New Mexico

This was my first time in New Mexico. I loved it! I loved learning about the culture and history of this laid back, arid, expansive, beautiful state.

Though this was not the first stop, I'll tell you about the Cradle Project exhibit. Here is the building in downtown Albuquerque.



The exhibit was on floors 7 and 8. There were over 500 cradles and cribs! Some of them are on the Cradle Project website. They photographed 60 of the works that arrived by an early deadline. These were in a beautiful catalog that was sold to raise money for the cause.

Here is the Friendship Cradle done by second graders I worked with:





There were artists of all ages and levels of accomplishment. In fact, Judy Chicago had a piece in this exhibit! Here is her submission. It was a 2-dimensional piece:


More cradles and cribs. A requirement was that they be constructed of recycled materials:







This piece was done by Ginger Quinn, an artist who was also one of the volunteers who helped to organize the exhibit. She was my contact person:


This crib is constructed of paint stirrers and swatches:
Here I am reminded of Frank Poor:

This one had beautiful details. See the two photos below:


A sixth grade class created this cradle. It is made of casts of students' hands:
Graduate art students created this interesting piece. See the other view below:


Here I am (R) with Naomi Natale (L), the inspiring, resourceful, and talented photo-journalist who initiated and oversaw this huge project. The Cradle Project raises funds to aid orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa. Thank you Naomi for your vision and leadership!