Monthly Archives: November 2011

Swimming: a lifetime sport

Posted on November 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Masters Team member Linda Aubrecht pauses between laps at the Taos Youth and Family Center.

Photo: Tina Larkin

Linda Aubrecht moved from Minneapolis to Taos 10 years ago, after she retired. In 2009 she became a member of the Masters Team (part of the Taos Swim Club) that meets at the Taos Youth and Family Center Mondays through Fridays, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
She has enjoyed every minute of it.
“I have been swimming laps since I was in college,” said Aubrecht. “And I was a swimming instructor for many years. Then I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and had to use a wheelchair but still, I would swim at least five days a week.”
Even with her background, when Aubrecht joined the Masters Team she got a big surprised.
“I began teaching in the 60’s and a lot has been happening since then,” she said. “I found out that the techniques I used to teach when I was a swimming instructor had changed considerably. In all sports the equipment and the methods evolve over time, but in swimming, our own bodies are the equipment! I had to learn the new styles that had been developed recently.”
Taylor Jaramillo Etchemendy coaches the Masters Team. “We have swimmers from the beginners’ level to professional triathletes,” she said. “The Masters Team is one of my favorite groups because it is exciting to work with people who are so committed to improving and learning. Teaching the butterfly to someone close to 70 is inspiring! And Linda, in particular, has been an inspiration for everyone in our team.”
“Having a coach like Taylor is extremely useful,” Aubrecht said. “With her, we learned to swim like fish do, turning from to side to side as we stroke, instead of floating with our bodies flat in the water. She is also an excellent motivator who makes our time in the pool really enjoyable.”
Aubrecht was diagnosed with MS in 1967 and started walking again in 1989. “I used crutches and braces, and gradually gained so much strength that I don’t need any walking help now,” she said. “When I hike I just use walking sticks, but many people who are perfectly healthy do the same.”
She credits swimming with helping her stay in shape. “It kept my body active,” she said. “Then, I had a treatment called blood cleansing, which was very successful in allowing me to gain stability. When I started walking again, the rest of my body was ready and toned because of my regular swimming practice.”
Now she swims 3 times a week and walks 4 times. “My husband and I walk the dogs regularly and that is also an excellent workout,” she said.
Aubrecht starts swimming at 7: 00 am. “We have a wonderful community,” she said. “It’s fun to be with friends, to feel part of a group. That motivates me to get up in the mornings and go to the Youth and Family Center.”
She emphasizes that newcomers don’t have to be competitive swimmers to participate in the program. “Taylor will meet you where you are and will help you improve from there,” said Aubrecht. “Swimming will make a difference in your life, no matter your age or physical condition.”
Aubrecht is 68 years old and plans to continue swimming for a long time. “It is something you can do even when you have physical problems,” she said. “Swimming is a lifetime sport.”
Lisa Davis is a Realtor for Prudential Taos Real Estate. She is also known as the creator of the “Lost and Hound” hotline that helps people search for missing pets, and she pays for it to air at KTAO. The report is also downloaded into her website daily.
But there is another side of Davis. Aubrecht and other members of the Masters Team can attest to that. “She is a really good athlete,” said Aubrecht.
When Davis started attending the Masters Team in November 2011 she didn’t know what a difference it would make in her life. She considers herself a water person, but didn’t start swimming as part of a regular program until this year.
The results were remarkable.
“Swimming strengthened my body and trimmed it out,” she said. “Now I swim five days a week and that, besides being a good, healthy practice, makes me very happy as well. And our community of swimmers is the best part of it.”
She describes the group as “a meeting of cheerful and health-conscious people, always willing to help each other.”
Though the group is called the Masters Team, it doesn’t mean you have to be an expert or a competitive athlete to be part of it, she said. Its members range in age from early thirties to late seventies.
“Swimming is not too stressful on your body,” said Davis. “It is something you can do the rest of your life.”
Both Aubrecht and Davis agree that the workouts are designed to keep them form being boring. “We work on different strokes every day,” Davis said. “And Taylor also teaches us the right movements to avoid injures.”
Davis said that she has become addicted to swimming. She swims 5 to 6 days a week, for one hour and a half to two hours. “Another advantage is that you can eat at lot after that!” she said.
Like Aubrecht, she praised the new techniques that their coach has taught them.
“Taylor has a lot of experience,” Davis said. “She has the ability to see very quickly how you can improve.”
It seems that Davis has improved considerably. She will become the assistant coach for the Taos High School Swim Team, Jaramillo said.
“Swimming if for everyone and swimming is for life,” said Davis. “That’s my motto for the Masters Team.”
The Taos Youth and Family Center is located at 407 Paseo del Canon, East . Taos, New Mexico 87571
Phone Numbers: Taos Youth & Family Center
Phone: (575) 758-4160
Email: taosyouth@taosgov.com

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Rene Robles’ sculptures, pottery for the Taos home

Posted on November 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

test4Artist Rene Robles

Photo: Tina Larkin

Rene Robles’ sculptures are huge and whimsical. “I really enjoy looking at them every day when I pass by,” said Carolyn Schlam, a neighbor of Robles and an artist herself, who stopped to admire them. “They are just—powerful.”

