LIFE AS AN ARTIST
Did you choose ART or did it choose you?  In the course of our lives we have occasion to try on many shoes, as in possible vocations.  Perhaps like myself over time you have come to find only one pair that didn't pinch your toes.  This path unwinding that makes up our days is one of varied terrain. You will have need of the most comfortable shoes.  An ARTist is one who must work twice ,even three times as hard and travel further than what a good many folks would do. This done just to reach some level of validation in their eyes.  This is the journey. It's the path that I travel, and my life has been richly rewarded in this choice. NO,not outside in the fields of illusion. Here inside where I go to get the very best of myself to share with all of you. This is what ART has chosen. and I'm honored that it has chosen me.

 

Dina is all spiffed up and ready to go to the Holiday ARTE fiesta ! Hope to see you there in support of local Artists ! Please drop by and see the unique & creative offerings from the shop at Rancho Milagrito as well as the very best hand made offerings of the Tucson Valley's creative best! 

Details in the post below.

Western Star gifted to Tohono Chul Park, Tucson AZ

Western Star- Copper & metal construction. Gifted to Tohono Chull Parks 20th Anniversary Holiday in the Park Fund Raiser. Rancho Milagrito has participated in this worthy cause for almost the duration of the program. This organization promotes a greater understanding of the Sonoran Desert region while lending a spot light to the many creative souls who's imaginations are inspired by it.

Design created for this years Patagonia Lake shore clean up . No T shirts this time but this "sweet" design will find it's way on to a cake as part of the celebrations pitch in potluck. Prismacolor and ink rendering.

"Tanked Up"

Prismacolor and ink rendering gifted to Air Tanker 61 Memorial . Wild Lands Fire Education Center Klamath Falls Oregon September 2012.

A New Show . . .

 

Life left to give, creating new possibilities from materials others abandoned.

The mission of my work is twofold.  Life affirmation is at the center of all I endeavor to do creatively.  My commitment to this philosophy is anchored in the usage of primarily found materials.  Time and again we hear the phrase consumer or throw away society.  Having always found such a definition unsettling - I have chosen to move in an opposite direction in my work, as well as my lifestyle.  Over the now many years that I have chosen to integrate this approach to all I create I have come to regard it as a source of great satisfaction. Picking up a this ,or a that lying about the landscape in a state of disrepair and breathing new life in to it is for this soul as good as it need get.  After many years of this process the materials and I have arrived at a common point of salvation for one another. If I were to use one phrase to lend definition to my work it would be "High Folk Art".
 

Life Left to Give

Creating new possibilities from materials others have abandoned.

October 5th - October 22^nd

Opening Reception -Wednesday October 8th 4:30 P.M. to 6:30

Community Center, Long Gallery

The Academy Village

13701 East Old Spanish Trail

Tucson Arizona

Gallery Hours: 10:00 am-5pm, M-F

Below are two of the many offerings to be seen at the Life Left to Give show:

Gadfly; Refitted Carpenter's Hand-drill.

  

Little Brother; Fabricated from a car battery  bracket case.

It's Been A Long Time Come'n . . .

Dear friends and followers of all that goes on at Rancho Milagrito. It has long been a dream to move the work a day activities of the shop to a point "out side the box" and at long last it's a solid reality !   Over the past few weeks things have come together in a big way.  Minus some finishing detail tweaks the little 20x20 roofed in work zone has taken on a whole new feel.  At last !  Opportunity to work in the great out of doors where the lessening of work shop dust and occasional solvent fumes will be greatly lessened. Improved natural lighting to boost the softening focus of these aging eyes will be of benefit as well.  Then for the real kicker.  Finished to a point of habitation just in time to gaze out upon those delicious summer time thunder heads that come scudden in from the South !  Yeow Lordy Momma drop your load ! 

