Being resourceful

The Santuario de Chimayo, in Chimayo, New Mexico draws pilgrims, devotees and curiosity seekers from all over the world. At the site of the Santuario, crosses appear everywhere as visitors leave a bit of themselves and a prayer. Crosses come from rosaries but are also fashioned from twigs, garbage bag ties, clothespins, etc. They are found on fences, rocks, trees, ledges, statues and walls. At a glance, this is such a lovely photograph of someone's devotion. Look closely. The crosses are fashioned from chewing gum!

It's admirable to be resourceful, but can it go too far?

Madrid, pronounced MADrid

About fifteen miles south of Santa Fe on Highway 14 is the small artful town of Madrid, pronounced MADrid. It was a mining town for the first half of the twentieth century until 1954 when the mines closed. It was a ghost town for about twenty years, then resurrected as an art community. It's quite the tourist destination now, but few venture beyond the shops and galleries on the main street.

My friend Kris and I drove there today and stopped by a gallery to see a friend. I remembered that he had directed me to the cemetery on the mesa last year but it was scorching hot that day and at high noon the heat and shadows rendered it impossible to shoot. Today was overcast and pleasant so he drew a map and off we went. It's not easy to find.

Part of the cemetery consists of individualized monuments of scrap metal, furniture and personal effects. Apparently the characters in Madrid retain their character even in death.











It wasn't clear which magazines were on "Little Mike's" grave near his shoes. They had been rained on and were faded from the sun. I loved that two pages were flapping in the wind.
The following close-up reminds me of an abstract painting.

Rust in Peace, Tiny Town!

It was over a decade ago that artist Tammy Lange (AKA Tatt2 Tammy) began building her fantasy village south of Santa Fe near the funky art town of Madrid. Tammy collected bones, rusted objects, broken anything and pulled it all together to create an obscure tourist's delight and a photographer's paradise. This roadside attraction was called Tiny Town. Tammy's motto was "If it isn't dead, broken or rusted I just can't use it." There were the remains of roadkill, of dolls, of religious artifacts, furniture, cigarette machines, musical instruments...

I am sorry to say that a few months ago the land was cleared. Apparently the landlord and neighbors thought it had become more of a dump than a piece of art. The more of a dump it became, the more enticing it was to me!

Too bad I discovered Tiny Town in time to photograph it but too late to do it justice. Because the desert sun creates such harsh shadows, I wished for cloudy days so photographing it would be less of a challenge.

Here are but a few images from Tiny Town, the place that is not only abandoned, but non-existent.































Let this last photo remind you about what happens when you don't wear sunscreen: