Taos Dreams
IN the end there is nothing to hold on to because it is all in you. Your heart is full of gratitude, joy and wonder as the leaving takes place. But it calls you back again and again, so you must return.
The mornings bring the light and as you put your feet to the damp ground and see the Mountain your entire being dances with the truth, the mystery and the magic of life. When the night comes again and the stars surround you and the earth holds you in a tender embrace, you know again, deep within, that oneness. It is and always will be a part of you to now share with the world.
A color, a shape, a scene might be what your eye sees but your heart, your heart connects to the knowing, the true beauty that vibrates with in all things. This then is what is painted.
And the painting when seen and enjoyed sends back to the place of its origins, this joy and the place rejoices in the loving connection the viewer imbues.
Painting a place that was never and will never be your home is something artist do all over the world. But to paint a place like The Taos Pueblo, a home to a culture different then your own, is a challenge. How to express the deep connection with the place, the people, and the earth without creating an invasion of privacy, a disturbance or an insult to this place and this group, a group that has been historically taken advantage of and abused?
I am not sure if my work rises above the trite, the repeated stereo typing or the romanizing that is so often a part of one culture expressing another culture. All I do know is that I painted from a place of love, honor and respect. I painted to fundraise for a friend who lost her life long before her massive dreams for the Taos Pueblo seniors could be fully realized. She was a tireless worker devoted to her people as they aged and with so much more needed I wanted to honor Lillian’s life, her strength, and her beauty through helping in some small way to the further progression of her dreams.
This work will be shown in March and April at Amante 1035 Walnut Street Boulder
Kathleen Spencer Johns