Origami in the Garden

The early part of Tuesday was spent planning how we could make best use of the time we have left. We also managed to get some necessary equipment for me to enjoy the Balloon Fiesta on Saturday in Albuquerque. We found a lightweight chair that would fit in our luggage. Now, it is rather low to the ground and I have fears about my lowering myself into the correct position and even more fears about managing to become upright again!

You might remember me mentioning a garden exhibition that we saw when we were doing the Turquoise Trail  - origami in the garden. Well it is open on a Tuesday and off we went.

A giant rock paper scissors! This represents  the question for many paper folders - to cut or not to cut.






Origami in the Garden tells the story of the art form, origami, through a collection  of  monumental outdoor sculptures. Each sculpture is inspired by a blank piece of paper that has been transformed into museum quality metals by artist Kevin Box - we saw one of his creations in the Botanical Garden in Santa Fe. The relationship between the exhibition and the garden is twofold: gardens are a natural setting for sculpture ; each origami sculptiure began with paper and paper  begins with plants. The collection includes Box's own works as well as collaborations with his wife Jennifer and with well known origami artis such as Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fu, Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander.

This is entitled  Conversation Peace  with paper winning the day by folding itself into a peace crane flying just out of the scissors reach.

This is Painted  Horses. The ponies show off the bright coloured paper often used in origami.

Hero's Horse. This exhibit is full of  stories and meaning. The story of Pegassus can be found in many legends.

This is entitled  Light Boat. It is raised on tall olive branch paddles and represents for Kevin Box a life prepared for great adventure.

Who sees who? I thought this was clever because we almost missed it.

This is called Master Peace. An Asian legend tells of a thousand cranes. It says that if you fold all 1,000 within a single year, a wish will be granted. Millions of people all over the world have folded them as a wish for peace.

Needless to say we stayed on the path!

This is the guide (or catalogue) which was not available. It covers all of the exhibits  but I'm not sure if it will be legible on the blog.

I really  liked the symbolism in this exhibit, Spirit House. The origami crane is an Eastern symbol of peace and the olive branch is a western symbol of peace. The branchesbin this spirit house are from olive trees cast into bronze so the house is composed of both symbols the olive branches and the  cranes. "Making a happy home takes compromise and the olive branches symbolise that spiritnof harmony"  says Kevin Box. Compromise, compromise, compromise - but do what Fionnuala says!!

Left in this photo and right below is Basket Full of Stars and right in this photo and left below is Botanical Peace.

These two hand-painted cranes celebrate the many patterns and colours that can be found on origami papers. They have two distinct patterns one on each side.




Jim and I  (together and without need for compromise ) have decided that we really like sculpture gardens and this one is really  special. We also loved the cairns made by Kevin and his wife (when they are bored, according to the guy at the entrance).

White Rock; Bandelier National Monument; Valle Grande Caldera

Monday was  quite a long day and we did not manage to do all we wanted to do. So Los Alamos and the Jemez trail another day.

The journey to Bandelier took us past Camel Rock again but I  felt the photo I have is good enough.  Again it is a very scenic journey.

Our first stop was White Rock from where there is a view of the River Grande which carved its way through creating White Rock Canyon. Jim remembers us being there when we were in New Mexici before. I  have absolutely no recollection!

Surprisingly a waterfall!





At the White Rock Visitor Centre we discovered that we could get the free shuttle to Bandelier National Monument and we were just in time! It is a 25 minute journey and we were delivered at the centre where we had a quick snack, watched the lovely video about the area and set off on the main loop trail.

Evidence of human activity in what is now Bandelier National Monument dates back more than 10,000 years. The early prople migrated in and out of the area following the movement of game animals. They did not build permanent structures. Over time they became more sedentary building homes of wood and mud. Early structures,  pit houses,  were built largely underground. Above ground stone dwellings, like the ones we saw on the trail, gradually replaced pit houses.

The people who settled in Frijoles Canyon are known as the Ancestral Pueblo people. These people were known as the Anasazi, an outdated term wuth a Navajo origin and roughly translated as "ancient enemies". As ancestral pueblo people travelled across the Pajarito Plateau they must have moved in and out of Frijoles Canyon. The Pajarito Plateau was formed by 2 violent eruptions  of the Jemez Volcano, more than a million years ago. The pink rock of the Canyon wall looks like sandstone but it is actually  volcanic  ash that compacted over time into a soft crumbly rock called tuff. Tuff is very easily eroded and over time  takes on the appearance of a Swiss cheese. Ancestral Pueblo people used tools to enlarge some of the small natural openings to form homes.

This is an underground structure  called a kiva which was an important part of the ceremonial cycle and culture. It was a centre of the community for religion, education and decision - making. When in use it would have been covered by a roof made of wood and earth. You would have entered the kiva through an opening in the roof.

This is Frijoles Creek (little river of beans), a permanent  stream very important to the  Ancestral Pueblo people.

These walls belong to the village of Tyuonyi (pronounce Qu-weh-nee) , one  of  several  large pueblos located in Bandelier. Homes could be one to two storeys high, contained about 400 rooms and housed around  100 people. Access was through a single ground-level opening.

Example of tuff.

Homes were accessed by ladders. Jim decided that he wanted to go home.

Now he's starting to arse about. What's unusual  about that?

Showing off! What's unusual about that!

From up on the cliff, looking down on the village of  Tyuonyi.

 

I am tenderly swearing! This will not do what  I  want  it  to  do!There is a petroglyph if you look closely - the one above this one.A black  zigzag line that could represent the feathered serpent Awanyu.

Japanese - see the head in the opening to the  left. It was very funny to watch them!

Above and below 2 petroglyphs. These are pictogram or logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking or carving. Once considered rock art, it is becoming apparent that these drawings had much deeper and significant  meanings to the people who carved them.

Pictogram revealed when a layer was chipped off.


4 pictures up blueberries lacking in plumpness because lacking in moisture.

This is where the loop trail divides. Unbalanced people like us return on the nature trail to the visitors' centre and those less unbalanced continue on a further half mile to Alcove House. The shade of the nature trail was very much appreciated because temperatures were in the 30s.

We had to cross the creek several times over planks like these. However, if we fell off in our unbalanced state we would only have got our feet wet.

There are also  birds in this area but Jim failed in his duty to take a photo!

A natural bridge over the creek probably the kind the pueblo would have used.

Back to the car by shuttle and we drove the road to the  Valles Caldera, a 22km wide caldera in the Jemez Mountains. We stopped at the largest grass valley - Valle Grande.

And from there we made our way home, passing through Los Alamos where Jim had to show picture id and explain what brought us all the way from Ireland. Why do people react so much when we say we are from Ireland? I  feel a bit like an alien!