESS ABOUT THE "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBIT APPEARED IN THE COLORADOAN [FORT COLLINS] AND THE LOVELAND REPORTER-HERALD :




• A CHICANO WEBSITE POSTED NOTICE OF THE "GRAVE MATTERS" EXHIBIT:
One of the other participating artists, Jerry Vigil of Denver, had many great works pertaining to the Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration.


• A WEBSITE ON AFRICAN ART LOANED TO THE EXHIBIT POSTED NOTICE OF THE EXHIBIT:



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• FRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE "DIA DE LOS MUERTOS" LECTURE AND ALTAR DEMONSTRATION, FALL 2006
After the "Death And Dying" psychology instructor at FRCC saw the Loveland exhibit, she invited me to hold a public lecture at the community college. I built a sample "ofrenda" in front of the audience, explaining the symbolism behind each offering to the altar. The next day the psychology students built their own ofrendas for the public to witness.




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• ARTISTS NOOK GALLERY—DAY OF THE DEAD COMMUNITY ALTAR INSTALLATION, FALL 2006
I constructed this small, casual Day of the Dead ofrenda (or altar) for Christine Webb's store, using some of the items from my Loveland Museum installation. Her customers brought their own photos and memorabilia to add to the altar during our Day of the Dead potluck dinner and ceremony. I loved the community participation aspect to this type of public altar.




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• FORT COLLINS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: "THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIENNIAL," SUMMER 2006
"In the Pink" Altar Installation, Third Place Award/Honorarium Lecture
The juror, William Wylie, told me he selected my piece because it was "creepy." Exactly.






• CLICK ON THE FCMOCA WEBSITE—www.fcmoca.org/past.html—to see a Listing of past exhibits at Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art.



• TWO REVIEWS OF THE "ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIENNIAL" FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS [DENVER] AND THE COLORADOAN [FORT COLLINS]:




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• TWO GRACES GALLERY, TAOS, NEW MEXICO, "DAY OF THE DEAD INVITATIONAL" EXHIBITION, FALL 2006
I had some great press from the Taos News TEMPO once again. The photo in the Grim Reaper article is a detail of my Day of the Dead altar entitled, "Devil May Care." I've included a full shot of the altar, which appeared in an earlier version last summer at the Loveland Art Museum's, "Grave Matters" exhibit.




• THE TAOS NEWS TEMPO ART REVIEW "GRIM REAPER TO GRIN CATCHER": American Indian Day of the Dead Harvests Happy Memories, by Virginia L. Clark, gave me some great exposure.

All Saints Day takes on a whole different character in the Americas. Here the somber European “Dia de Todos Santos” is replaced by Dia de los Muertos, a prehispanic, Mesoamerican Indian festival celebrating children, Dia de los Angelitos, and loved ones who have passed on. Originally, the three-day festival fell in the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, which overlapped the end of July and the beginning of August. The “Lady of the Dead,” Mictecacihuatl, was the mistress of ceremonies. Spanish priests moved the Indian festival from the beginning of summer to coincide with All Hallows Eve, Oct. 31 and All Saints Day, Nov. 1. Rather than erasing the existence of the ancient pre-conquest practice altogether, however, the sunny American Indian children’s celebration has turned the Old World’s Grim Reaper of martyred souls into a friendly and bony New World harvester of happy memories.

Except for green chile, Dia de los Muertos is arguably the most beloved tradition of both Old and New Mexico by natives and non-natives alike. To date, besides the annual Nov. 2 celebration of George Chacon’s community altar at the Historic Taos Inn, three other public Dia de los Muertos altars have been announced in Taos. “Dia de los Muertos III” opening reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday (Oct. 20) at Two Graces gallery in Ranchos de Taos. This is one hugely popular opening every year.

