Welcome to Collectors Corner!  Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter 102-B Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571   www.edsandovalgallery.com edsandovalart@gmail.com (575) 770-6360

Happy Mother's Day Month!

Happy May everyone! May is special to me – not only do we celebrate Mother’s Day, but my mom, Lucina Rivera Sandoval, was also born in May (May 19, 1908 ). I’ve written often about grandma, who lived a rich and full (but very hard) life. This May, in this uncertain, self-isolation, once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) pandemic month, we all face challenges. When I get down and start feeling sorry for myself, I think about the heartbreak and hardships my mom faced with dignity and grace.  The thing about moms...they may cry on the inside but stay strong for their family. No matter what their losses or troubles, they make their kids feel safe. That's me in the photo, happy and snug in my home in the rural village of Nambe, NM.

Before telling you some of mom's hardships, I’ve got to tell you a funny story first. My mom was a tiny spitfire! She was so little, yet she was sturdy and strong (just like grandma) and her presence filled our lives. For her 90 th birthday (she lived to be almost one hundred), I threw her a big party. People kept asking, “What can I buy your mom as a gift?” Remember, this was her 90th birthday, and I said , “A twelve-pack of Coors.” They just stared at me, thinking I was joking, but I wasn’t. Mom just LOVED Coors beer. So many people came to that party with twelve packs tucked under their arms – the gift table was FILLED with them! Ha! And she loved it! She danced and danced all night, sang to the music, drank her Coors and had the best time. Mom loved to dance and sing...

Me and Mom at My One Man Show at the Millicent Rogers Museum in 1991

Me Taking after Mom by Drinking Cans of Coors Beer as a Teenager :-)

Wilfred Sandoval (1931 - 1948)

Things weren’t always so happy. Six of her children lived to be teenagers (me and my twin Danny, Bill, Pita, Paulie, Arabelle and Wilfred. She had at least two other children (girls) who died soon after they were born, which must have been devastating for her. But the death that broke her heart and nearly her spirit was her son, Wilfred, who died of polio in 1948 when he was just seventeen years old...just a young kid. I wrote a long story about Wilfred and polio ( read here ). When Wilfred fell ill, he was rushed by ambulance to The Carrie Tingley Hospital for Crippled Children in Hot Springs, NM (today it's Truth or Consequences). I had shared a lollipop with him, so when I got deathly sick the very next day, they rushed me there too. I was only three years old, but I do remember the ambulance ride. I was put in the room right next to Wilfred's so my mom could go back and forth, comforting her two sons.

In that newsletter story, I wrote: “Mom told my sisters, who later told me, that Wilfred kept hearing me cry in the next room. He didn’t know I was there and asked, “Who is the little boy crying in the next room?” Mom said she didn’t know. She didn’t want him to worry about me.  I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for her…with Wilfred immobilized in an iron lung…asking about me… She had to be strong and put on a brave face, all the while thinking that she would probably lose two of her sons.”

Nambe Home Where We Lived When Wilfred Was Alive

New Nambe Home Mom Wanted Built (to Move) after Wilfred Died

Fairly recently I learned that while mom, Wilfred and I were at the hospital, the NM health department came to our home and tented it with plastic as a precaution. The whole home was quarantined. I never knew that – it makes sense because polio was so devastating in New Mexico and so communicable. They were trying to keep it from spreading. When Wilfred died, my mom was inconsolable. A devout Catholic, she prayed and prayed, and when she wasn’t praying, I think she was secretly crying. His death might have sent her down into a very dark abyss if she didn’t have her faith. She did manage to rally, but I know she never got over it. A few years later, she told my dad that she couldn’t live in the house anymore because it brought back too many memories and grief. He agreed and built our family a new home. Eventually, we moved into the new house and moved on with our lives, but there was always an empty space our hearts.

