Christine Autumn keeps the creative fire alive during quarantine
IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE the Taos music scene without the inimitable rich, melodious voice of Christine Autumn. She arrived in Taos at the age of 28, from Brooklyn, New York.
“I traveled one summer with some friends,” she recalled, “and we drove from San Francisco through to Taos; and there was something about the sky then that made me say I am coming back. I made it back in 1991 and gave birth to my child a year later.”
Award-winning painter, sculptor, writer, potter and educator are among her many credentials, as well as the musical career she is perhaps best known for. Loyal fans have sorely missed her weekly appearances at the Alley Cantina, accompanied by Dan Lizdas on piano and Larry Audette on bass. But the multitalented Autumn has been anything but idle in the interim.
“At first, I thought of COVID as a holiday from the routine. A time to be introspective and learn to relax. Three months later I discovered I had to cling to a routine to promote sanity: Get up every day at the same time doing the rituals like washing, brush teeth, eat, etc.
“My jazz night gig at the Alley Cantina stopped, my meetings with the No Coast Writers stopped, writing at SOMOS weekly with others, teaching in-person at the Taos Middle School stopped. Life is different and I needed to go with the flow. What began to happen was making time to walk everyday in any kind of weather. To walk away from the computer every chance I get, to stand and look outside at the birds and life there. I rediscovered artists like Betty Carter, who Dan Lizdas would mention to Larry Audette in moments with such reverence. I wanted to know what they were talking about. Of course, my discovery was a different wonderment. I would dream of artwork that I wanted to do even though I never started any project yet. Now Spring Arts is coming, and I have hope that I might spring into action.
“There is artwork from my series on honoring the people who were hanged, from the post cards that were sent from the individuals who attended such events – lynching in the United States was a widespread occurrence beginning in the 1830s antebellum South. My work was hanging until this past week at Revolt Gallery, and there is some sculpture at Wilder Nightingale on Kit Carson Road now (575-7583255). I still want these pieces to hang in a museum.
“I love to sing, and yet I am shockingly shy and have a fear about meeting people and being in groups. I have permission now to be antisocial and hide behind a mask. COVID suits my personality. I am learning how to play the guitar for the hundredth time in my life and I would love a Zoom teacher. I miss working with clay, and have sold many plates and bowls from the images I place online. I want to make more things this spring. I still have boxes of things left to sell, but I can wait for the next opportunity. Future plans are to build a studio at my home where I can make pottery and sections for all my other joys. I have given myself two years to make a studio happen. Quarantine allows me to have time for my book and listening to jazz, but very little energy for anything else.”
We asked what the book was about, and Autumn said cryptically, “Trees!” We asked her to elaborate and she did.
“I’ve been working on this book for nine years stop and start. On Saturdays we would meet with Susan Mihalic and No Coast Writers. Then COVID happened. I’ve just begun to start again. It’s about trees. A young girl in a Black family living in Taos, this young girl having a relationship with trees. This young lady, trees, and one tree in particular.
She talks to them and they talk to her. When I don’t believe there’s magic happening, I stop writing for a while — if I don’t believe it, I can’t write about it. It’s important that I write from this perspective, I walk the woods every day.
“Then in the book, the father loves jazz so the whole book is written around jazz music. I get to hear the music as I’m working. I envision a movie with the soundtrack playing. It’s the kind of book that needs a soundtrack. This all came after COVID. I was all by myself sitting at my table and I realized, this is the soundtrack of the family. Betty Carter for instance. Those women were geniuses. It’s what’s making it magical for me. It takes a lot of courage to keep believing in something, like a book. To me it’s amazing to complete something. All we have is this one moment and it goes so quickly. We don’t have all the time in the world. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. I just try to maintain energy enough to do my creations. If you’re trying to be honest, to connect to that other place, it takes energy. Especially if you’re writing about any kind of magic. “
Autumn also continues to teach every day, now via Zoom. “My real focus is getting through school each day. I teach three classes everyday online. There are meetings. I have to account for it all on Friday. I try to get through it peacefully and have energy.”
Through her years of working with youth, Autumn was sought out and recruited as a board member for Youth Heartline. This essential organization quietly advocates for children at risk and supports their families in a myriad of ways. Their mission, as stated on their website: “To make life safer and better for vulnerable children and families in our community.”
“I joined Heartline as a board member and I still am learning about this organization, but I have never been on a board before and it makes me feel grown up,” Autumn said. “Heartline has been around for a while, but they’re not mentioned a lot. They go into homes and they take care of the needs of the children. They have highly trained volunteer CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) workers, they need more. They are advocates for kids. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I got a call and someone had mentioned me to them as a potential board member. They did a background check. Then you become a CASA member. They don’t take kids out of homes, they just report. They raise money for lunches, notebooks, pencils, all the things they need to survive. Heartline has a website (youthheartline.org). People can go there and donate money, be CASA volunteers, all of that and above. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
And when can devoted fans expect a return to the stage?
“I had one Zoom in the beginning of COVID. Dan and Larry and I played at a Zoom concert arranged by John Henderson. Now I’m pretty much trying to force myself to do shows.
“I bumped into Aaron, one of the owners of the Alley, and he said, ‘Do you still know how to sing?’ I said, ‘I hope so!’