The featured artists in the Two Graces exhibit will be Mary Hockenbery, Robin McLean of Taos Sound, Debbe de Taos of dessert and bar-b-que fame, Lyn Bleiler, Caterina Giglio, Laurie Zuckerman and Leah Benau. With the exception of Leah Benau, owner/director Robert Cafazzo rotates the participating artists every year. Laurie Zuckerman’s altar “Devil May Care” is a dark spark in honor of her mother that is part of an original installation for “Grave Matters,” first installed at the Loveland Art Museum in Colorado earlier this year. Zuckerman’s complete installation was 30 feet in length and two stories high, celebrating the renewed bonds with her mother with whom she’d had a love-hate relationship before her mother’s illness and death from cancer. “Devil May Care” is the smallest segment of the museum installation and carries the Jungian “shadow” of the mother-daughter relationship. While dying from cancer, the women bonded in a way they had never bonded before. Zuckerman admitted the dark beauty of the piece, and referring to it’s title, said she “didn’t have too great of a relationship with my mother while I was growing up. I really miss her and really want her to care about me.”

Contrasts of subjects, themes, textures, light and dark values, all contrive to create complexity, an almost inadvertent duplicity stemming somehow from both her mature mind and her youthful incomprehension of the mother’s seemingly adult perspectives. In the 30-foot installation, Zuckerman explored every conceivable positive and negative aspect of the relationship with her mother. Zuckerman is Jewish and in the five years since her mother died, leaving her parentless, Zuckerman has been creating altars, honoring the lives and loves still vibrant in her psyche. This is the first official Day of the Dead altar she built to her mother. Besides the fascinating altars, Cafazzo has marigold seeds saved from the 2005 traditional altar by Maria Clarita Peralta, which he propagated this year and which will be given out at the exhibit. Cafazzo will also have handmade Papel Picado (paper cut flags), Sugar Skulls, the delight of children, and everyone’s favorite the traditional sweet batter bread, Pan de Muerte, will be available at the reception.

• THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL PRINTED THIS REVIEW BY TOM COLLINS IN THEIR GALLERY GUIDE along with a photo of my "Devil May Care" Day of the Dead altar.

"OUTSIDE LOOKING OUT": The Taos art scene is far removed from what's happening in the City Different [Santa Fe], but there are still a few fringe artists worth checking out

Back in the day, Taos had it all over Santa Fe as far as interesting artists in residence was concerned. No longer, and not for a long while now. Like Santa Fe, Taos today is all about real estate, with Hollywood movie chat running a close second. But while the sizzle seems pretty much gone out of anything approaching a "visual arts scene" in Taos, Santa Fe seems cookin' by comparison.In Santa Fe, a really supportive community of artists and gallerists has taken root in the last decade and a half or so, in part due to the infusion of kulturdollars injected into the scene by John and Ann Marian in the mid-'90s, but even more so thanks to the support of dealers like Linda Durham, Charlotte Jackson, et al., and institutions such as the Center for Contemporary Arts and SITE Santa Fe, as well as St. John's College, the College of Santa Fe, the Santa Fe Institute of Art and Santa Fe Community College. All that, and Santa Fe has a bigger population! and many more tourists. Which is why so many interesting artists would dodge Santa Fe (see O'Keeffe and Agnes Martin, to name two) and head to Taos and other outlying precincts. And while Taos is still a fine place not to hang out and get some actual work done, there's very little support system from the galleries or the institutions for artists once they arrive. The Taos Art Association died long ago; there's no Stables Gallery to speak of; and the Harwood Museum wanders aimlessly along with weird exhibitions as they duplicate the Wurlitzer Foundation mission, handing out free rent to artists and writers as long as they don't live here. As for those in residence, let them eat corn tortillas. As far as actual, edgy aesthetics in Taos these days, my votes are for the Kultur Cafe/Mondo Video bistro, and Taosounds record and CD shop, in general; and in the visual realm, Two Graces Gallery in Ranchos de Taos and the ArtLobby in the La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza. The sign in the La Fonda lobby reads "D.H. Lawrence Forbidden Art Tours," referring to Lorenzo's bad "erotic" paintings now safely behind curtains in a little-used side room. As it turns out, the only "forbidden art" around the La Fonda these days is work like that in the current Peter Opheim show, "Microscope/Telephone," in the lobby. For a year and a half, independent curator Kristin Bortles has presented eight tremendously engaging exhibitions of underappreciated, neighborhood, mostly youngish artists in the lobby that, with only one or two exceptions, had more sizzle than Joe's duck-fat fries. Unfortunately, when the Opheim show closes on Dec. 11, that's it for the ArtLobby. In the meantime, Opheim's dozen strangely decorative, vegetative watercolor and paper collages, and trio of wildly hued and patterned, nonobjective oil paintings, are installed against big backdrops of kitschy, pseudo-Victorian wallpaper. The overall effect is dizzying and hilarious at the same time. There is such a din of optic opposition and disharmony that all your visual energy must be focused on a painting or the background, one or the other. All peripheral vision is shut down. It's as if Opheim is anticipating the philistine's critique that his stuff "looks just like wallpaper." It does, but it's not. Indeed, you would never find a couch or wallpaper that could coexist with a work of such large, random, Klimtian business and color as "Mountain/Something."

