In July, I received a tip from a friend that an art festival was in the works along Highway 14 in the East Mountains. Sure enough on the weekend of August 29th and 30th, the first annual Turquoise Trail Arts Festival was held showcasing a variety of art mediums including printmaking, ceramics, stone carving, mixed media, metal, jewelry, woodwork, painting, gourd carving, and sculptures. Carla Ward, from Tinkertown, said the Turquoise Trail Association decided to put together a progressive art festival along the southern part of the trail because other festivals had already been established on the northern part of the trail near Santa Fe.
A collaboration of 50 local artists and five authors displayed their work at venues including The Church, an Art Sanctuary in El Cedro, Scissors Village Salon spa & boutique in Tijeras, Tom & Jerry’s plaza in Cedar Crest, Tinkertown museum, Contemporary Southwest, the Paako event center, San Pedro Creek in Sandia Park and Henderson’s Trading Post in Golden. The art festival proved to be a success, attracting a steady stream of walk in traffic for the businesses that participated.
As I traveled up the trail to visit each location, I had the pleasure of admiring the artwork of Steve Malavolta, Brenda Blackwelder, Dana Bahe, Dawn Chatfield, Linda Taber, and R. Wade Brown. The gourd artwork of Brenda Blackwelder stood out in particular.
Art has always been a part of her life after discovering her talent in college. Blackwelder moved all over the world with her husband for 30 years until they decided to settled in New Mexico. After finding a class in “Cleaning Gourds” that sounded interesting, Blackwelder was hooked. She says, “Everything she has ever learned, art wise, can be put on a gourd.” Blackwelder has been carving for about 25 years making her gourds unique and interesting. What makes her happy is finding someone who enjoys looking at her art as much as she enjoys designing it. “Life is pretty good when you can do what you love to do everyday and share that love with others,” says Blackwelder.
For more information about the Turquoise Trail Association, visit www.turquoisetrail.org/ or (505) 281-5233, trail@turquoisetrail.org.
