Saturday, September 3, 2011

Congratulations are in Order here

Congratulations Rob!!!
I am so very happy to let you all know that Rob's piece "Dial-a-Saint" was chosen as 1st place winner in the mixed media category at the Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit. The artist reception was great and he received alot of great feedback from folks.

He is now in Taos, at the gallery. Hopefully it's a good weekend out there as the season is almost over for us. I am here in Denver working hard on some pieces for my upcoming show in October as well as getting ready for the annual Montoya reunion tomorrow.

"Dial-a-Saint"
1st Place Winner
Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit


Have a great weekend everyone!!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Hola!....Again

Our Gallery in Taos


We are right off the Plaza!


I can't believe it's been over a year since I have posted...WOW!!
Well as you can see from the pictures above, we have been quite busy. We were able to lease a gallery in Taos, NM for the past year and that has kept us quite busy. Rob has networked tremendously in Taos and throughout New Mexico. That has paid off quite well. Besides our own gallery, our artwork can now be found in the Coyote Moon Gallery in Taos, La Hacienda de los Martinez in Taos, and the Santuario gift shop in Chimayo, NM.
Arte de Taos

We closed the shop on Etsy. Although I love Etsy, it just wasn't the right platform for the type of artwork we do. I have spent the last couple of months working on our own website, check it out and let me know what you think. This was a tedious task for me as I have no knowledge of website building experience at all, I mean nada!! I dropped the F bomb so many times I wanted to wash my own mouth out with soap!

I have truly missed being a part of the blog world and hope to spend some time catching up on all that I missed this past year. My goal is to post at least three times a week, wish me luck!

Tammy

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I did it!!!

Hola!
We are back from a crazy whirlwind of art shows, mini vacations, classes, and creating new pieces. I feel like it was just March a week ago!
Our visit and show in Taos was wonderful and a much needed vacation from our day jobs! We traveled to Chimayo one day and took the the high road back to Taos, stopping along the way to take pictures and visit with other artists. The art show was great as usual and to top it all off, our art work is now available at the Carlos Sandoval Studio & Gallery in Taos!!! As soon as we returned to Denver, we participated in another local art show and since then we have both been busy little bees creating new pieces.
I have finished my second silversmithing class and loved every minute of it. Here is a picture of my latest creation- a lapis ring, shank was roll milled for a sweet flowery design, bezel is also created to be organic looking, and I finished it off with an antique finish, what do you think?!
My little studio here at home should be ready by the end of June, thanks of course to my amazing husband! I love that this new venture is opening up a whole new world for me and look forward to the fall when I will take an additional class.

Rob has also been quite busy, going to Taos a couple of times since the beginning of May to take and make sure the art work is just right. He is also getting ready to do a big show in August here in Denver at the CHAC gallery, I will post about that tomorrow, believe me it is great!!













Saturday, March 20, 2010

Primavera!!


Oh what a happy girl I am today!!

Spring is here and although we have snow on the ground, the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. In celebration of Primavera (spring) I have marked all jewelry down in the Etsy store, just for this weekend. I am working on new pieces to take to the Taos show and won't have much time to keep up the store. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!



Happy Spring!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

You want this done by when???!

We are in the process of putting together a website for our artwork and jewelry and let me know me tell you this is a difficult job and Rob wants it done by April! Researching what company has the best web hosting, making sure everything is secure, it just utterly makes me tired! But, it needs to be done. Rob's artwork is not a common form of artwork on Etsy, people do not know what Spanish colonial artwork is or how to find it and it is quite frustating for him. I started this blog over a year ago and we have met some great fellow artists and friends. It was really started just to update family and friends on all the latest happenings in our lives, both personal and creative.

Sooo, here we go, on to the next chapter of the internet world! We hope you will continue on this journey of learning with us, we so enjoy all of the encouragement and support you continually give to us and we hope to provide a more professional and beautiful way of offering our art. If any of you have any ideas or suggestions we would love to hear from you.

My final intro to silversmithing class is tomorrow night, I will be showing off those funny little pieces I created this weekend! Please try not to laugh too hard, I promise my pieces will get better after the intermediate class!

Til the weekend....

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Hello again!

I can't believe we are already in March, where is the time going?! I have been so busy with silversmithing classes and replenishing inventory for the gallery that I have not had much time to post anything new.