Meanwhile, down in Ranchos in the shadows of the buttresses of San Francisco de Asis, Two Graces still boasts a room full of cool antiques and tchotchkas, a big room full of all sorts of paintings, assemblages, photos and more by local and regional artists ranging from disturbed to brilliant (sometimes, maybe both), and a small middle room wherein resident genius and director Robert Cafazzo mounts an odd, usually intriguing exhibition or other. Currently, the gallery is holding its "Dia de los Muertos III" exhibition of altars and shrines by seven women, one guy, and a husband and wife duo. Having some years ago, and at the risk of mixing metaphors, declared a fatwa against all shrine or altar shows, I tried to avoid this one at Two Graces, but I couldn't. Cafazzo's too curious an intelligence to just blow it off. Be that as it may, there's only so much you can expect from these kinds of "Day of the Dead" shows, and one is not disappointed, or surprised, in this one...

I DID LIKE LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S MAD BLACK VOODOO SHRINE OF A GAZILLION SKELTONS AND SKULLS,...

and I loved Robin McLean's (the guy) assemblage shrine of classic LP covers from Santana, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, the Clash, etc., combined with McLean's hand-lettered, blackmarker-on-yellowcardboard history of rock 'n' roll and American culture. McLean's history is better than anything that Rolling Stone has published for the past 25 years, but it's still not enough for me to rescind my fatwa. But one man's fatwa is another's fine art, so check it out and you tell me.
October 27, 2006

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• THE TWO GRACES GALLERY, RANCHO DE TAOS, NEW MEXICO—"MEMENTO MORI," WINTER 2006
The Two Graces Gallery is located immediately behind the San Francisco of Asis Church, made famous by Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams, in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Here's some shots from my solo show. These are two of my "dollhouse" altars and a detail of my "wedding cake" altar alongside some of my shrine and cemetery photography. Currently, I have some of my photography on view at the gallery.








• HERE ARE TWO EXAMPLES OF THE 30 CEMETERY AND SHRINE PHOTOS I HAD ON DISPLAY AT THE TWO GRACES GALLERY. These were shot in several remote areas of Baja Sur in 2004. The blue Madonna shrine is my most popular selling photo.




• I HAD A WONDERFUL INTERVIEW/REVIEW OF MY "MEMENTO MORI" SHOW IN THE TAOS NEWS TEMPO MAGAZINE:




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• ARTISTS NOOK GALLERY—"MEMENTO MORI" ALTARS & CEMETERY PHOTOGRAPHY, FORT COLLINS, CO, SPRING 2006
This is the same exhibit I showed in Taos at the Two Graces Gallery, only installed differently. I wanted my friends in Fort Collins to get a chance to see this new body of work. Owner, Christine Webb threw a great opening and I gave a gallery talk on "Shopping for Soul," which was surprisingly well-attended.



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• PIRATE GALLERY, DENVER—"DAY OF THE DEAD EXHIBIT," "THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED" ALTAR INSTALLATION, FALL 2005
This is a detail of the Day of the Dead altar I mounted especially for this exhibit. It is a suitcase altar made in honor of the homeless Hurricane Katrina victims.



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• FORT COLLINS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART—"STUDIO TOUR ARTISTS" "SAINT FRANCIS," ALTAR INSTALLATION, SUMMER 2005



Saint Francis' statue and shrine were handcarved and hand-painted by Laurie and her husband, Tom Mathies in 1993. I had my house open on the FCMOCA Studio Tour for two days, so that the public could view my home altars in place. There were upwards of 35 altars and memory jugs on display, in all the upstairs rooms, as well as, the two studio rooms downstairs. I got dubbed "The Shrine Lady" that weekend. I met many wonderful people, including Christine Webb, Linda Folkerts, and Maggie Kunze through this event, all associated with the Artists' Nook in Fort Collins.