Robles uses bronze, copper and recycled equipment in his pieces. Many are impressive-looking outdoor sculptures, like the ones from a series called “Nomadic Processions.” He began working on them as part of his thesis when he was a student in the Art Institute of Chicago. Several of the pieces are for sale now.

The series depicts a whole family unit (the matriarch, the patriarch and the siblings), made of metal. “Each of them has a meaning,” Robles said. “They represent the joys and the burdens of life.”

The sculptures are larger-than-life and deeply symbolic. Robles said that all his art has this metaphorical quality.

He also does functional pieces like mugs, cups and dishes. “I want them to be useful as well as decorative,” he said. A beautiful teapot and an abstract-looking salad dressing container can easily double as art.

Rene Robles was conceived in Zacatecas, Mexico, and born in Los Angeles. During his childhood his family made frequent trips to Mexico and he is fully bilingual now. “It was fun living between two countries,” he said. “In that sense, I had a happy childhood. But my mother died when I was 12 years old and that was hard.”

He dropped out of high school, but later went straight to a community college and got an associate degree in electronic engineering. And it was then that he discovered his true calling. “I was taking a ceramics class to fulfill a requirement and found out that I had a talent for it,” Robles said. “I realized that I didn’t want to work with electronic equipment all my life after all.”

He attended Pasadena City College and began to learn avidly about sculpture techniques. “I also taught myself how to paint,” he said. After taking several courses there he decided to get a degree in art.

He went to the Art Institute of Chicago on a scholarship. “By that time I already knew how to do lots of things but I learned much more, particularly in the Fibers Department. When I graduated in 2002, I was offered a residency by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum. It was a one-year residency in a beautiful place, 200 acres of wooden area near a lake.”

This turned out to be a productive time in Robles’s life. Besides working on his own art, he was commissioned a number of pieces that are now in private homes and collections. He also taught at the Pasadena Art College where he had been a student himself a few years before.

Robles ended up in Taos after falling in love with its natural beauty. “I passed by, saw this gorgeous land, the mountains, the light…,” he said. “It was magical! Then my brother and his girlfriend bought property here and I followed suit.”

Robles has been here for 5 years now and, like many Taos neighbors, he multitasks. When he is not painting or sculpting, he works at the Taos Herb Company.

“I am an herbalist,” he said. “I help people use herbs to heal themselves and decide which supplements to use. My mother was a curandera and I watched her use herbs and natural remedies so I learned mainly from observation.”

He sees a close relationship between his two professions. “Natural remedies are good for the body and the soul,” he said. “In a way, healing with them is a form of art.”

He also does pottery out of Taos Clay, a community clay studio that offers classes, membership, workshops and residency opportunities. It has a retail gallery where many participating artists, like Robles, showcase and sell their art.

“His work is very inspiring,” said fellow artist Leah Begin, who is currently doing a residency at Taos Clay. “And Rene is a hard-working person who is always helping people. Everyone looks for him whenever they have questions. He drops whatever he is doing and tries to be of help. Besides, he knows how to fix wheels and many other things. We don’t know what we’d do without him here!”

“Taos Clay has become a very important place for me and the community of local artists,” said Robles. “Logan Wannamaker provides not just a facility to work in but also a place where creative minds can be together. Having that community has enriched my life in many ways.”

Nature inspires him, and so does the human interplay with it. “In my piece Organic/ Inorganic, which is made of bronze and copper, I depicted the interaction between man-made stuff and nature,” Robles said. “I’ve noticed that, in general, we as a society don’t try to adapt to Nature, but we force it to adapt to us. We work against it and so we get in trouble.”

Robles has also tackled feminine issues—and gotten in trouble himself because of that. “I often wonder why women choose to wear uncomfortable shoes and clothes, like those pointed-toe shoes with extremely high heels,” he said. “Beauty takes precedence over comfort and women sacrifice their bodies for the sake of vanity.”

Inspired by that idea, Robles created a piece called Metal Bikini. It looks definitely uncomfortable!

He made it when he was a student at the Fibers Department of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was the only man. “The models who have worn it told me that it is painful,” he said. “When I showed it, some women said that, as a man, I had no right to talk about feminine issues, but for me that was a human issue. Art transcends gender barriers and I was set to prove that.”

Robles’s work can be found at Taos Clay Studio

1208PaseoDelPuebloNorte

El Prado,New Mexico87529

and at his house, 511 Camino de la Placita. His phone number is (575) 758-8044.