We had a great month at the gallery and are now getting our pieces ready for Taos in May. Rob and I are also participating in a show at the gallery called Santos Y Cruces in April. It seems like we have been non-stop for quite a few months now. I am excited to be learning how to work with metal, my next endeavor is torch fired enameling, thanks to Barbara Lewis at Painting with Fire, Rob was even sweet enough to buy me some Mapp gas, she is so thoughtful and inspiring to all that she gives her wisdom of this art to! I will soon show off the pieces I created in class, they are not the best mind you, but it is fun just learning the basics.

This weekend brings the gem show and I hope to get just a few things, keep my budget, yeah right, I'll probably come home with way more than I should!!

Well off to catch up on all the new creations and new in blogland :0)

Almost forgot to mention that I have placed new prices on all bracelets and necklaces. Why? I have had to take a long deep breath and realize that with the economy the way it is, not many folks are wanting to spend a whole lot on little extras for themselves, sooo, bracelets are going to be set at $30 and necklaces will run $48-$60, listing more in the Etsy shop now.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Football and Eli...The day just can't get any better!!!

Have you ever seen a 2 month old laugh so hard?!
Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and yes that is exciting. But what is even more exciting is we will be seeing our sweet baby boy Eli, our godson!! I know, I know, I am out of control gooing and gushing over him like I myself was his momma, but I am Nina after all and I get to do this, its my job to love him and spoil him! So while everybody is getting their final football fix, I will be getting my baby fix with Eli!

We had a wonderful First Friday down at the gallery, with both of us doing extremely well for a February art walk! The weather was perfect and the amount of people amazing. Rob sold out of almost all of his prints and my jewelry was going very quickly too! I now have to make more to replenish by Wednesday when the gallery opens again, so no procrastinating for me these next couple of days. Rob's new primitive art paintings of old New Mexico churches was met with lots of compliments, which is why I think he about sold out of the prints! Go Rob, with your artful heart!

Thursday night was silversmithing class and we learned how to solder. Having that torch in my hand felt so natural to me, I know this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now, learning how to work with metal. It opens up the door to so many creative possibilities that I cannot even begin to describe it to you! I will show off my ring once I have it completed, then on to a bracelet.

Well enough of my gushing over babies, football, and metal, it's time to get to work on some new pieces for the gallery before I lose more time.
Happy Sunday!



Friday, January 29, 2010

Having a little fun and doing a lot of WORK!!


I'm not one to enjoy the month flying by so fast, but I am so tired of the cold that I am completely happy that January is almost over and we one month closer to Spring, yes I do love Primavera and I am also a Spring baby.

I am loving my silversmithing class, in fact I have already started putting a little wompom down for the intermediate silversmithing class. I really want to have a good aptitude by the end of May. The instructor is young, but very good at getting his students to stretch their boundary of creativity, I like that.

Rob is done with his new primitive folk paintings and we are back at CHAC gallery for the month of February, and our work is so colorful and strong that they asked us to be in the front (main) area of the gallery, we were flattered and happy!

We hope to see our Denver friends on First Friday for a night of fun!

Thanks to all of you here in blogland that stop by to say hi, please know that I do try to get by all of your wonderful blogs at least once a week to see how you all are doing, you are doing some great things these days, and I love all of it!!!





Here are some pics of Rob's newest Death Cart, and a double strand necklace that I just finished.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Taking a step forward into the world of metal

Yes it's official, I start my silversmithing class this Thursday evening, and I am happy!
This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I was the girl in junior high and high school that would purposely do bad in cooking and sewing class, just so the teachers would get frustrated with me and just send me on my way to metal, plastic, or wood shop! Terrible I know, but what can I say, I grew up with 4 brothers. After Rob asked me to marry him, we were having a casual conversation about dinner, (if I haven't mentioned before, he is a wonderful cook who puts much love into what he makes for us) he looked over at me and asked me what I preferred to do, cook or clean? Well I sat there for what seemed like forever, I didn't want to say the wrong thing, but deep in my heart I knew I couldn't cook every night! My son Devin finally saved me and answered "she'll clean"! From the bottom of my heart I thank him for saving me that night and to this day Rob does all the cooking and I do all the cleaning. So yes, this new venture is so exciting, for me to be able to do something that I've always truly desired to learn, well words just can't express how I feel.

