Art School

"It's like you're walking around with this enormous suitcase full of magic and you are never allowed to open it, because the rules say that the things in that suitcase are not worthy of artistic consideration. Worlds, childhood memories, pretend, fantasy, archaeology -- all that. And so, until I could open that suitcase, I didn't really have anything to work with. It was like trying to paint with your hands tied behind your back." 

-- Melissa Zink

The other day while on my walk I took a quick detour into the Albuquerque Museum, where I was reminded how much I love the exhibit there of many fine contemporary New Mexico artists. Since I seem to be revisiting my own experiences in the UNM art department in the early 1980's, I especially liked this quote by Melissa Zink, who managed to survive art school, marriage, and children to eventually become a  full-time artist in northern New Mexico.

Here is more about Melissa and her artwork:

• http://www.laterbloomer.com/melissa-zink , an article by Debra Eve
• http://voodoonotes.blogspot.com/2009/07/melissa-zink-1932-2009.html, a blogpost by Rice Freeman-Zachary
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT_TdqlP0mo, a video tour of her work exhibited in Taos

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