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

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Collectors Corner!

Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter

119 Quesnel Street, Taos, NM 87571

www.edsandovalgallery.com

edsandovalart@gmail.com

(575) 770-6360

First, a Few Words about Ukraine

Folks, you know that I'm pretty apolitical. I feel, deep in my heart, that even if people have different viewpoints and beliefs, at the end of the day we are all really good people. But I find I have to qualify that thought – there are a few, very few admittedly but still a few, who are not good people. These jealous, self-interested, self-aggrandizing megalomaniacs seek to use, abuse, subjugate, dominate and destroy, all while lying pathologically about their true (and vile) motives and agenda.

Ukrainians broke free from a bad relationship and went on to create a new way of life and a new identity, leaving the old trauma behind, healing their wounds and growing into a healthier, happier society. Good for them! But that angered the abusive ex (in this analogy). All of the overkill, bombs, targeting of civilians, death and suffering...pointless, tragic and heartbreaking. I can almost hear his chilling motivation: "If I can't have you, nobody will."

I'm sharing some fun road trip adventures this month, but it felt wrong to jump right into those beautiful (unbombed/unscathed) sights and places in this great state. I'm so aware that I could travel freely and safely, unimpeded and unafraid. So many right now can't. So first, I have to convey my anger, concern and heartfelt prayers about what is happening to Ukrainians. We might feel helpless, and that inspired the painting above. El Viejito is too elderly to do much, but he can go to town and buy a little flag for his humble home to show his solidarity, which is the title: "Solidarity" (18x24). I am donating to humanitarian causes and hope all of you will consider doing what you can to show our compassion and support.

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Storm Trooper! (Source)

R2-D2 &

C-3PO (Source)

Zorro! LOL

Okay, okay...maybe I didn't meet the cast of Star Wars, but I did visit the planet Tatooine (better known as White Sands National Monument). Wow – I totally understand why so many end-of-the-world and science fiction films (like Star Wars) were shot here! So eerie and otherworldly... ethereal in its vastness, starkness and wind-swept beauty...

I'm glad we came in the winter months. Few people were there, which really gives you a feel for the expansive solitude. Surrounded by White Sands Missile Range (off limits for obvious reasons), there's still more than 145,000 acres where you can wander around and slide down dunes. On the day we visited, storm clouds hovered and the distant mountains looked deep blue as a cold wind started to blow. Chilly, gloomy, ghostly and surreal...

There's a loop of several miles marked only by guideposts. Your footprints can disappear due to the winds, so you need to pay attention and not get lost. A couple with a young child did that last year. They took off in the summer with very little water and got lost. They gave what water they had to their child as they tried to find their way out. The child survived, but they didn't... Going over just one dune, it's easy to see how you could get turned around. Nothing but white drifting sands for miles and miles.

The "sand" is actually tiny, tiny, tiny sparkling crystals of gypsum. Fun fact: "The mineral that forms the dunes...is about 98 percent pure gypsum sand. Gypsum sand is considered rare because gypsum is water soluble.... It is even rarer to find gypsum sand in the form of dunes.... The 275-square miles of dunes are comprised of over 4.5 billion tons of gypsum sand." (Source) This place should be on everyone's bucket list. Incredible!

Return to Carlsbad Caverns

Speaking of otherworldly locations, I think anyone who visits Carlsbad Caverns as a kid will want to return as an adult. In the early 1960's, my dad piled us in the family roadster to go see THE cave. I'm not sure why he got that into his head, since he certainly was NOT one who enjoyed long-distance family quests. I think I was about 16 or 17 years old...

I'm the one on the right, sporting a white button-down shirt, teal cardigan sweater vest and cool shades. Oh my...this was during my "fashion phase" when I worked at Safeway as the produce manager to afford my clothing habit (dad would never give us any money). A bit of a dandy, I was your typical proud teenager, earning my own money and taking great care to dress myself as glamorously as possible. LOL.

It was a long, long, long way down there, especially back then when the speed limit was probably 50 but dad drove much slower because "we don't want to waste gas!" You guys probably know the dreaded family road-trip drill: no stopping for the bathroom unless it's an emergency, warm sandwiches for lunch at a desolate roadside picnic table, siblings poking you as you tried to sleep to make the time go faster...

Once we got there, I remember hiking down into the caverns, which were rocky and blessedly chilly, but mostly I remember the swimming pool at the motel. To me (at that age), that was the most exciting part of the trip. After all, NM in August is pretty darn HOT.

This time, traveling was much more luxurious – air-conditioned car...fabulous restaurants and bars...plenty of restrooms... The visitor's center is obviously new and very nice, with lots of exhibits, a café and a huge gift shop, but the caverns seemed to be the same. LOL.

Folks, hiking down is no joke. First, you have to walk to the entrance, and, once you begin to descend, you hike down for an hour, going 750 feet deep over the course of 1.25 miles. ONLY THEN do you reach the "Big Room," the main self-guided trail that leads all around the cavern for another 1.25 miles. At first, it's hard to see, but the path is paved with hand rails, which is a really good thing because we both kept feeling unbalanced, like we had vertigo. The magical rock formations are beautifully lit from the bottom up with amber light.

It's impossible not to stop and examine the patterns and shapes formed over millions and millions of years. But it's hard to photograph them with a normal camera, so I'm including only two pictures of the interior. This is a place where you just have to go see it in person. Trust me, nothing else will do.