My goal is to have both intro and intermediate done by May. This gives me just a little time to get some pieces done before we hit the shows we do in Santa Fe and Taos. I think I''m going to be one happy girl this summer!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

Wow, are we really in a new decade?! This year flew by us, busy with shows both here in Denver and in New Mexico. Rob started doing his newest work of folk art paintings, with great reviews I must add! We met many new friends in New Mexico, which you all might know is my second home. These new friends were very receptive to Rob's art work as a Santero, a maker of Saints. Not very many are this kind or nice, they have that handed down perception that a gringo cannot be a Santero or a folk artist. A true artist knows that when your work comes from the heart, that piece will find its way to the right person. Rob and I have always tried to make our artwork accessible to all walks of life, not just the wealthy. We are not in this to become wealthy, when you make religious iconography art, you want the person buying it to feel the true Maker in it.

As for myself, well my heart still hurts for our families loss of Raymond, but I know it will get better for all us. Way back in the winter my cousin Angelita and her husband Tony asked Rob and I to be Padrinos (Godparents) for their newest baby they had just found out they were pregnant. We were honored to be asked and a little giddy with thoughts of having a new baby in our lives. Our boys are 23 and 22, so it's been a long time since I was around a baby other than at family functions! Rob on the other hand works with children at his day job, so he is no stranger to little ones. So, on November 16th, 2009, Eli Ramon was born and he is truly a joy in our lives! He was a big baby at birth and now at seven weeks old he is a little chunkster and we are blessed to have him in our lives. This little guy has really helped me see that God is so good to us in so many ways, just like He knew I needed this little person in my life to help me with my grief. We see him at least once a week and Rob can't wait to take him to football practice with him this summer!

So what is new for us in 2010? Rob is planning on showing in a Taos gallery this spring through the fall, among our other shows we will do in New Mexico. This is big for him, and I know it will bring the recognition he needs. I will be starting my first metalsmithing class in the middle of January at Clear Creek Academy, I hope to take three classes before the year is done. I will be accredited once this is done. I have always wanted to work with different metals and they have some great instructors there. As much as I love to bead, I need to move forward, push my creativity in a different way. In the meantime I have a new collection going up in the Etsy shop called Las Bandidas, let me know what you think. My Christmas present from Rob was the first class tuition paid for in full! We also plan on doing the pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo for Easter. Rob and my Uncle Lenerd just took a road trip to the ranch in San Juan and through New Mexico this past weekend and hopefully Rob will be able to take more, he always comes back with great new ideas for new pieces. Rob will also coach high school football again this year.

To all of our friends and family that come by and read our blog, a big heartfelt thank you for all the kind words and encouragement you have shown us this past year! We love all of your creativity and your openness to share your works and life with us. May your new year be filled with love and happiness.
Feliz Ano Nuevo!!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

CHAC Gallery Dia de los Muertos Show 2009

Hola!

Well as you all know October was a terrible month for us and slowly things are getting better and our hearts are healing.

Rob had to literally push me into getting pieces done in time for the Dia de los Muertos show at the gallery, not to mention we also rented a room at the gallery and have several upcoming shows. So, I thank him for being such a loving and supportive husband through these difficult times, he is the best!!!

The show at the gallery has been great, our skull silent auction is doing very well this year, which means we will have money for the children's art classes that the gallery has once a month. We had two high schools and two elementary schools participate in this years show and all of the students did a great job on their calaveras.

Last night was first Friday and the Denver art walk. Rob's prints and mini retablos did really well and many bracelets were bought as Christmas gifts, yay! Wait, that means I have to sit in my studio all day tomorrow playing with beads...