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• UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO, MARIANI GALLERY, “AMERICAN VODOU: JEW-JU” ALTAR INSTALLATION, WINTER 2003
An overview shot of three of the thirteen altars I had on exhibit in this spacious gallery. The title of this two-person exhibit was "Jew-Ju." It was the first major public show of my altar installations in Colorado.

FLEA MARKET QUEENS: Check out Maggie Kunze's latest article in Journey Magazine!

A fun article about Laurie Zuckerman and Maggie Kunze.
















Here's some excerpts from Maggie's article, "The Flea Market Queens,"
on page 13 of Journey Magazine.

"I think you either have the flea market gene or you don't. I truly believe the inspiration for my artwork has come from other people's leftover stuff...So flea marketing became somewhat of an obsession with me.

"I know I am not alone. I know many artists who get inspired and just downright crazy about flea markets. One of my favorite people in town is an artist by the name of Laurie Zuckerman. She teaches at Front Range Community College and I first met her when her home was on the Studio Tour sponsored by the [Fort Collins] Museum of Contemporary Art.

"When I went to Laurie Zuckerman's house while it was on the tour, I was absolutely speechless. Her house contains more than 30 shrines that would blow your mind. Laurie has always been a collector—she goes by my motto of "more is more."

"She has been influenced by traditional shrines she found in her travels to Mexico and Costa Rica. Folk art was something she was drawn to and she started collecting miniatures. Enamored with the traditional altars that she found in many cultures, she began building her collections into altars and making memory jars.

"She has hunted antique stores and flea markets from Virginia to the West Coast, including Fort Collins and all surrounding areas, to add to her amazing collections.

"She is much more theme-oriented and historically accurate than I am. She has researched the tradition of building altars and she is at the flea markets almost weekly to see what is new.

"When I talked to one of the owners of a local flea market and asked about local artists who frequent the markets, Laurie's was the first name she mentioned.

"Laurie's "In the Pink" altar [on view in FCMOCA's 2006 Biennial—see articles below] was a wonderful collection of all things pink—a tribute to her mom and growing up in the '50s. It was an incredible array of collectibles from that era that she displays with such panache and flair.

"Many other local artists do what is called "found object" art or assemblage, following the mantra of "Re-think, Re-use, Re-purpose." It is all about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary."

THANK YOU, MAGGIE! GREAT EXPOSURE.

Laurie Zuckerman exhibits memory jugs from her November workshop at the Artists' Nook

• The Rocky Mountain Chronicle published a nice promo of the show.

"MEMORIES IN A BOTTLE," Rocky Mountain Chronicle Encore, January 18-24, 2007

Some people may hold onto old photographs of loved ones who've passed away; others might celebrate Grandpa's birthday even after he's gone. Local artist Laurie Zuckerman honors the dead by borrowing from a tradition that can be traced to Victorian-era and African-American funerals: memory jugs. Personal tokens belonging to the deceased are embedded into soft putty, which is then formed into jugs, boxes, teapots, or other shapes.

"Laurie is a master altar-maker," says Christine Webb of the Artists' Nook, where Zuckerman teaches workshops on the technique. "She collects all kinds of things and then uses them to add meaning to her art."

Five jugs created by students during Zuckerman's November workshop, plus three of her own works, are on display through the end of the month at The Artists' Nook, 402 N. College Ave., in Fort Collins. Zuckerman will hold another memory jug workshop in February.

Memory Jugs from the participants of Laurie Zuckerman's workshop at the Artist's Nook in Fort Collins

Memory Jugs from five participants of Laurie Zuckerman's workshop at the Artist's Nook in Fort Collins.

Mareye Bullock
Karen Fischer
Linda Folkerts
Dixie Straight
Venita Hawkins-Bird

To view photos of the unfinished jugs, just log onto this website:
http://artistsnook.blogspot.com/2006/12/laurie-zuckermans-memory-jug-workshop.html

Karen Fischer's Memory Jug

Congratulations to Karen Fischer, who had her memory jug accepted to the assemblage show this summer at the CORE Art Gallery on Santa Fe Drive in Denver, Colorado.

Mareye Bulluck's Memory Jug