My Tiny Vegas: Las Vegas, New Mexico News, Stories, Photographs, and More!

Civil War Weekend at Pecos National Historical Park

by Birdie Jaworski


The Glorieta Memorial on I-25

The Sangre de Cristo mountains loom between high desert and open plains, protecting a circular valley that once housed quiet ranchlands, an important stage stop on the Santa Fe Trail. Today the land is marked with blood, the site of the Civil War's "Gettysburg of the West," the Battle of Glorieta Pass. Travelers driving down Interstate 25 might notice a dirt drive housing a hand-painted red, white, and blue memorial, covered in eclectic messages.

In the agony of a nation at war with itself, the Confederate invasion of New Mexico Territory in 1862 was a relatively minor drama. The Rebels dreamed of access to the Santa Fe Trail and the treasure-filled gold mines of California and Colorado. They dreamed of changing the course of the terrible war, of turning the tide in the South's favor, and fulfilling their own personal manifest destinies of a mighty Confederate nation bounded on both sides by pure ocean waters. The Union Army, however, had other plans.

On the morning of March 26, 1862, a group of exhausted Union volunteers from Colorado left Camp Lewis on a reconnaissance mission to scope out the location and size of the Confederate forces, a rowdy cadre of Texans. They found them at Glorieta Pass, armed and ready with short swords and Colt Navy pistols. The battle was swift and vicious. In this most westernmost campaign of the entire Civil War, 4,000 Union and 3,000 Confederate soldiers engaged in combat, with the Confederacy winning tactical victories with every major battle but still returning to Texas empty-handed, defeated by the harsh New Mexican countryside and the Union's determined people. More than 280 men died at Glorieta with their dreams, making the battle the central event that shattered the western dreams of the Confederate States of America.

Three days over this weekend, Pecos National Historical Park will host a Civil War extravaganza, meant to commemorate the bloody battle, 146 years to the week after the event. A three-dollar entrance fee for persons over the age of 16 allows one to experience the sights, sounds, and memories of the war's biggest New Mexico battle. The weekend begins 9:30 a.m. Friday, with a Battlefield Clean-Up. Volunteers will meet at Kozlowski's Trading Post, where transportation will be provided to the battlefield. Helpers are asked to bring work gloves if they have them.

Civil War re-enactors from the First Colorado Volunteer Infantry, the Artillery Company of New Mexico, and the 1st Louisiana Special Battalion will speak on the grueling, deadly life and times of Civil War soldiers both Saturday and Sunday. Both Union and Confederate re-enactments will occur. The realistic plays will be interspersed by black powder demonstrations where weapons from the time period will be displayed and discharged.

Several experts will provide research, information, and discussion on the war, its place in our country's history, its impact on New Mexico landscape and populations. Local author Don Alberts will speak about the Glorieta Battlefield Unit of Pecos National Park. Park volunteer Dr. Bob Mallin will speak about Civil War surgery. Local author Jim Taylor from New Mexico will speak about the history of the Civil War in the Southwest.

Two hour van tours of the Battle of Glorieta Pass will be available all weekend. Advanced reservations are encouraged for these tours, which cost two dollars per person. Vans will skirt the battlefield, as tour guides point out and discuss landmarks and locations.

For more information, schedule, or to schedule a van tour, please call the Pecos National Historical Park at 505-757-7241.

Spinning Truthful Yarns

by Birdie Jaworski


One of Erin Ambrose's Navajo-Churro ewes.

The first thing that strikes the listener is that the woman's voice is stone cold melodic, even, unafraid. She stands at a microphone, her head cocked to one side as she interlaces curt words, deliberate ideas, into a rug tightly-woven enough to carry weight. Her gestures suggest necessary defiance, the aural transfer of sacred inalienable truth.

"Look at me, I'm speakin' of Freedom, in the home of the deceived and the land of the shopping spree." Erin Ambrose doesn't pause. Her plastic-rimmed glasses amplify steady eyes as her words chip at the thinning veneer separating consumer culture, big money media, from a community built on equality, a peaceful existence.

One of the featured poets in director stavros' Freedom of Speech documentary, "Committing Poetry in Times of War," Ambrose uses her words to examine the workings of our current administration, social justice issues such as human and workers' rights, as well as the simple struggle that defines day-to-day life in the early 21st century. Ambrose joined the active spoken-word community of Albuquerque where she used her poetry to help affect change.

"I was first inspired to write peotry when I read the works of Dorothy Allison," Ambrose says. "That was maybe ten years ago. One magic day I got the courage to attend a poetry reading, an all-women's reading in Albuquerque. That's when I fell in love with spoken word. I write free verse. I write to perform. I believe that poetry loses some of its power on the page. I'm highly political."

