Creation Migration Artists on the Move

Betsie Miller-Kusz has returned to San Francisco to resume restoration work on the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts mural project, La Puerta en el Puente del Tiempo, also known as the Puente Project (see post from spring trip: http://creationmigrationstories.blogspot.com/2016/06/).

Betsie is hard at work on the scaffolding. She is working with a minimal crew and much of the time she works on a section alone. Yes, that's her up top!!

Without a doubt the mural will be stunning when it is completed, hopefully in a few weeks or months time.

Meanwhile, Donna Caulton has gone into Betsie's home stomping grounds, Jemez Springs, NM. She had two pieces selected to be in the Earth Day exhibit, What Goes Round at Jemez Fine Arts Gallery.  What indeed, as every possible iteration of the circle/round was appropriate for this exhibition, as long as some recycled material/materials were used tin the making.Donna's pieces are shown below.
(2 views of assemblage piece, Incubator).

Mitochondrial Matrix, acrylic with collage

We're thinking about "Shields" for our next exhibition. Stay tuned!!

"Descansos Along the Ancestral Road" now open in Albuquerque

On November 4th, 2016, Descansos Along the Ancestral Road opened at FreeStyle Gallery in Albuquerque. In spite of rain and street repairs, an appreciative crowd came to participate. Each artist in the exhibit developed his or her work with care and attention to honoring meaningful moments of their ancestral or present day life stories. Love and nostalgia is evident in each heartfelt piece. Of all the exhibits in the Creation/Migration series, this latest seems most personal and close to the hearts of the creators of the work. The viewers, therefore, were curious and personally touched by the meanings within the artworks.

Equally touching and poignant was the poetry reading by Max Early. The ancestral voices and stories of Max's Laguna Pueblo family and culture resonated through the gift of his words.

Here are some photos from the exhibit.

Jaymes Dudding, "Fire Fighters' Memorial Flag"

Kai Harper, "We're on our way to no where"

Jean Nichols, "Altar de Amor"

Betsie Miller-Kusz, "Cruz del Tiempo". Donna Caulton, "Journey Between Two Worlds"

Donna Lea, "Valles Caldera Descanso" and "Altar"

Max Early, "Carry Your Canteen on Your Journey Home"

Ralph Greene, "Artifacts"

Krystofer Meadows, "Alabama Now and Then.....ancestral memories"

Poetry Reading, Max and Betsie

Set-up Preview: "Descansos Along the Ancestral Road".

The Creation/Migration Group, as it approaches the end of its 4^th year, presents an exciting new exhibit honoring the pathways of their ancient, mythical and modern day forefathers and mothers. Returning to Freestyle Gallery, site of their first exhibition in 2012, founding members of the group, Betsie Miller-Kusz and Donna Caulton, have selected the title theme, Descansos Along the Ancestral Road.

This installation of personal altars and descansos explores the stories and journeys of honored ancestors, loved ones and children who have crossed from and to other worlds, over the rough seas and harsh lands of emergence and migration. Since the Descanso is a specific roadside marker for those who have died in transit, it has formed the starting point for the visual representation of these journeys.

The northern New Mexico artists presenting work in this exhibit are Donna Lea (fabric), Jaymes Dudding (mixed media), Kai Harper (mixed media), Jean Nichols (assemblage), Max Early (clay), Ralph Greene (painting), Krystofer Meadows (collage), Betsie Miller-Kusz (mixed media) and Donna Caulton (mixed media). The artists come from diverse heritages, which will be richly reflected in their work.

At the time of this posting, the show has not been completely installed, the lighting is not set, and all hands (and artwork) are not yet on deck. But please enjoy a couple of sneak peeks of some of the works that will be seen. Hopefully these will stimulate your curiosity enough to realize this thought provoking exhibit it not to be missed. 

Ralph Greene has only begun his installation as seen on the left. He is incorporating many meaningful ancestral artifacts with his own personal imagery. We are all waiting to see what is yet to unfold.

Fabric artist, Donna Lea, has incorporated her two pieces, Valles Caldera Descanso, and Altar, along with other fabrics and symbolic additions (see below) into a stunningly luminescent altar.

Sitting within her Altar de Amor is artist Jean Nichols. This is exactly what she would like the viewing audience to do. The piece is interactive and there is more than one way to "be" within its surround. Listen to its voice and yours.

Cruz del Tiempo by Betsie Miller-Kusz honors the sacred interaction of earth and air and memory. 

There will be a public reception for the exhibition on Friday, November 4 from 5-8 PM with refreshments celebrating the Day of the Dead festivities in Albuquerque. At 7:30, during the reception, there will be a poetry reading by Laguna Pueblo artist and poet, Max Early, whose poetry so eloquently expresses his respect for his ancestral ways.

Betsie's Return Sojourn: Back to San Francisco

Just a few days remain to see the two exhibits,  now in San Francisco, of art by Creation Migration curator Betsie Miller-Kusz, Before moving to the Jemez Valley, Betsie's longest sojourn had been in the bay area where she honed her painting skills and shared her curatorial and installation talents for many years. Two exhibits that honor her work have been on display there for the past six weeks. Preparation for them has been long and meaningful.

In order to transport all the work for two exhibits from Jemez Valley to the Bay area, Betsie traveled by car with her son and her work on a monumental journey.  Take a look!!  By taking her paintings off the stretcher bars, she was able to fit everything in her car.

Over 30 years ago, Betsie worked with Latino artists Carlos Loarca and Manuel Villamor to paint the murals on the outside walls of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco's Mission district. Now, with the murals badly in need of repair, the cultural center has launched a campaign to raise funds to have Carlos and Betsie do this much needed work. In support of this campaign, a selection of retrospective works by these two artists has graced the walls of the cultural center's gallery since May 20.

The following November article from the Jemez Daily Post tells more about Betsie's involvement in the Puente Project. http://www.jemezdailypost.com/content/betsie-miller-kusz-and-puentes-project-san-francisco. The exhibit it called La Puerta en el Puente del Tiempo. Below are some photos from the exhibition.

Running at the same time is a solo retrospective exhibit of Betsie's work at Think Round Fine Arts at 2040 Bush Street in San Francisco. Here you can view artwork on spacious walls in a relaxed home-like atmosphere where you can sit back and take in the nuances of the paintings. The exhibit, titled High Tides and Far Paseos is filled with luminous works of Betsie's Guardian figure crossing between worlds, sometimes by water, sometimes by air, sometimes by fire.

Below is a close-up of the exhibits's cover image. The exhibit closes end of day June 27.

"Under a Common Sky" Exhibit Extended to February 25, 2016

The adobe colored hallways of Taos Town Hall have been a graceful backdrop to the varied and colorful artworks in our exhibition, Under a Common Sky  since mid-November of 2015. Now we are pleased to announce the continuation of this exhibit until the 25th of February.

To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Taos Society of Artists, we included a "Hall of Fame" in the exhibit which displays a photographic portrait of each of the Society's original members. Their photos are shown here in this order: E. Irving Couse (above), Ernest Blumenschein, Joseph Henry Sharp, Bert Phillips, Oscar Berninghaus, W Herbert Dunton, and .

Also, please enjoy a few more artworks that are in this exhibit that celebrates the common sky of our world.

"Cloud Bank", Nick Beason

"Gold in the Morning", Harriette Tsosie

     

"Sky Script", Betsie Miller-Kusz

"Cielo-Bracion", Jean Nichols

"Passport", Jim Forcier-Call

"Between the Realms; Blood Moon Eclipse, 2015", Donna Caulton

"Homage to Georgia O'Keefe", Mary Cost

"Baja Beach Sunset", Trish Booth

"A Good Day Under Heaven", Lorrie Garcia

"Rockland Row Boat", Ralph Greene

"Summer Triangle", Theodore Greer

"Cosmic Angel", Kimberly Pollis

"Nightfall", Lise Poulsen

Creation/Migration Exhibit: "Under a Common Sky", Taos

Common Sky, Lise Poulsen

Creation/Migration is excited to announce their new invitational exhibition, "Under a Common Sky". Group members and curators of this exhibit, Betsie Miller-Kusz and Donna Caulton began discussion with Paul Figueroa, vice president of  Taos Arts Council and curator of the Town Hall Art Gallery, in February of 2015 and lots of decision making and planning followed. The idea of the theme "Under a Common Sky" was chosen to encompass all the the visions of artists who have lived in or moved to New Mexico and stayed, in part because of the magic of the sky and the way it affects their work.

Horse, Ralph Greene

100 years ago, the Taos Society of Artists did the same. Taos has been celebrating that anniversary druing 2015, and this exhibit concludes that year long celebration. When the exhibition theme matched up beautifully with the centennial celebration of the Taos Society, the idea took off. Below is the article that was sent to the press. It includes all details of dates, places and times, and information about the artists and the exiting poetry event that previews the exhibit. Interspersed are some images of the very special  works of art that are included.

