Welcome to
Collectors Corner!
Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter
102-B Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571
edsandovalart@gmail.com
(575) 770-6360
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The Mystery of the Missing Turkey Dinner
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The holidays are over, and I’m sure that we all have lovely memories and stories. I do too, but I also have an odd
“only in Taos” experience I'd like to share.
For Thanksgiving, we were invited to some good friends’ home for dinner. To help with the meal, we brought a crockpot of meatballs, a glass container of potato salad and a Tupperware bowl of Chili Caribe. We had a great time visiting and eating the delicious food! When it was time to leave, the hostess put the items we brought back into the large sack we had used to transport them, and she added Ziploc bags of turkey, stuffing, rolls and other tasty treats. Yum! Leftovers for turkey sandwiches! We put the sack in the back of my 51 Chevy Truck and headed out.
Arriving at the house, I realized we didn’t have that sack because we had swung by the gallery to trade vehicles. “Oh well,” I thought, “It’s cold outside and the food will be fine. I’ll just get it tomorrow.” The next morning, I looked in the back of the truck and…no sack! Did we forget it at the party? Called the hosts and nooo…. Is it in the other vehicle? Nooo…. Did we take it into the house or the gallery? Nooo….
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The sack of holiday goodies was gone! Someone took it out of the back of my truck. I thought, “Oh well, they must have been hungry."
Three days later, I came to the gallery and discovered the sack in front of the gate! I looked inside - all the food was gone, but every dish was there, neatly washed and stacked.
We tend to take food for granted, but this experience made me realize how blessed most of us are. The person(s) who ate that food needed it, and perhaps they were in a desperate situation. To have washed and returned our dishes – to me that shows how very thoughtful and thankful they were for that meal. I was reminded that we should not take our good fortune for granted and should always remember to give a helping hand whenever and however we can.
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Featured Paintings
Here are a few of Ed's currently available paintings. To inquire or request a high-resolution photo, please contact Ed at 575-770-6360 or edsandovalart@gmail.com.
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"Autumn Casita in Taos" (18x24)
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My Grandma: Luisita Rivera (1871-1956)
A couple of months ago, I mentioned my Grandma was a curandera, a native healer. She had dried herbs (medicine) hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen, and to stop the rain, she would go outside with a large knife and stab at the sky to “cut the clouds.” I have been thinking about her a lot lately and wanted to share some of my memories about this incredible woman.
I spent a lot of time with grandma, much more time than my siblings. I can’t remember why I was at Luisita’s house so much, but we were very close. She and my grandpa (Pedro) had a small, humble home in the tiny northern village of Nambe. The house had dirt floors (a traditional floor of packed mud mixed with straw and sealed with blood from a cow, ox or other animal). There was a wood-burning stove to cook on, only one fireplace to heat the home and an outhouse (no indoor plumbing). The only thing that was large and impressive was the garden, which I remember because I had to hoe the weeds. They grew their own food, made their own beverages (moonshine – a still was in the corn field) and were almost entirely self-sufficient. The only items they bought from a store were sugar, salt and flour.
If they didn’t have it, they did without. Back then there weren’t luxuries or even services that we now consider necessities. For example, there were no doctors and certainly no pharmacies – no corner Walgreens. That’s why my grandma was so important in the community. If someone had an injury, illness or ailment, they would come to see her. People came from all over to consult with her and receive her healing medicine.
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She had all kinds of secret remedies that were passed down to her by my great-grandmother – dried herbs, ointments and bitter liquids in glass jars. My memory is fuzzy because I was so young, but I do remember her rubbing eggs on people’s heads if they had headaches and telling them to sleep with the egg under their pillow. When there was an influenza outbreak, she cut onions and placed them in every window to ward off the disease. Her healing wasn’t just physical but also psychological and spiritual. In one peculiar case, my uncle Juan’s wife didn’t speak for years and years. We never knew why she was silent, but she would sit and never say a single word. My grandma worked with her, and she finally started speaking. It’s quite incredible when I think about it. Luisita was a quiet, small woman, but she was strong and used her strength to heal people. She cared.
Her life and lifestyle must come to me subconsciously when I paint. I remember her making flour tortillas on the wood stove (a wonderful smell I will never forget}, butchering a pig and frying up the skin, or hanging animal hides out to dry. I paint New Mexico as it was back then – good, kind, hard-working people making due with what they had. Day in and day out, they had to plant it, grow it, make it, save it or repair it. They had a hard life, but it was an authentic one full of love for family, friends and community. I miss her but still feel connected to her.
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Ed's Painting in the
El Taoseño Restaurant
At lunchtime, there are so many delicious dining options in Taos! This week, Ed decided to pop into the El Taoseño Restaurant for some Huevos Rancheros, and he was surprised and delighted to see a commissioned painting he did in 1996 hanging on the wall. He had almost forgotten it was there.
Ed recalls, "The owner at the time (Connie) wanted a portrait of her father. I think she has since passed away, but her family is still at the restaurant, and it's so nice that they have this painting to remember their grandfather."
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Bonfires at Taos Pueblo
If you haven't been to the Taos Pueblo on Christmas Eve, you simply must experience this magical and spiritual evening. At dusk, the reverent Procession of the Virgin Mary files out of the historic church while rifle salutes ring through the cold winter air. Then the 30-foot bonfires are lit - about 20 huge piles of pitch wood that warm visitors as they celebrate in the midst of the 1000 year-old adobe buildings.
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Featured Collectors: Freddie, Michael and Zulee the Puppy
After moving to Santa Fe, my mother started collecting art. The pieces that stood out were always an artist by the name of Ed Sandoval. I absolutely loved the colors, the familiar but magical places it transported me to and most of all El Viejito.
I thought to myself, that is so cool and what a great signature. I could only imagine what El Viejito was thinking in every place he ended up! There was no doubt growing up which ones were the Ed Sandovals. I always wanted one of his originals but had to wait until I grew up and started making my own money.
As a very young adult, I started collecting his prints. Well, I suppose I’m all grown up now because my boyfriend and I own several of Ed’s pieces and plan on collecting them as often as possible. I must have been a very good girl last year because Santa brought me one for Christmas!
Oh, and we are "grooming" our puppy to be a Sandoval collector too. She can sniff them out!
Freddie, Michael and Zulee
Would you like to be a featured collector? If so, please send your personal story and photo(s) to edsandovalart@gmail.com.
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Contact
Ed Sandoval Gallery
102-B Paseo Del Pueblo, Taos, NM 87571
www.edsandovalgallery.com | (575) 770-6360 | edsandovalart@gmail.com
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