Ambrose fled the city in search of a life in the country, a life she felt would be more truthful, real. She transplanted herself on a farm in Anton Chico where she mixes the spinning of tales with the traditional art of spinning wool. Ambrose worked as a spinner for Tapetes de Lana in Mora.

A trio of ewes push their way through a screen door into Ambrose's kitchen each morning. Navajo-Churro were brought to North America by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century as a source of food and clothing for their armies. A hundred years later, Native Americans gathered flocks of Churros through trading and raids, resulting in the sheep becoming an important part of the Navajo economy and culture. Ambrose received her Churros from renowned traditional arts weaver Sharon White, and considers her tiny flock spoiled.

"I love them," Ambrose laughs. "Mine are spoiled to death. They have a bad habit of pushing the screen door open and coming in the kitchen. It's okay now since I only have three, but it might get crazy when I have more! I'm going to try shearing them myself this year."

Ambrose considers shepherding, spinning, and weaving dying arts. She hand-spins her wool without washing it, the rich lanolin coating each strand, in a traditional method called "spinning in the grease."

"Hand-spinning is important." Ambrose's voice gathers momentum, steel, the way it does when she reads at the microphone. "Hand shearing. These are dying arts. The people doing these things are getting up in years. I do a lot of hand-spun yarns. I've been solely spinning in the grease with unprepared fiber, so it has a lot of character. It makes a mess! It's right off the animal, you end up with a lap full of crud, everything's dirty, you're dirty. Selling hand-spun yarn is my bread and butter. When I can get enough yarn accumulated, I can weave things."

Skeins of naturally-dyed yarn hang, drying in the sun, under Ambrose's country window. The wool is both delicate and hearty at once. The natural colors of her Churros create a surprisingly varied rainbow of blacks, grays, and whites. A rug, is boldly woven by Ambrose in a tribal pattern mixing vibrant reds with the muted creams of dried summer soil.

Ambrose sells her hand-spun yarns online at Etsy.com at a shop she calls Pitchfork Fiber Arts, and hopes to soon begin offering her spoken word pieces to the Las Vegas community live at Travelers Cafe's open mic nights.

"I feel like poetry and fiber arts balance each other out," muses Ambrose. "Poetry is so public and high energy and spinning and weaving, sheparding my sheep, are quiet and solitary."

Writer and Photographer (that would be me) for hire!

Now that the academic year is winding to a close and my duties as 8th grade teacher will come to an end in nine short weeks, I am looking at lining up summer work. Do you have promotional literature that needs a creative eye? Do you have an exhausted website in need of a new look? I am an award-winning writer whose work has been profiled in the NYT, Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, as well as numerous other media outlets. I am also the Arts and Entertainment writer for the Las Vegas Optic.

Please contact me for all of your writing and photography needs.

Thank you,
Birdie Jaworski
littlebirdie@mac.com

A Few Late Winter Scenes in Las Vegas, NM

Fred's Lumber served Las Vegas, NM for decades. Located on Grand Avenue, the building is allegedly being renovated to become the Rough Riders Brew Pub and Pizzeria. I have my doubts. I haven't seen any signs of work. The sign promoting the new business has faded from two years in the hot New Mexico sun. Local gossips tell me that there are some issues with the project. Sigh. I hope it happens! I would love to frequent a brew pub... not to mention that we need a decent pizza joint in this town.

The lion of Lion's Park faces Grand Avenue, with the Optic's headquarters in the background. The other side of the lion sports spray paint graffiti, like the side of my garage. When will we begin to care for our town? When?

The old Roundhouse - the only other roundhouse still standing in New Mexico next to the State House in Santa Fe. It's decaying, forgotten, like many of the architectural wonders in Las Vegas, NM. I love this town with all my heart, and I want to see gems like this preserved. This is much bigger a structure than my photo can depict. It's so huge that I could only capture it in sections.

A red Santa Fe caboose welcomes visitors to the south side of town. This is the site of the old Welcome to Las Vegas, New Mexico center. Now it sits, empty, alone. I believe this will be turned into a city park at some time in the future. 

The Steps of the Faithful

by Birdie Jaworski


Los Hermanos Penitentes drag heavy wooden crosses during Holy Week in 1904. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas CCHP.

Holy Week begins Sunday, begins with an event chronicled in all four Gospels - Palm Sunday, a remembrance of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when people lining the road pressed their best cloaks, pressed branches of small trees into the dry earth before him in a gesture of admiration and respect. Today, Catholics hold stark green blessed palm fronds, or boughs of native trees, during Palm Sunday Mass as they participate in the Lord's Passion, a recital of Jesus' last steps before death and resurrection.