 

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Fall Fashion Statements

Posted on November 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Artemisia ArtWear

Originally published in The Taos News

Fall is approaching fast. This is the moment to inspect your closet and decide what is wearable and what is not. And it’s not too late to have one last garage sale with the clothes and accessories included in the second category! It will also make you feel less guilty for spending in new, trendy fall pieces.

Now, is there such thing as a “trendy piece” anymore?

“Everyone has their own idea of what is trendy for fall,” said Melissa Sharp, who manages the Paseo delPueblo Francesca’s boutique. “For us, it is about finding clothes that fit well and are comfortable, and this is important all year round.”
Right now the two Francesca’s stores are jam packed with fall pieces. They are stretchy, comfy and warm. “Every day we are getting new items that represent fall and this beautiful time of year,” said Sharp.
I asked her for fashion tips on a tight budget. “With just a small amount of money you can jazz up any outfit by accessorizing it with a scarf, a cute pair of boots and a great pair of earrings…all for less than $40,” she said.

Katie Iko, owner of Mariposa Boutique, has also prepared her shop for the fall fashion customers. “Grey is the new neutral and it is everywhere: tops, sweaters, jackets, pants and scarves,” she said. “Shades of orange are good this fall as well as teal, red and grape.”
As for accessories, scarves in all sizes, shapes, styles and colors are a must have.  “Fedora hats and sporty caps are the ‘in look’ in headgear,” said Iko. “We will soon have wool plaid vests and jackets as well as boiled wool, fleece, and faux shearling jackets.”

Tunic length tops with asymmetrical or handkerchief hemlines, and rhinestone, studs or ribbon flower embellishments are now popular with ladies of all ages. “They look great worn with leggings, jeans or straight leg pants, and are flattering on most body shapes,” said Iko.

Her tips include accessorizing, too. “Buy a chunky, colorful necklace to add new life to an old outfit or a stylish top to spice up more than one pair of pants or a skirt,” she said.  And don’t forget to visit sale racks. They are great places to find the perfect piece at the right price.”
But not everyone is following the fall fashion trends. Some store owners favor individuality. “Artemisia is not your ‘typical’ dress shop that goes with the fashion cycle, or whatever the fashion gurus dictate,” said owner and designer Annette Randell. “The artists and designers who make our unique, one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces stay independent of any such things as colors or styles of the season.”

She admits that they adjust to the seasons by having heavier and darker colored

clothes for fall and winter, but that is pretty much it. “The pieces we carry are rather timeless, thus people wear them for years and years and the investment into a piece of clothing is truly getting ‘paid for’,” she said.

Fall is the best season at Artemisia. “We sell a lot of hand woven pieces made by weavers from our area, and the ‘educated’ fiber and fabric lovers come in,” Randell said. “95% of our sales go to visitors and tourists, but a lot of them are return visitors who come once or twice a year and always stop by.”

Artemisia is not a cheap place. Take an Alexis Abrams’ velvet jacket, priced at $495 and a gorgeous Sally Ryan’s Parisian shirt that costs $278.00.

“The only point I can make about possibly being a trend setter is that inch by inch we educate people about value and quality, and that the higher price they pay for a garment at Artemisia actually represents better value than a poorly made item that falls apart after a few months,” said Randell.

Besides the work of artists, jewelers and fine craft artisans from all over the country, the boutique also carries Randell’s own line of wearable art garments under her label, Artemisia Artwear. All the pieces are individually designed and created by her.

Her fashion advice? “Don’t be concerned about where the hem has to be this season, or that it has to be a leopard print, for example,” said Randell. “Instead, buy one good, timeless piece that you can wear again and again, with a scarf or a different necklace.”

She agrees with Iko and Sharp on the value of scarves. “People who really have to stretch their dollars should get a unique, beautiful, hand painted scarf! Wear it over a solid colored T-shirt or long-sleeved cotton sweater.”

Now it’s time to go shopping. Make a list of whatever you need or want, take a look at your budget, have fun, and don’t forget to try everything on!

Artemisia is located at 117BBent Street

 

Taos,NM87571

phone: 575.737.9800

http://www.artemisiataos.com

 

Mariposa Boutique is located at120 Bent St.suite F

Taos,NM87571

Phone: 575-758-9028.

 

Francesca’s Clothing Boutique Inc. is located at

1018 PaseodelPuebloNorte, El Prado

575-737-0300

The Arroyo Seco store is at492 State Rd150

575-776-8776

 

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Talpa quilters pass their skills to the next generation

Posted on November 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

Students and instructors display quilts created during a quilting course offered this fall at the Talpa Community Center.

 Originally published in The Taos News

Quilting is an old and beloved tradition. Women would get together to make quilts using scraps of discarded clothes and these meetings fostered a community of quilters that often became longtime friends.