Friday, October 16, 2009

Raymond Isaac Acosta

Raymond Isaac Acosta
Raymond was born on December 2nd, 1981
to Linda Acosta and John Armijo in Denver, CO.
Born with a congenital heart defect, his parents were told that he had a 20% chance of making it through the night, but being the fighter he was, he made it through that first night.
Raymond lost his father John when he was five years old and he quickly became the little man of the house, he and his mother took care of one another.
He also made it through the next nine years before being told that he would need a new heart and he was placed on the heart transplant list. On Halloween night in 1991, a 12 year old girl died in San Francisco, her family selflessly gave her heart for donation and Raymond received that precious gift. He was the Ambassador for Children’s Hospital in 1991 and those that took care of him at the hospital called him “A fighter, courageous, delightful, thoughtful, and a charmer”!
Raymond’s body often struggled with this new heart and each time the doctors would give an even stronger anti-rejection medicine.
He was a fighter, he prevailed through each rejection with a thirst for life and each of his family members and friends rallied behind him.
He went through the challenging times of being a teenager and his mother often turned to his older siblings to come speak with him, give him advice, or even just give a good scolding to him.
Raymond’s life came to an abrupt end on October 11, 2009, but in all actuality a part of him died on January 23rd, 2002 when his mother passed away. She was the stabilizing force in his life and her death was the final blow for Ray. He survived without his mother for seven years, however much of that time was just existing for him. Ray maintained the same job for eight years. He also maintained relationships and had many friends. Let us all be grateful for the time spent with him.

Raymond was preceded in death by both of his parents Linda and John.

He is survived by his Grandfather Raymond Acosta, Grandmother Erma Acosta, Grandmother Alice Armijo.
His brothers; Michael and Domingo Armijo.
His sisters; Joann Armijo, Janine Sandoval, and Lauren Aguirre.
Aunt and Godmother Gloria Rico Duran and Uncle Rick Duran,
Godfather Pat Vigil, Godson Hector Herrera
Aunt Kat Alexis and Uncle Michael Gallegos,
Uncle John and Aunt Michelle Acosta.
Numerous other Aunts, Uncles, cousins and friends.

The family of Raymond would like to thank you for your support, prayers, and condolences during this difficult time in our lives. May the Lord reward you for your kindness, grace, and mercy that you have shown us, in Jesus name, Amen.

A Heavy Heart...

Yes, my heart has been heavy all week. A very special member of our family, Raymond (my cousin/god brother) has gone home to be with the Lord. This past week has been a whirlwind of planning, running around, and today, well today it is finally reflection. Reflections of this young man as a baby, a young child, a teenager. All those memories hitting me at once. I know it is never easy for those that are left behind, I know time heals all pain and heartache. Raymond went through these same things I am describing when his mother (my aunt) passed away seven years ago, so I guess what I am trying to say is, how proud I was of Raymond, he went through many trials throughout his young life, and he did and gave his best. I am thankful that he had so many that loved and cared about him, but I know he is where he is supposed to be...and tonight we will say goodbye.

Vaya con Dios
Walk with the Lord

I will be posting his bio next so that his friends in different states may view

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Santos


Hola! Yes we are still here, we used the month of September to rest and get a head start on both the Dia de los Muertos show and stocking up on holiday pieces for when we rent our room at the gallery in November and December.


Rob has debuted his mini retablo collection in the Etsy store. They are priced perfectly to give as gifts for Christmas or if you just like Santos! I haven't put much on 1000markets since it's still pretty slow there. Anymore it seems that we do much better in the gallery than online. Art is such a personal thing and it always helps to see it in person.


I am working on pieces still, but I too find that sales are better offline. This is my busiest time of year and when I get commissioned the most. I've also been working on making polymer clay beads with religious icon images on them and that has been really fun. Sometimes you just never know what you're capable of until you just try! A new jewelry collection is right around the corner, I'll keep this updated often.


Fall came early to Denver, it has been very cool around here, but still beautiful!

Well off to catch up on my favorite blogs!


Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Hola, how are you!


Well we are finally done with our shows for awhile, whew!! It has been a busy summer for us and although we have enjoyed meeting new people, clients, and friends, we couldn't be more happier for this new time of rest.


Rob won the Chili Verde award at the Chili Harvest festival this past weekend, the award is for BEST new artist in the festival, I am so happy for him and he appreciates it greatly! The festival was really great with the first days attendance hitting 1900 people, Sunday was a little cool so we didn't get as many people out that day, but all in all it was a huge success. Our lovely director from CHAC gallery did a most impressive job getting this all put together with the city of Lakewood and we are thankful for all her hard work!
We also took Michael and Nezzie (our niece and nephew) with us to the festival, they had a great time creating endless works of art at all the kids stations, and especially loved having their picture taken as Frida and Diego!

We have made new pieces and they are slowly getting listed in the Etsy shop,
Rob has some fantastic new paintings available too.