Just a little bit "O" back ground in respect to all that you see standing here (As in credit where it's due).  The wonderful heavy timber slabs that are the primary materials making up this construction were a gift from Cathy Clark owner of the widely known Cave House in Bisbee, Arizona.  This gracious lady who along with husband Randy had completed a major project taking them where no man had gone before, that being directly in to a granite face of Mule Mountain just North of Bisbee.  These timbers, recruited from the site of an ancient bridge as well as a regional mine were left overs of this major home owner project.  Kudos as well to Robbie and Milly Williamson who lent a hand as well as a H.D. flat bed trailer to haul the liberated materials North to Rancho "M".

Following on the heals of all the afore mentioned there is Ricardo. A long time friend and supporter of all that has transpired here over such a stretch of  time.  Ricardo, who will possibly some day learn to no longer utter the words  "Just point me at a major project and I'll knock it out for you during my stay."  During this stay the concrete slab was poured and primary uprights were placed in position.  Then there was a plane to catch, and I'm sure he slept well on it.

Next came an amazing performance by neighbor Tim Peterson.  Tim managed what would have taken a lesser soul 3 days of measuring and cutting easily half that.  Defying all known laws of cutting such heavy materials with a hand held circle saw and arriving at an easy "got it right the first cut" he was something to see.  He was as well something to see at the end of the day when he was barely distinguishable from the saw dust that coated him.  Tim could well claim fame as king of the circular saw cutters.  Thank you Tim ! 

So there it stands, a little 12 x 15 ft. rock solid monument as to just what can be when good friends step forward and lend a hand and a heart to a friend.  I say thanks to all those "Hearts & Hands" !    

F.Y.I. or "I"nterest . . . go to www thecavehouse.com.

P.S. For those of you who were curious enough to ask.  That beautiful matching set of swinging saloon doors are from a 1948 Ford Coupe.  A rare find !

Now how about a look inside The Shop at Rancho Milagrito

Thanks for dropping in.  We'd like to show you around our most unusual shop.  Upon entry this well preserved 1949 Plymouth rear deck is hard to miss.  (Note) The 1921 New Mexico plate (not of registry to this car).  The 609 suggests the likely hood that maybe there were little as a couple 1000 vehicles registered in the state at that time.

The area in the foreground is one of a number of work stations within the shop itself.  Though it may appear to be in a state of utter calamity there is a level of organized chaos present that gets us through our working day.  (Note) The little Pick Up trucks that serve as finish hardware containers.  "Pick Ups" (the older the better) are objects of honor here at the ranch.  Sort of the American West’s answer to the "Sacred Cow".

Look up! Is it a bird ? Is it plane ? Or is it a little of every body doing what we do so well here.  Breaking the "RULES". 

And how ‘bout a couple a Kirby Speedsters (Circa 195. . .whatever).  Just think, back in their day they both cleaned and entertained.

Hope it's been fun.  Hope you have been inspired.  And hope we hear from you here at Rancho Milagrito (Little Miracle Ranch ) Vail, Arizona.  http://www.ranchomilagrito.com/contact.html

Rancho Milagrito Offerings Now Appearing in Tohono Chul Park Main Gallery

"Take'n the Back Road" and "Cabin on the Rim" are currently on exhibition in the gallery at Tohono Chul Park as a part of the park's Arizona Cenntenial Celebration.

The show is currently running through April 22, 2012.

Take'n the Back Road

Old pick up trucks and dusty Arizona back roads. This piece is reflective of the artists love for both.

Note: The Saguaro cactus in this piece are actually finished from real Saguaro wood.

A Cabin on the Rim

For some so fortunate "A Cabin on the Rim" may be a very real place in space and time. For others it may be solely anchored in their mind. For either it may offer escape and refuge from the rigors of a contemporary life stile. In an environment whose air is tainted only by the smell of pine one can reunite with the simple joy of breath. In such a place one may gaze in to a limitless star filled sky and recall their place as a part of it all.

About Tohono Chul Park

"The mission of Tohono Chul Park is to enrich people’s lives by providing them the opportunity to find peace and inspiration in a place of beauty, to experience the wonders of the Sonoran Desert and to gain knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of the region." To see more about the exhibit click here.

The park is located One stop light west of the intersection at Oracle and Ina Roads at 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704.
(520) 742-6455
8AM - 5PM daily. 

For directions to Tohono Chul Park click here.