HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S FAVORITE PLACE FOR CHRISTMAS—OAXACA

Happy Holidays to all my friends and family!

This photo is from the most magical place we have ever been for Christmas—Oaxaca, Mexico. This is the Catedral off the zocalo from Christmas 2008. It was a balmy Christmas season, with locals and tourists enjoying the lights, the nativity scenes, the balloon sellers, the cotton candy and the outdoor cafes surrounding the zocalo. Forget this white Christmas nonsense—Mexico has it all over Colorado.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S PHOTOGRAPHS OF LA VIRGEN DE SOLEDAD IN OAXACA, MEXICO FROM DECEMBER 18, 2008

Last year, Laurie Zuckerman was in Oaxaca, Mexico partaking in the colonial city's stunning December festivals. Here are my photos from La Basilica del Virgen de Soledad, Oaxaca's patron saint, on the night the town comes out to celebrate her—December 18. A procession of patient worshippers spilled out of the church into the twilight evening. Afterwards revelers danced on the plaza with flower baskets balanced on their heads.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN AND THE VIRGEN OF GUADALUPE SHARE DECEMBER 12 BIRTHDAY

Laurie Zuckerman's favorite Catholic saint if the Virgen of Guadalupe. We share the same birthday, so she feels personal to me, despite the fact I am neither Mexican or Catholic. I love taking photos of Guadalupe shrines in Mexico. Here are some of my favorite altar shots taken during the last visits to Oaxaca and Baja during the festivals for Guadalupe. Top picture is a church altar in Oaxaca; second picture down is from the festival at the Guadalupe church in Oaxaca; third picture down is from a church altar in Teotitlan del Valle, State of Oaxaca; fourth picture down is from a roadside shrine on a mountain road in Baja; the last picture is a basketweaver's home altar in Colonial Baja.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S HOME ALTARS APPEAR IN LYNNE PERRELLA'S BRAND NEW PHOTO BOOK: ART MAKING & STUDIO SPACES

Laurie Zuckerman's oldest home altar appears as the title page of Lynne Perrella's brand new book: Art Making & Studio Spaces. Above is my close-up photograph of my Green Altar, physically begun in 1992, housing collections of Mexican and New Mexican religious folk art I began collecting in the late 1980s. I am so pleased to see this image printed full-page in Lynne's wonderful book. Below is another of my photos, which Lynne used as the last page of the book. It is a detail of my Mother of Sorrows altar, in honor of my mother, Blanche Kleid Zuckerman.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S HOME ART STUDIO APPEARS IN LYNNE PERRELLA'S BRAND NEW BOOK: ART MAKING & STUDIO SPACES

Laurie Zuckerman just received her copy of Lynne Perrella's new book profiling 31 artists' studios: Art Making and Studio Spaces. I am extremely honored to be a participant in another of Lynne's sumptuous photography books alongside of some of my most admired mixed-media artists, Michael deMeng, Nancy Anderson, and Keith LoBue. After reviewing the book, I decided to post a few additional photos of my home, so that readers can get a broader impression of my home. The studio clutter remains mostly downstairs. The living room/dining room is as much showcase as workspace. Sarah Blodgett's photography in Lynne Perrella's book gives the impression of riotous color, collections, and work materials underfoot everywhere. That is not always the case. There is space and order to my home, especially in the summer of 2008 when these photographs were taken. The colorful memory jugs featured in Lynne's book (see above page spread from the book featuring my dining room table workspace) were memory jugs in progress for the "Red Scare" installation, exhibited in my recent solo show at the Loveland Museum's Main Gallery.

• Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Studio-Spaces-Intimate/dp/1592535399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1265653916&sr=8-1 

• Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781592535392&box=978-1-59253-539-2&pos=-1 

• Quarrybooks: http://www.quarrybooks.com/description.asp?isbn=9781592535392&topicid=2 <http://www.quarrybooks.com/description.asp?

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

Laurie Zuckerman's home altars and memory jugs are profiled in Lynne Perrella's new book: Art Making and Studio Spaces. This should be a unique book, as Lynne traveled the country photographing thirty artists' studios. I am so honored to be included with such well-known mixed-media artists as: Michael deMeng, Keith LoBue, Melissa Zink, Judy Wilkenfeld and Lynne Perrella herself.

Two of my photographs of my home altars will appear in the book in addition to the six pages of photos shot by Sarah Blodgett, Lynne's photographer at my home studio during the crush of getting ready for my exhibit at the Loveland Museum earlier this year. Lynne Perrella wrote me this week to say, "Your work absolutely stands alone and captivates every viewer. As my husband would say "Resistance is futile!" I so regret that I was not able to come in and see your most recent show. Many of my colleagues/friends sent me postcards after they had seen it, and one even sent me a poster image that is in my studio. I used two of your altars as the bookends for the book. I think they look fabulous (of course) and provide such richness, as the reader "enters" the book and then they "close" the book by appearing opposite the page where I have my acknowledgements and dedications."

There are color pages of the book, including mine, which you can preview on Amazon.com.

For more information about Lynne Perrella and her latest book project, visit her website: http://www.lkperrella.com