Chisos Mountain Morning, Trish Booth

Under A Common Sky: A Two-Part Art and Poetry Event Sponsored By The Taos Arts Council and the Creation/Migration Group

In one of the most exciting events of the Fall Season, Taos Arts Council and the Creation/Migration group co-present Under a Common Sky. This broad-ranging exhibition explores the concept of sky from many different vantage points and through the following artistic disciplines: painting, sculpture, retablo, weaving and other fiber arts, printmaking, photography, and assemblage. With this exhibition, the town of Taos concludes a year of remembrance for the 100^th Anniversary of the Taos Society of Artists. Invited artists from Northern New Mexico fill Taos Town Hall with their interpretations of the theme, Under a Common Sky, which holds special significance in this region that has attracted and supported artistic endeavor throughout history.

Exhibition Artists are: Nick Beason (printmaker), Trish Booth (painter), Donna Caulton (painter), Mary Cost (tapestry weaver), Jim Forcier-Call (mixed media artist), Lorrie Garcia  (retablo and bulto artist), Ralph Greene (painter), Theodore Greer (photographer), Betsie Miller-Kusz (painter), Michael Miro (glass artist), Jean Nichols (mixed media artist), Kimberly Pollis (tin artist), Lise Poulsen (fiber artist), and Harriette Tsosie (painter).

Promise of Snow, Jean Nichols

Under A Common Sky opens with a special preview on Saturday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m., in The Navajo Room of Kachina Lodge, 413 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, when ten poets from New Mexico, Colorado, California, and Texas will perform poems they composed in response to selected artworks in the show. The event promises to be a dynamic evening of verbal and visual exchange, with dialogue and refreshments.

Exhibition Poets are: Will Barnes, (paired with artist, Jean Nichols), Karen Córdova, (paired
with artist, Lorrie Garcia) Max Early, (paired with artist, Donna Caulton), Veronica Golos, (paired with artist, Nick Beason), Jane Lin, (paired with artist,, Lise Poulsen), Joan Ryan,(paired with artist Jean Nichols), Leslie Ullman, (paired with artist, Jim Forcier-Call), Andrea Watson, (paired with artist, Betsie Miller-Kusz), Scott Wiggerman, (paired with artist, Harriette Tsosie) and Dom Zuccone (paired with artist, Lorrie Garcia).

 Under A Common Sky holds its official art opening on Friday, November 13, with a reception for the artists from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Taos Town Hall, 400 Camino de la Placita. The art will be on display in Town Hall from November 13, 2015 through February 5, 2016. 
  

Since its inception in 2012, each of the member artists of the Creation/Migration group has immersed herself in a personal journey of art-making that centers on a larger view of the concepts of creation and/or migration. These personal journeys, accompanied by scientific information gleaned from DNA studies of their matrilineal lines, have proven fruitful ground for ever expanding ideas in their artwork. The artists explore new ground even while revisiting and reformulating older ideas, finding common threads through time.

Yoke of the World, Betsie Miller-Kusz

 Under a Common Sky artists were selected based on an array of image-making styles and mediums. Each has a vision of what the exhibition title suggests and has created images based on that vision. Additionally, they all live in Northern New Mexico, have migrated here from other places, even if that happened generations ago, and stay, in part, because of the gracious expanse of sky that binds them. All have deep and heartfelt attachment to “Sky”.

 Photographer Theodore Greer explains: “The sky is big; we are small and as short-lived as Mayflies. The sky gives a context to our lives on Earth.”

Fiber artist Lise Poulsen comments: “This is the first place I have lived where you feel as though you can see every single star and experience so many shooting stars; it feels magical in the most primeval sense.”

All Life Matters, Lorrie Garcia

“I love the towering, flat-bottomed clouds of this place. There is a huge, immediate and palpable connection between the earth and sky,” reflects painter Trish Booth.

Lorrie Garcia, who creates retablos, believes that “the sky is very important in creating devotional art, primarily to symbolize heaven…attaching spiritual meaning to sky elements: sun, clouds, rays, stars, lightning etc.”

 Painter Ralph Greene beautifully sums up the theme when he observes: “I belong to the sky, and it belongs to me. I came from the sky, the universe, the sun, the stars and mother earth; they live in me.”  

Under a Common Sky is curated by Donna Caulton and Betsie Miller-Kusz, with the Town Hall exhibition managed by Paul Figueroa, and poetry curated by Andrea Watson. Funding is provided by New Mexico Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Taos Arts Council.

All events of Under a Common Sky are free and open to the public.

Pleiades, Harriette Tsosie

Flower of Life Alter, Kimberly Pollis

Milky Way, Ted Greer

Saw The heavens Fill With Commerce, Nick Beason

When Time and Eternity Meet, Jim Forcier-Call

Flight II, Mary Cost