High Road Artisans
Annual studio tour returns
THE HIGH ROAD to Taos is one of those roads: winding its way through indigenous lands and the colonial remnants of New Spain, and holding surprises around each bend. It’s a landmark road trip whose reputation for beauty, culture, and history is well-deserved along each of its 60 miles.
With the landscape changing from green to gold, and the air sparkling with an autumn chill, this weekend is the perfect time to go exploring and the High Road Artisans annual Studio Tour is giving you just the excuse to do so — in case you needed one.
Now in its 23rd year, the tour begins this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 18-19) and continues next weekend, as well (Sept. 25-26), during the hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Follow the road between Taos and Nambe, through the enchanting villages of Peñasco, Vadito, Picuris Pueblo, Chamisal, Ojo Sarco, Llano San Juan, Las Trampas, Truchas, Córdova, Cundiyo, and Chimayo. Dozens of galleries and studios will have their doors thrown open and ready to welcome you to their smorgasbord of traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.
You’ll find mixed media; ceramic, glass, pottery; metalwork, stone, sculpture; painting, watercolor, drawing; prints, monotypes, giclées; fiber arts, both paper and felt; photography; jewelry; weaving, textiles, clothing; wood carving, woodwork, furniture; folk art, tinwork, games; and santos, retablos, and bultos.
Intimidated by so many choices? Don’t be: there’s an app for that. Download the free High Road Art Trail app to your smartphone and everything you need to know for your visit will be at your fingertips.
“This is a destination and an event; it’s your chance to meet with and purchase directly from the participating artists,” however, “it really is a weekend visit,” said Nick Beason, a printmaker who, along with his wife, fibre artist Lise Poulsen, owns Gaucho Blue Gallery in Peñasco. “One day doesn’t really cover it.”
That’s why, Beason noted, “the brilliant star in the HRA firmament is Chuck Jones’ High Road Arts app.”
Photographer Jones and his wife,
‘God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.’
Isak Dinesen
screenwriter/bassist/actor/director Suzanne Birrell, own a studio along the tour showcasing their work: palladium photographic prints tweaked with the couple’s signature artistry. Their filmmaking and high-tech backgrounds melded in spectacular fashion with the creation of the app, however.
It’s simple to navigate and instrumental in helping you pre-plan your days with its detailed maps and listings of showrooms by category; locations of rest rooms and ATMs; and, of course, food stops. (Yes: both Rancho de Chimayo Restaurante and Sugar Nymphs Bistro are as enjoyable as you’ve heard.)
Perhaps the app’s best feature is its in-depth access to cultural, historical, and art-related blogs and links, according to Jones’ own video blog on the HRA website. He noted the unfamiliarity many have of the high road communities and the treasures they hold; by using the app to its fullest, visitors will enjoy a more meaningful weekend.
Information is empowering: now that it’s yours, relax and appreciate the many cultural intersections you’ll encounter along the High Road Artisans’ tour.
Visit Centinela Traditional Arts in Chimayo, where award-winning weavers Lisa and Irvin Trujillo are keeping alive traditional handweaving practices using natural dyes, custom-dyed yarns, hand-spun yarns, and the traditional Chimayo and Rio Grande weaving styles. Their work, and that of over two dozen other weavers, is available as blankets, rugs, vests and coats, purses and pillows.
Down the road is the foundry of Marco Oviedo who specializes in traditional woodcarving and contemporary bronze sculptures. Oviedo — an eighth-generation descendant of woodworkers and woodcarvers who originated in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain — is known for his unique interpretations of New Mexican religious folk art styles and Southwestern designs.
If your preference trends towards paintings of stunning landscapes, then stop by the Vadito studio of J. Chris Morel and immerse yourself in the fine plein air artist’s evocative oil and watercolors of our dramatic high desert vistas.
And travel into Truchas, where you’ll find the diverse representation at Hand Artes Gallery, whose sculpture garden, as a bonus, offers expansive views of the valley, Truchas Peak, and the distant silhouette of Pedernal.
As much as the arts and crafts will delight you, the many photo opportunities also will. You might’ve noticed that the app offers directions for a selfguided church tour. Besides the sacred Sanctuario de Chimayo, there are lesser-known but just as historically and culturally significant churches worthy of a visit.
The High Road Artisans have gone above-and-beyond to make your weekend a memorable one.
“Folks need to understand that [our studio tour] is phenomenal,” Beason emphasized. He may be biased but, chances are, he’s right.
Non-service dogs may not enjoy the tour as much as you do, so please be considerate of their comfort in your vehicles. COVID-safe practices will be observed in accordance with N.M. state guidelines and as gallery owners require. For further information, please go to highroadnewmexico.com, or visit the tour’s web application, highroadarttrail.com.