This year, Holy Week begins after a forward-thinking declaration from the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI, through his steadfast Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti - the Vatican's specialist on sin and penance - has brought the seven deadly sins up to date by adding seven new ones for the age of globalisation. The list, published this week in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's newspaper, came as the Pope deplored today's "decreasing sense of sin" and warns the faithful that causing environmental devastation or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos will book a sure trip to hell.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, has seen many Holy Week observations in its centuries of history. A hundred years ago, school children filed onto the Plaza the day following the blessing of palms, books left to gather spring wind dust, for several full days of prayer and fasting. They rotated past a carved wooden state of Christ kept in the churchyard, his feet dark from the oils of supplicants' hands and lips, each child kneeling, offering secret prayer and intention as they intoned Latin chants.

For many decades, Las Vegans weren't allowed to conduct business, chop wood, even start a car from Wednesday through Easter. Old grandmothers cautioned the tempted with warnings that chopping wood might "harm Jesus," as he roamed town in invisible robes. Musicians kept guitars carefully stored, away from wandering hands that might invoke Jesus' wrath with a few unthinking chords.

Wailing prayerful chants, and the thin echo of reed pipes called men of Las Vegas to Mount Calvary on Ash Wednesday. They stole into a simple adobe morada, a secret church of the Los Hermanos Pentitentes, the penitent brothers, where they knelt on hardened dirt floor and prayed the Stations of the Cross. The brothers sang hymns of praise and passion, sang loud and heavy, their voices echoing from the pinon-laced hill across the wind-whipped plains.

Los Hermanos Penitentes consisted of men throughout Northern New Mexico including Las Vegas who, to atone for their sins, practiced severe penance. In each morada, the community participated in bloody ceremonies meant to emulate the sufferings of Christ. One by one, the brothers bowed before a Sangrador who - with a jagged piece of glass - gouged crisscrosses on their backs. The penitents would keep their wounds open and raw until Easter, often by rubbing rock salt in them.

The brothers assembled each Good Friday,  with one lucky man chosen to be the Cristo. Against the dull crack of horse whips, they proceeded to Mount Calvary. The Cristo dragged a heavy wooden cross behind him, his shoulders aching from the weight. At the top of the hill, the Cristo was lashed so tightly to the anchored cross that his skin turned black and puffy.

Rome didn't sanction the brotherhood for years, until the late 1940's, by which time membership had dramatically fallen. It still exists today, in small secret pockets of faithful members who continue to relive the Passion of Christ in as fully physical a way as possible. The old adobe moradas, once so mysterious and steeped in spirituality, toppled inward.

Life and Catholic practices have clearly changed in Las Vegas, in northern New Mexico, even in environmentally-aware Rome. But the influence of the Penitentes, of every group that desires to relive the sufferings of Christ, still breathes every Holy Week. While the faithful attend modern services full of song and uplifting praise, there are those who still quite literally carry the cross.

18th Annual Faces of Women Exhibition

by Birdie Jaworski


Carol at the Palace of Governors, by Deborah Paisner

A middle-aged women sits on a rugged brick floor, arms folded tightly across her chest, a thick plaid blanket tucked around her waist. A corner of white fabric lies next to her, suggesting a selection of unseen tooled silver, perhaps tiny spiral earrings, or delicate belt conchos in the shape of the zia. Her slightly pained expression speaks of fatigue, of crisp Santa Fe air. Deborah Paisner's oil painting, "Carol at the Palace of Governors," examines contemplation, waiting, longing - the emotions of time, the emotions of every working woman.

Paisner's work, along with that of thirty-five others, is on display from Sunday through April 11 during the 18th Annual Faces of Women exhibition at NMHU's Burris Hall. Sponsored by the Las Vegas Arts Council, the prestigious event celebrates aspects of the feminine in symbolic or representational form in two and three dimensions.

The Juror for this year's competition is Mary Anne Redding, a curator, archivist, arts administrator, educator, and Curator of Photography at the Palace of the Governors' New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe. Previously, Redding was the director and curator at the New Mexico State University Art Gallery. While in Las Cruces, she received a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in support of regional artists of the Southwest.

As a new curator in New Mexico, Redding stated upon her move, "I set up several curatorial challenges for myself as a curator new to the Southwest. The first challenge was to seek out regional artists and schedule studio visits in southern New Mexico and west Texas in order to find out who was working here and what they were doing creatively."

Redding will judge the finalists, selecting her favorites prior to Sunday's Opening Preview and Artists' Reception. Past finalists in the annual event have included 2006 grand-prize winner Julia Lauer-Cheenne with "Eyeing Politics," a study in mixed media that examines the complicated relationship between women and their bodies in terms of the law, as well as 2007 "Best 2-D" winner Elaine Querry for her oil-painted silver print, "Nightway," a gorgeous shimmer of feminine line and mystery.

