When I moved here, I felt like going through a decompression chamber. As a Jersey girl, I needed to adjust to the slower pace. But that pace, as I have come to find out, is precious. Taos challenges you & tests your patience & teaches you lessons. I moved here originally to ski in 1999 and within a year went through a very scary ski accident, plummeting into trees and rocks. When I recovered, I leaned into the fear of being high up on the mountain and skied for another 15 years. Creating the work is a part of processing other lessons, such as turning towards the abyss of awareness and inner stillness, despite the risk of wrecking against the rubble of ego, expectations, and entitlement within myself. Taos, with its vast, abstract panoramas and profound stillness, is a proving ground for the human spirit.
Progress swells forward in waves, and after over 20 years in the land of enchantment Taos is a bubble, floating somehow over and beyond the rest of the world. Will the bubble burst? Is the rest of the fast-paced world going to invade? The pace is precious. But if change does come, it will be one more lesson in the transitory nature of place, the fragility of life– ultimately, like skiing, like painting, a masterclass in surrender.