Though the process is now made simpler by the use of machines, quilting friendships still start early in life, as the girls that attended the quilting class at the Talpa Community Center found out.

“The Taos Community Foundation awarded us a grant to do a project related to sewing and quilting,” said Effie Romero, director of the TalpaCommunity Center. She decided to do a six-week workshop that began September 17th and ended October 22nd.

“It was really successful,” said Romero. “Every student finished a pot holder and a lap quilt that can also be used as a wall hanging.”

The students attended the Talpa Community Center on Saturdays from 9 am to 11:30 am.

Sue Vigil was the main instructor and Barbara Bartell, an artist and painter, acted as her helper. Bartell works at the Sage Gallery, teaches oil painting and does workshops all over the country. “I enjoy the creative side of life,” she said.

Daniel Romero, an 8th grader at Taos Middle School, was a volunteer. He started accompanying his mother to a quilting workshop in the summer and liked it so much that he came back this fall to help other kids learn the skills he had been taught.

“Whenever I saw a quilt before, my friends would tell me, ‘I have it because my grandma or my aunt gave it to me,’” he said. “Well, now I can tell them, ‘I have this one because I made it myself!’”

Lupita Trujillo, founder of the New Mexico folk dance group Los Niños Bailadores, was also a volunteer. She retired as a teacher, but “once a maestra, always a maestra,” she said. Her two granddaughters took the quilting class.

“Quilting is an art that is slowly going away,” said Romero. “We need to pass it onto our children and grandchildren before it becomes completely lost. Besides, in this class we also taught them the basics of sewing. Our kids need to know at least how to replace a button!”

The Talpa Community Center has a public library with six computers for public use. They offered a ceramics class, also founded by the Taos Community Foundation, but this program is over now. “Some of the students in the quilting class came from the ceramics class,” said Romero. “Ours is an ongoing educational project.”

Another ceramics class will begin in November with a grant from the Taos Fall Festival, Romero said. She herself teaches ceramics workshops at Taos / Colfax Services, Taos County ARC and People’s Services.

“Our classes are great outlets for children,” she said. “They learn new skills in a relaxed environment and have fun in the process.”

Romero has been the director of the Talpa Community Center for seven years. Originally from Arkansas, she has been in Taos since 1951. “I was raised here,” she said. “So I am practically a Taoseña.”

“Quilting is very popular,” she said. There is a quilting guild that meets at the Talpa Community Center the second Monday of every month. Its name is Taos High Country Quilt/Needle-Craft Guild.

Sue Vigil, the class instructor and a member of the Guild, moved to Taos five years ago from Colorado Springs. “When the Taos Community Foundation asked me if I wanted to teach a quilting class, I thought it was a great idea,” she said. “We (the Guild) donated the fabric and it has been a very rewarding experience for all of us.”

Though Vigil sells some of her creations at the Arts and Crafts Fair, the Martinez Hacienda and Bits and Pieces (Talpa Community Center’s store and sewing center) she doesn’t consider quilting a business, but a hobby she is very passionate about. “I really love to quilt,” she said, “and so I am happy to pass this skill onto the younger people.”

“We will definitely continue this class if we get funds,” said Romero. “It will be nice if the girls could learn more or if new ones could learn what we have taught this group for the last six weeks.”

What the quilters say

Elisa Duran is 11 years old and attends Taos Middle School. “I liked the class because I was able to experience how to make a quilt by myself and experiment with the sewing machine,” she said. “And I got to finish a beautiful quilt that I can keep!”

Ashley McMains is 10 years old and a student at Ranchos Elementary School. “It was a fun process, the whole thing,” she said. “But the best part was seeing all the quilts together. Now I feel I can make many more. My grandma used to make them and she’ll be so proud of me.” She smiled. “At first I thought that this class would be boring, but I ended up liking it a lot.”

Laura Thomas is 13 years old and attends Taos Middle  School. “I was able to make a very nice quilt with the colors of fall,” she said. “This is the first time I take a quilting class and I learned that it is hard work.”

“I know it was frustrating for the girls at times,” Vigil said. “Most of them have never had any sewing experience and admitted they could not sew a straight line, but the looks on their little faces when they finished their projects was priceless.”

Before leaving the classroom, the girls displayed their quilts for everyone to see.

“I really enjoyed working with all of you, “Vigil told them. “If you ever want to take this class again, let me know. I am very proud of you, and you should be too.”

TheTalpaCommunity Centeris located off HWY 518, at4 Archuleta Rd, Ranchos De Taos, NM.

Phone (575) 751-1014.

Daniel Romero, an eighth-grader at Taos Middle School, uses one of Talpa Community Center’s sewing machines. Romero assists other young sewers as a volunteer.

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