Until mañana, buenas noches

Monday, August 24, 2009

Soul of the Southwest Collection


In a previous post I wrote about how much the Land of Enchantment moves me, how lucky I am to call both states of Colorado and New Mexico my homes. Colorado with it's majestic mountains and New Mexico with it's vibrantly colorful desert. New Mexico though, holds my abuelito's legacy and childhood and now present memories that keep me intrigued with the Southwest . I could write a book with all the stories my buelito told me and add my own too! New Mexico is spiritual, quiet, vast, a place where you could almost hear God speaking to you. It is a place we go to when we need to recharge and meditate, finding inspiration from nature, churches that have been there for what seems like forever, and of course familia.


This is why I have started the Soul of the Southwest collection, the pieces I have made thus far have received good comments and people that have bought them have really found something personal in them, something that touches their soul. So...I will continue to make them and hopefully start listing more of them on Etsy. We still have the Chili Harvest Festival this coming weekend and then a break for about a month, then it's the Dia de los Muertos group show at the gallery.
This newest piece is called A Rose Grows and can be found on Etsy until the weekend when I show at the Chili Harvest Festival.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Friday Night Art Show at Bonacquisti Wine Company

We had another art reception at the Bonacquisti wine company this past friday evening. We had lots of fun visiting with friends, family, and all the new people we met!

The lighting in there isn't the greatest but I gave it my best shot. I love how Rob set up the table with Sacred Heart and Virgen de Guadalupe art.

We both did really well both on the 1st and then this past Friday, so we are very happy!!
Rob is currently working on more paintings and I am working on my necklaces/bracelets for the Chili Harvest Festival at the end of August. We feel like summer has completely passed us by, it seems like just a short while ago it was May, where oh where has summer gone?!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Windy Flirt

This past weekend was First Friday down at the CHAC gallery. Since our art show opening reception was last Saturday at the wine company we were able to attend. We don't often have time to go down and fight the crowds of people, but we made an exception this time. This month's group show Somos Aztlan was a handful of our favorite artists and friends-Stevon Lucero, Daniel Luna, Michael Canada, Mike Penny, Javier Flores, David Garcia and Robert Maestas. It was a lively, colorful show and if we had more deniro we probably would have bought one piece from all of them!!


What we did purchase was a gorgeous painting titled "Windy Flirt" by Daniel Luna. I have always loved his art from the moment I first saw it at the gallery. The colors are deep and vibrant, the stories exciting and funny! You can find out a little more about Daniel here. This will be our 4th piece and that still isn't enough, the mannequin is titled "Eggplant Dawn" and the last piece shown is titled "Cross Ponchos"! Daniel also does the art work for the wine labels at the Bonacquisti wine company where we are currently showing.
We also bought a carved stone piece from Mike Penny, we have that outside and I will post pics of all our outside art later.

We have had some down time, but we are now getting ready for the Chile Harvest Festival where many of us from CHAC gallery will be showing for the weekend, this festival is alway fun and the smell of chilis roasting always is a plus!





Please remember that Artwork images are copyright of the artist

Saturday, August 1, 2009

We can finally breathe...


Rob and I have been working in a frenzy this past couple of weeks trying to get ready for the Art & Wine show at the Bonacquisti wine company. Rob completed some amazing pieces and to finally see them up on the wall instead of on the floor of the studio, well let me just say I am so excited for the rest of the world to see them!! I finished many pieces as well and am really pleased with the way they turned out.


Our camera died this past Monday, I bought another and haven't had quite enough time to take any pics of the new pieces. We decided to wait until the show today and take pictures there.


We will have a few days to just take a breather and then it's back to the workshops to get ready for the Chile Harvest festival at the end of the month.


Have a happy weekend!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Wine and Art...

...on a Saturday afternoon, sounds like fun to me!
We would like to invite you to our opening reception of Wine & Art at the Bonacquisti Wine Company. Rob will be showing his new collection of Primitive folk art paintings and Santero art work and I will be showing my newest mixed media jewelry pieces featuring Frida Kahlo and Dia de los Muertos art.

We would like to thank Paul & Judy Bonacquisti for inviting us to show in their fabuloso urban winery right here in Denver.


We look forward to seeing all our friends and family and enjoying some great wine!


SALUD!!!