As a boy, I spent most of my time with grandma (my mom’s mom), and so I know where she got her strength and faith. She often needed both. About a year or so after Wilfred died, Mom was beside herself again because she thought I had burned to death ( read here ). A neighbor friend and I accidentally burned down her family's barn while we were playing with matches. I was so scared that I would get into trouble, so I ran away and hid in a field all day long. When nighttime came, I got cold and finally returned home. I peeked in the window to find family and friends at the house, crying by mom’s alter with all the candles lit. They thought I was dead, and I remember the shrieks when I walked in the house... Luckily I didn’t die, but the timing of her THINKING I had died really must have been awful. I was a handful…. All families face death and grief, but it seems like mom got extra doses of it. Much later, my sister, Arabelle, lost her first son. He was only five or six years old when he found his dad’s gun in a truck, started playing with it and accidentally shot himself in the head. Mom lost her grandson, and she and dad drove all the way from New Mexico to Oregon to comfort their daughter and attend the funeral. So sad….

Herminio & Lucinda: Married Jan. 3, 1929, until He Died on Oct. 31, 1987 (59 Years)

Me & Mom: Think I'm About Eight Years Old?

Now don’t get me wrong – there were also happy times. When Danny and I got our driver’s licenses, my dad (who was hard working, strict and stern…not warm or cuddly) would never let us have the car. Like all teenagers, we always wanted to go to the drive-in movie, but he wouldn’t budge. Mom would tell us to be patient. Dad went to bed early, so she would sneak in there, steal the car keys out of his pants pocket, and give them to us. Dad would have NEVER let us have the car. I just love that about her – she wanted us to have some good “growing up” memories.

As I sit here in lock down on Day 60, I think about mom and grandma. All we need to do is stay home and stay away from people, while taking hikes, fishing, eating good food and drinking wine. They had to deal with much, much worse. They remind me that it’s not going to be easy, but in the end everything is going to be okay.

Staying Connected in a Pandemic World

If you're like me, you've been trying to stay at home or at least stay away from other people for a couple of months. When I first entered the shelter-in-place reality, I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it. I'm an outgoing extrovert, and I couldn't fathom getting through months of isolation. But, I had also never heard of Zoom. :-)

Every Saturday night, we eagerly jump on the laptop and enjoy "game night" with Gwen's family - her siblings, their spouses, nieces, her best friend David - we're all on there! On the screen, we can see all of their smiling faces from six states: NM, TX, OK, KS, SC and MN. And kudos to the younger generation - they're so tech savvy! Those girls know how to access fun games, and while we see and talk to one another on the screen, we've also got our smart phones out for the gaming.

Every Saturday Night is Game Night with the Vickery Family!

We do trivia, drawing games, word games...two hours go by in a flash. It's just wonderful to have so much fun and stay connected remotely. Lots of you have probably sat in on video conferences or even participated in Zoom chats before, but it was all new to me. It has helped me cope - so comforting to have something to look forward to and to know I might be physically separated, but always connected (via a URL) to friends and family.

Featured Paintings To inquire or request a high-resolution photo, contact  575-770-6360 or  edsandovalart@gmail.com. For all available paintings, click   HERE

New: "The Fruits of My Labor" (24" x 30")

"Moment in the Past" (31" x 50")

"The Pottery Maker" (24" Diameter)

"Sunrise over the Vineyard" (30" x 22")

"Ranchos Church" (14" x 11")

Giveaway for Original Painting If you follow my Facebook Page , you know that we did a giveaway drawing for an original painting on Mother's Day: an 11x14 called "Feeding Time." Thank you to everyone who put in their name - we had 900+ entries from 53 states and 8 countries! Wow! A big thank you to Dan Barrone, our Taos Mayor, who came out to pick the lucky winner: Nathan Carpenter from Frankfort, KY. The drawing really boosted my spirits so a huge thank you to all - I had an absolute blast. Here's to next time! Annual "Best of Taos" Contest I couldn't believe it when the Taos News emailed me with this year's "Best of Taos" results! I received: First: Best Local Artist First: Best Gallery Thank you so much to everyone who voted. This has been a trying year, and I'll admit I've gotten down on occasion, but these honors did my heart and spirit a world of good. I hope we can all begin to travel soon, and people can return to Taos to see all of our wonderful art and visit our beautiful galleries, shops and sites.

Would you like to be a featured collector? If so, please send your personal story and photo(s) to edsandovalart@gmail.com.

Contact Ed Sandoval Gallery    102-B Paseo Del Pueblo, Taos, NM 87571 www.edsandovalgallery.com | (575) 770-6360 | edsandovalart@gmail.com