In honor of Native American Heritage Month (November), I am focusing on theancient pottery-making process practiced in the Pa Ipai community of SantaCatarina, Baja California. Daria Mariscal, Pa Ipai master potter and teacher, in her home museum In 2011, Daria invited me to bring friends to her home to learn pottery makingin the Pa Ipai […]
A few months ago, friend and women’s empowerment activist living in Baja,Mary Contreras, invited me to present at the second annual BAJA WOMEN’S CONFERENCE on September 21, 2024. I thought of many reasons to hesitate, like the fact that I’d not driven alone(egads) or lived in Baja for five years or I was out of […]
Wildfire season seems to come earlier and earlier. Weather patterns don’t stop at the California/Baja border. Baja is prone to wildfires just the same as California. A few months after I bought my townhome in the seaside community of Bajamar in 2005, a wildfire swept through the scrublands in front of this brand-new home and threatened to burn it down. I arrived the day after and […]
Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico in 2011 Art Rendezvous at Casita Carolina in Bacalar Sunrise at Casita Carolina next to the Lake of Seven Colors, Bacalar I enjoyed doing quick sketches every day over the seven days of the art rendezvous. We visited a different painting location each day. Among the venues were – the Mayan ruins of Dzibanche, […]
Ojo de Liebre (near the town of Guerrero Negro) is a vast lagoon protected from ocean predators. It is a safe place for mothers to give birth and couples to mate. It’s about 500 miles south of the Baja border with California. From January through March each year, gray whales arrive from the Bering Straits […]
May 14, 2023 In south Florida where I grew up, the land and sea merge into the interwoven mangroves. There is no discernable end to the Florida peninsula. Baja is quite the opposite. A rocky coastline defines the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. Land’s End is where the Gulf of California and the Pacific […]
4-11-23 I moved to Baja in 2006 to pursue my creative passions and become the artist I was always meant to be. I drove to nearby landmarks that attracted my attention, took photos, and painted at home. The Cantamar Lighthouse south of Rosarito is an iconic landmark which is falling into ruin for lack of […]
3-14-2023 Valentín introduced me to indigenous leaders from Pa Ipai, Kiliwa, Kumiai, and Cucapá tribes in Baja. They gathered several times a year for ceremonies and artisan fairs. Pa Ipai Elder, Josefina Ochurte, opened this gathering of the elders with ceremonial smudging. She fanned participants with smoke from sage sticks using a large feather. At […]