LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S HOLY CROSS FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Laurie Zuckerman visited the Charco Botanical Garden in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, back in 2006, and photographed this towering cross and sacred heart structure left over from the Holy Cross festival. It is made by the indigenous Indians in the state of Guanajuato from the Dasylirion plant, known as the cucharilla. In a future post, I will share more examples of this religious folk art used as cemetery wreath decorations in the cemeteries around Guanajuato. The plant dries well. The wreath I bought is still holding up well, and I have used it in several Day of the Dead shrines.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS HISTORIC TUMACACORI MISSION IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

Laurie Zuckerman mission to photograph the Mission San José de Tumacácori was fulfilled during a warm week in mid-January. This Southern Arizona mission was established in January 1691 by Jesuit Father Eusebio Francisco Kino. Tumacácori was one of the first few missions established in what is today Arizona. First the Jesuit missionaries and then the Franciscan Missionaries controlled this spectacular mission. Now in ruins, Tumacácori has been preserved stabilized by the National Park Service since 1917. 

Tumacácori Mission is situated in a serene setting with a stunning mountain backdrop—the most beautiful mission ruins I have visited in the Southwest. There are wonderful passages of pastel decaying paint around the church altar, which is rare among Southwest missions. Most are reduced to bare adobe.

Above is a large cross covered in Mexican garish paper flowers and a lithograph of Ecce Homo, the only decorative item inside the crumbling church. Outside the church are wide plazas and open vistas. Behind the church is a walled-in cemetery with a rotunda chapel, minus its roof.

The most unique quality of the mission's cemetery are the incised crosses defacing the adobe walls. I have no idea how old these petroglyphs are. The styling of these crude crosses with rectangular bases appears quite old. The NPS volunteer guide did not know their history. Stone-piled graves with small wooden crosses populate this sparse cemetery. The last known grave is dated 1916. The nearby Tubac cemetery had a similar style cross carved into a fieldstone, used as a headstone, on a similar unidentified rock pile grave. 

For more information about the history of the Tumacácori Mission, visit the National Park Service site at:

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/index.htm 

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS HISTORIC TELLES FAMILY SHRINE IN PATAGONIA, ARIZONA

On the way to Patagonia to do some winter birding, Laurie Zuckerman stumbled across the Telles Family Shrine, perched on a rocky hillside in Southern Arizona. This rock grotto was built in 1941 by Juanita and Juan Telles in gratitude for the safe return of their son from World War II. These shrines, also known as capillitas or grutas, are Southwestern icons, but they are usually few and far between. It was a stunning find for this particular snowbird. I have been to Patagonia many times, but never from Nogales north on Highway 82.

Here's a look at what you would see from this windy road near mile marker 16. Follow my camera all the way up the crumbling concrete staircase into this alluring cave. In hindsight, the setting for this shrine was far more provocative than the shrine itself, which contains mostly newer mundane plaster saints, plastic flowers, and glass votive candles, many of which were lit with the eternal flame the Telles  family planned for.

Thank you to all who have contributed comments and family history of this Telles Family Shrine.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS HISTORIC TUBAC, ARIZONA CEMETERY

Laurie Zuckerman's January trip to Tubac, Arizona proved to be sunny, warm, and historically intriguing. The Tubac presidio is the oldest European settlement in Arizona, founded by the Spanish in 1752. The Tubac Cemetery, albeit old, does not appear to date back to the Presidio days, but it is filled with a plethora of rock graves, field stones with carved crosses, a few rotting wooden crosses, and old metal crucifixes amongst the rubble. Best part—no snow!

Stay tuned for photos of the historic Tumacacori Mission and cemetery, just south of Tubac, Arizona.

LAURIE ZUCKERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS NOGALES, ARIZONA CHILDREN'S CEMETERY

Laurie Zuckerman traveled to Southern Arizona in January with my new Canon digital SLR to investigate the Hispanic cemeteries and roadside shrines in and around Nogales. On a windy bleak day, I photographed the children's section of this large, clean municipal cemetery. I was surprised to find statues of angels that were so similar to the angels I have documented in the more affluent and ostentatious La Luz Panteon (cemetery) in colonial San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This weathered blue angel in Nogales doesn't receive the yearly repainting that the angels of San Miguel enjoy.

Being that Nogales is a large border town, similar Mexican-Catholic burial traditions were abundant in this cemetery. I am assuming the angels and monuments are imported from Mexico.

Grundgy stuffed animals were ubiquitous on the graves of the children, along with kitschy new ceramics, both visual trends that are popular throughout the Southwest.

Wrought iron fences, known as cerquitas, adorned several of the wealthier plots. I loved this hot pink fence and hot pink concrete angel. My "favorite" Mexican-style color—Pepto-Bismol pink. My own "In the Pink" altar installation isn't nearly so garish! 

I don't find many angel statues that aren't overly saccharin. This broken blue angel is one of the sweetest and most poignant, lying on the bare earth of this child's grave.

Stay tuned for further photographic installments of my week-long journey through Southern Arizona. I visited much older Hispanic cemeteries in Tubac and at the Tumacacori Mission, plus a great roadside shrine outside of Patagonia.

SALVADOR DALI EXHIBIT FOLLOWS AFTER LAURIE ZUCKERMAN'S ALTAR SHOW AT THE LOVELAND MUSEUM IN COLORADO

DALÍ ILLUSTRATES DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY, the newest exhibit at the Loveland Museum/Gallery, comes right on the heels of Laurie Zuckerman's solo altar exhibit, Memento Mori: Deconstruction of the Nuclear Family at the museum last fall. What a fabulous show of prints and photographs—the best work by Dalí I have ever seen. These drawings, watercolors, and prints are so spiritual. His inspiring drawing is far more subtle and evocative than his well-known oil paintings of many similar themes. The Loveland Museum gets some great shows. Wayne Thiebaud from California and the Gee's Bend Quilts from Alabama preceded my exhibit that opened August 29th.

I am honored that my Memento Mori exhibit was directly preceded by the staggering 70-year retrospective of Wayne Thiebaud's lush paintings, especially his gravity-defying paintings from the streets of San Francisco series. Thiebaud's scheduling problems knocked my own exhibit forward to the fall slot, giving me a much appreciated three-month bonus to finish the difficult writing my exhibition interpretative panels. On the other hand, it cramped the amount of time I had to install my exhibit by a couple of days. Wonderful friend/volunteers stepped in to save the day for me, especially Colorado artists, Karen Fischer and Dixie Straight. Another added benefit of having Thiebaud's paintings bump my show was that my the new schedule coincidentally allowed me to end my exhibit on November 1, 2009 in coordination with Mexico's Dia de los Muertos. Plus an early snowstorm postponed my Day of the Dead lecture until November 1, so I had a fantastic closing day "celebration" for my show.

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