Collectors Corner! Ed Sandoval's Newsletter (Taos, NM)

Welcome to

Collectors Corner!

Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter

119 Quesnel Street, Taos, NM 87571

www.edsandovalgallery.com

edsandovalart@gmail.com

(575) 770-6360

What an Action Packed Month!

Hi folks! I don't know where the last 30 days went...zoom! They are just gone. Road trips, exciting happenings, big events, family, appointments and the list goes on. I can't possibly cover it all in one newsletter, so I'm focusing on my most fun and impactful experiences. We'll continue next month, but, for now, let's get going.

Cover Artist for The Saturday Evening Post!!!

Right now, for the September/October issue of The Saturday Evening Post, I'm the cover artist! Wow, it is such an honor, and I'm so grateful not just for myself but for beautiful New Mexico. She deserves this recognition for her landscapes, history, culture, traditions, clouds, light and colors.

This was completely unexpected – a total shock. One morning, I opened my email as usual, and there was a message from the Executive Editor. He had looked at my work, already picked out this painting ("Changing of the Seasons") and wanted to know if they could feature it on the cover. Oh my jaw dropped. Well yes you can!

Fun fact: He's a cool guy, and as we chatted, I asked him if he would kindly add the words "New Mexico" in the text somewhere. You see, it wasn't in the painting's title or in the credit line (my name as the artist).

I explained that WAY too many people don't even know New Mexico is a state. I told him about a few dumbfounding questions I'd been asked over the years and also said to go check out the monthly feature "One Of Our 50 Is Missing" in New Mexico Magazine, which is filled with head-shaking stories. In some other areas (and especially on customer service calls), New Mexicans are routinely asked or told: "I'll need to see your passport," "We don't ship internationally," "You speak really good English," "I've heard not to drink your water," "When did you move to the United States?" or "We don't take pesos for currency." Sigh.... We need more geography courses in our schools...

This time, it was his turn to have his jaw drop. LOL. He has visited our enchanted lands and LOVES New Mexico. We had a great conversation, and he wonderfully edited the title to read "Changing of the Seasons in New Mexico."

Wyoming Road Trip – Coolest (and Creepiest) Place We Visited

A lot of you know that we took a 10-day road trip through Colorado and up into Northwestern Wyoming. We saw and did SO MUCH that I wasn't sure where to begin. I actually struggled with that. We toured Jackson Hole, the stunning Tetons, the Flaming Gorge and so much else along the way... but remember when you were a kid and your aunt gathered everyone in the living room to show vacation slides projected on a screen? And it went on and on and on in a mind-numbing way? I certainly don't want to do that! LOL.

I assumed I'd start with beautiful nature scenes, but I kept thinking about the historic Wyoming Frontier Prison (first state penitentiary) that operated from 1901-1981 in Rawlins, WY.

Now, I admit that touring an old prison was not first on my "to do" list, but Gwen was excited. She had been to Alcatraz and loved it. So, one sunny morning, we pulled up to this gloriously constructed, huge, imposing but lovely building. While waiting for our tour to start, I looked at the museum exhibits and was intrigued. There were mug shots of and stories about prisoners, a "shank" (handmade knife) collection, an old wooden broom straw chopper (the prisoners made brooms in the factory until they rioted and burned it down), machine guns with drum magazines used by guards and all kinds of truly interesting items and displays.

Before we entered the prison, the tour guide had us stop at this odd looking display. Turns out, it was a tiny model of their special gallows. Remember in Clint Eastwood movies like "Hang "Em High," there was always a guy with his hand on a lever? Someone would look at him (like the judge) and nod approval. He'd pull the lever, the trap doors opened and the hooded prisoners would drop to their deaths. Well...that's not how it happened here.

A guy named James Julian felt sorry for the man who pulled the lever because he was (technically) responsible for personally killing the condemned. James imagined the deaths weighed unfairly on his conscience, so he created the bizarre yet somewhat effective "Julian Gallows."

The hooded prisoner would still stand on a trap door, but a water mechanism took over from there (no lever). The person's body weight pressed down and released a flow of water. He'd just stand there, listening to the water drain ... drain ... drain for well over a minute. Can you even imagine? Finally, the shift of water weight tripped something, the trap door opened and down he went.

Now that part worked well, but the actual drop distance was way too short. Most condemned didn't quite die right away, and many were helped along by guards tugging at their feet, pulling their bodies downward. Eeeeeek!

Wyoming became a state in 1890 and wanted to emphasize that lawlessness would NOT be tolerated. To showcase law and order, they funded a magnificent prison that was later called a castle amid the sagebrush. After delays, Cell Block A opened in 1901 (104 cells).

These photos are of the side that faces the windows, but you should see the "back" side that is much darker. Only wood stoves along the wall (totally inadequate) provided heat, but it never got above 48 to 50 degrees... worse in winter... and there was no hot water. Oh and the cells were 5 feet x 7 feet. Pretty dismal conditions. Decades later, as a kitchen and solitary confinement cells were added, the prisoners were SO COLD all of the time that they had two choices: 1) be an excellent prisoner and earn the privilege of working in the kitchen (stoves and ovens made it comfy cozy), or 2) be a fighting, trouble making prisoner and get sent to solitary confinement, which was more modern and a lot warmer. The warden finally figured out why so many men were fighting and getting "punished" in solitary confinement, so he eventually closed it down and turned the cells into other things.

Kitchen

Dining Room

Solitary Confinement

They built Cell Blocks B and C over the years, and we got to see it all, including death row, gallows, gas chamber, external wall, guard towers and everything in-between. Speaking of the gas chamber, Gwen had read up on the prison and learned that tourist photos in the chamber were allowed...but very rare. They might hesitantly let ONE or two at the most sit in the chair. Of course, as soon as the tour guide quit explaining how it worked, she asked quickly, "Can we get a photo?" and sort of pulled me toward the door. It was morbid and creepy, so I hesitated. Another guy heard the guide say (begrudgingly) "yes" with stern warnings to NOT touch anything. He jumped in to get his photo, and I slowly (while being tugged and prodded) went in after him. I got one of the coveted gas chamber photos!

The Gas Chamber

Death Row (6 Cells: 3 Front & 3 Back)

Me in Gas Chamber!

Oh I could go on and on. The guide told stories about daily life, attempted prison breaks, riots, murders ... One thing I found interesting was how they had to use toothpaste as an adhesive to hang photos and magazine pictures in their cells (they weren't allowed tacks). And, throughout the prison, there were 25 colorful murals painted by an inmate named Arthur Orcutt. While serving time at Leavenworth, he lost an arm in a factory accident, but the WY warden let him paint. I'm so glad I got to tour this wonderful piece of history!

Cell Block C (Most Modern)

Toothpaste on Walls

External Wall with One Guard Tower

If you want to see more of this prison but aren't going to Wyoming, the Ghost Adventures team filmed an episode there: Season 6, Episode 20. Such an eerie, ghostly place...

One Gem of Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park

What inspired us to go to Wyoming (for the first time ever) were the Tetons. We wanted to experience them for ourselves because, as with all our national parks, photographs alone just can't convey the scope, wonder and majesty. We took a four-hour guided tour, and it was stunning. Instead of talking about it, I'm going to show six photos to sum it up – we even saw three moose!

Barn at Mormon Row

Glacier Ice in Tetons

Mormon Row

Jenny Lake

Pronghorn Antelope

Jenny Lake