Travel Tips

Some of our time was even spent wandering the beautiful region in which we found ourselves ..... it took dedication to even come to this meet as the closest airport was about 4 hours away!

We hiked along the Rio Grande Gorge, dipped into hot springs, wandered shops and galleries in Taos, met locals in Questa, felt living history at Taos Pueblo and through it all ... enjoyed the company of our fellow VTers :)

Pictured: LaCristina, FunnyBeee, ray_d, Misha_abq, Kymbanm, Katmosphere - by our photojournalist for the weekend: albuqRay

Mrs FunnyBeee took the time to present us with a wonderful knitting workshop! We were in awe of her skill in this craft. She is also a patient teacher. Her knowledge and ability to present new information is amazing. Some of us are faster than others in picking up this new skill .... oneparticipant mentioned that in about 6 months she MIGHT have a new belt, another one is still frantically knitting away! She will probably have knitted a whole new wardrobe by the end of the week :)

Katmosphere REALLY wanted a drawing workshop, and so she got one! A local model pitched in and three of our participants spent many hours after the initial modeling session continuing to work on their sketches from the workshop. Katmo was an awesome facilitator to boot! She went out of her way to make the model feel safe and was able to guide her into poses that brought out so much more that anyone could have imagined :)

Misha was not only integral to obtaining use of the retreat center for our weekend (THANK YOU MISHA!), she is a talented educator. She drew from each of us simple yet powerful stories that brought moisture to the eyes of EVERY participant there! By focusing on a 'slice of time', we each more fully explored the power of the written word. In the process we learned about the significance of lemons, short pants, strawberry-rhubarb pies and wadjans :)

Kymbanm shared her love of beadweaving with participants. She taught a traditional technique known as Peyote stich. The project was a beaded bead ..... after a little frustration, the participants quickly picked it up and made some amazing pieces! Look for these beauties around their necks at the next VT meet!

With 2 workshops a day, and free time for wandering the area, one would think our participants would be tired ... but NOOOOOOOO! During little bits of time that presented, our artists would show up and begin working on MORE art! Painting, beading, knitting, photography, writing ... it was all happening during every 'free' moment of the weekend. The energy was AMAZING!!!!!!

During the evening, our neighbor Dino joined us for diner, and then serenaded us with music .... blues, local folk music and a little bit of rock came from the old piano. A little later, classical music filled the air as LaCristina tickled the ivories and took us to yet another level :)

Misha_abq fed us royally on Friday night ...... and LaCristina followed suit the rest of the weekend! I cannot express the joy of these meals! The flavors, presentations, and company reminded us all of the ART involved in creating a good meal!