Part of the reason I love Colorado is because it is huge open sky country. The sun shines 360 days a year regardless of snow, rain, freezing temperatures or deathly heat. It is a place of open space and dry air. I love the southwest.
This weekend was the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's a little over four hours from home, and four hours in the southwest is nothing - it takes you hundreds of miles and gives you gorgeous views the entire journey.
The International Folk Art Market is a huge three-day annual event held at the Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. There are hundreds of artists from all over the world, and each artist is invited to sell his work to the thousands of people who attend each year. Almost all of them are from developing countries and the average gain from this event is around $17,000 per booth. For most artists, that is more than the entire village would make in a year. It is a jumpstart for artists to return home to sell in their home countries and to sell online, maintaining traditions and creating a sustainable future.
Mom was completely taken by the incredible array of fabrics, scarves, embroidery, patterns and artistry in thread that came in from Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Uzbekistan, Turkey, all over Africa, and about a million other places I cannot remember now.
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| Peru photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| Haiti photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| Telephone wire baskets photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| Each of these silk shawls was dyed, tied in teeny tiny knots, then dyed again to achieve this effect, photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
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| photo credit: Anne Wolf |
I did not take nearly as many photos as I should have, a result of having taken nearly 500 two years ago when I attended the IFAM for the first time. It is really something that must be experienced - photos do not do justice to the throng of people, colors, music and joy that composes the three days of the festival.
And not to leave out mentions of food, we had good food all weekend and a wonderful party with my roommate's family, complete with margaritas and enchiladas. Every meal included green chiles - par for the course in New Mexico.
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