AN ARTFUL ADVENTURE#1

"The summer I spent in Taos I sometimes rode out to the eastern hills late in the afternoon with the sun at my back. When the sun went down and was not shining in my eyes I would ride back to the Pueblo......It was a wide wide quiet area. - Georgia O'Keeffe

TRIP TO SEDONA, ARIZONA I am back home after an artful adventure. Last week, I had the chance to escape life's routine. Although I love to paint, sometimes I needed to take a break from painting or else life gets boring. I spent four days in Sedona and three days in Phoenix, Arizona. My husband had a conference in Phoenix for three days and I came along as usual. Prior to his conference, we visited Sedona. From Los Angeles we flew to Phoenix and drove to Sedona which is about 2 hours. This was our third trip to Sedona and as always, this beautiful town inspires and energizes me. Sedona is famous for those wonderful RED rocks dotting the landscape. There are countless of them. I will feature those RED rocks in a later blog. Meanwhile, I am posting about the "Pueblos of the Southwest." At present Sedona has many brand new Pueblos. Most of them are resorts, luxury hotels and single family dwellings. The Pueblos here are not inhibited by the Indians of the Southwest. They are mostly for visitors and tourists like us. WHAT IS A PUEBLO? In the Philippines, where I was born, "Pueblo" is our Spanish word for a town. In the American Southwest a "Pueblo" is a communal structure for multiple dwelling. Built of adobe or stone. Adobe is the sun dried brick. Typically Pueblos were many storied and terraced, the structure were often placed against cliff walls and ground-floor. Entry was usually through the roof by ladder. The above photo is the Pueblo that Georgia O'Keeffe described from the top quotation. Georgia was a famous American artist and lived in New Mexico during the nineteenth century. She was fascinated by the Pueblo, which she decribed as "wide wide and quiet area. During a past trip to Taos, New Mexico in the summer of 1996, I saw my first and authentic Indian Pueblos. Like Georgia, I was fascinated with the beauty and simple architetural design of the Pueblos. I thought, how wonderful to live in such kind of architectural beauty. When my husband and I toured the interior, I was very dissappointed to see that it was cramped, dark and lack modern facilities for comfortble living that Americans are used too. There are no modern kitchen appliances, sink, faucet and running water. No luxurious bath tubs and shower head. No carpeting. I wouldn't be happy living in Pueblo. But still the architectural beauty of the Pueblos fascinated me for many years. SEDONA, ARIZONA My hubby and I made our first trip to Sedona in Spring (2004). Then came back two years later in 2006, around my birthday week. During that trip we stayed at the Hyatt Vacation Club to view their time-share presentation. My husband and I were so fascinated and impressed by this newly built pueblo-resort. The architecture was designed and styled after a typical Indian Pueblo but with all the luxuries and coveniences one could dream off. We had attended many time -share presentations before but we were skeptical about buying one. This time, there was no hesitation and we finally bought a two-bedroom time -share. Little did I know that someday, we would be able to live and owned a piece of a modern -Pueblo. I couldn't believe it.
HYATT VACATION CLUB (SEDONA, PINON POINT) This vacation club is beautifully and strategically located in the heart of Sedona with awesome RED rocks and views wrapped around it. The pueblo-style buildings have adobe walls and flat roofs. Since the area is surrounded with myriads of RED rocks the Pueblo-buildings were painted in taupe shade to differentiate it. It is interesting that there are many pueblos painted in different colors - clay, sienna, sandstone, dark gray, brown and Arizona amethyst. Too much RED is glaring and montonous to the eyes.
VIEW OF OUR UNIT Every time we go to Sedona, we stay in our Pueblo-suite above (third floor). I couldn't believe that this Pueblos have all the luxuries and conveniences of an American lifestyle. The kitchen has a refrigerator, oven, microwave, double sink, dishwasher, coffee maker, utensils, pots and pans. The cabinets are furnished with glassws, wine glasses, plates, cups, bowls, saucers and silver wares. It has dining area w/ huge table and chair good for six people. The living room is gorgeously furnished with Southwest styled couch, with fire place and huge TV set. The bedroom has a king size bed and another TV. The bathroom is as big as the bedroom with marbled walls and floorings. It has warm running water for shower. The huge bathtub/ jacuzzi took our breath away. Interiors are decorated with Navajo rugs, pueblo pottery and basket.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE PUEBLO -STYLE ARCHITECTURE On the right side are shops and restaurants just steps away from the vacation club. It's ironic that we rarely cook inside our Pueblo with many tempting restaurants, ice-cream parlor and coffee shops around.
FOUR DAYS TRIP This was an artful adventure that re-energized and refreshed us. Sedona is blessed with serenity and tranquility. Many artists and tourists will always be inspired and never get bored here. There are myriads of art galleries (about 40) in every corner, from Southwest, contemporary to traditional style. This is a haven for artists. Many artists live and thrive here in Sedona. I think artists of all kinds of media are making good money here. Sedona is an expensive place to live. Many rich art collectors and art lovers visit this tourist place. This is an inspiring place where I will be happy to live and paint too but I am worried about my husband. He will surely get bored because there are no Fry's Electronics, Best Buy or Costco here. He has to drive to Phoenix, about two hours away. It's the closest big city, to buy electronic parts. At least, we can visit Sedona every year and enjoy our modern-Pueblo. When I am on vacation, I don't paint. Why? For me it's a time to get away from my brushes. But after getting away, it's weird that I am raring to get back to my brushes, oils and easel. It's time to paint the town RED again.