This year's exhibition invited all artists everywhere to submit original pieces in any artistic media, resulting in a list of both well-known and new artists. Carol Frances ended a 20-year career in business after 9/11 to pursue her long-time passion for art. Her selected piece, "Matters of Love: The Cage and Dress that Can't Be Worn," in oil and gold leaf, offers an uneasy look at body image. The vivid blue eyeliner-rimmed eyes of an older blonde woman peer in hunger through a slot surrounded by hangers, by the line-drawn hint of a dress.

LVAC Board Member Marisol Macias' piece, "Scheherazade's Dream," was selected by Redding to appear in the show. The digital collage shimmers with rich hues of cyan and gold. A woman's face, hair covered in a dark scarf, enigmatically stares through a window. Turret-like curves and careful scrollwork accent the work, reminding the viewer of mosques, of ancient magic carpets.

"It's about women in the Muslim world," explains Macias. "It's something I haven't had a chance to show before. I created it partly on paper, and partly on the computer."

The call for entries realized in 76 entries from 22 different states, with 35 artists chosen for the exhibition.

"The juror came over and looked at all the slides and CDs," Macias said. "Some of the artists have more than one piece selected, bringing the total number of pieces in the show to around 45. This is the eighteenth year, and the reputation is wonderful. The quality of work is incredible. We've received all kinds of media - paintings, photography, sculpture."

Winning artists will be recognized at Sunday's Opening Preview and Artists' Reception, held from 3 - 5 p.m. at Burris Hall. The public is invited to attend. For more information, visit the  Las Vegas Arts Council website, www.lasvegasartscouncil.org, or by inquiry to lvac@cybermesa.com.

Something for Every Traveler

by Birdie Jaworski


Teresa Victor at World Treasures & Traveler's Cafe

Teresa Victor stood, feet planted on the rugged slopes of Cuzco, the capital of the sun-worshiping Inca empire, the spot on earth with the highest ultraviolet light level. This was her third trip to Peru. On a previous trip, she hiked the Inca Trail, the twenty-eight mile ancient road to Macchu Piccu, in nearly impassable terrain high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest.

"I had a twenty-seven hour delay due to a cancelled flight in Lima," the Las Vegas resident reminisces. "But it was worth it. I saw beautiful weavings, antique 300-year-old textiles. I bought inventory for the store."

Victor's store, World Treasures & Travelers Café, shares space with textile-specialists Tapetes de Lana. Run by Victor's mother, Carla Gomez, the weaving studio and gallery is a non-profit organization designed to promote cottage industry and rural lifestyles, while preserving Northern New Mexico's rich culture and heritage. Victor worked as manager of Tapetes de Lana for seven years and taught weaving at NMHU. One of her weavings won an honorable mention at Santa Fe's famed Spanish Market.

"I'm from Las Vegas, grew up here," says Victor. "This is such a wonderful little town, but I didn't think so in high school. I went to college in Las Cruces, and was able to study abroad in Spain."

Her love of world culture's inspired Victor to open World Treasures & Travelers Café with some assistance from the New Mexico Workforce Connection.

"Opening the cafe was kind of a whim. I was traveling and needed some other income," Victor explains. "I'd bring stuff back from Peru and other places and sell it. My father is a coffee coneisseur, roasting his own beans for over 20 years. He pushed the idea. I'm a baker and thought a cafe would be a great addition to the town since Second Tome Around had closed."

World Treasures & Travelers Café uses only free-trade and organic espresso. Victor roasts her own coffee, and usually offers four types daily to customers - a house blend, and perhaps a Columbian, Ethiopian, Costa Rican, as well as other more exotic beans. Glass and hardwood cases boast homemade treats such as huge cookies, cheesecake, and several varieties of muffins.

"We try to be as green as possible," Victor says. "We have 50 kinds of loose-leaf organic teas. We have an unusual spicy chocolate tea and flavored teas such as red berries, green and African roobios chai."

A glance around the cafe's space reveals a cozy setting with wood tables and chairs where customers nurse hot drinks while their laptops chase the 'net on the store's free Wi-Fi. Other patrons sink into the couches by a crackling fireplace, reading paperbacks from the offered Book Exchange.

"We have about 500 books in our collection," Victor counts. "Book clubs frequent the cafe. Knitting groups. We have lots of board games for players. The Bridge Club comes. A drawing/sketching group. It's a great place to meet your friends, kick back, and relax."

A new addition to Victor's menu is a regular Open Mic night, the second and fourth Saturday of every month. Musicians, poets, and comedians take 5-20 minute turns at the microphone, entertaining a varied audience, some of whom get up the guts to grab the mic themselves.

"We get UWC students and townspeople alike," Victor says. "So far we've had around 40 people total each evening. Our youngest performer has been 10, and our oldest around 70! Some of our musicians have been professionals, such as Steve Ledger. A girl from the World College sang Japanese songs and while her friend played guitar last time. The mic kept slipping down! The performers sometimes get unintended challenges like this, but it's such a friendly audience. We all have a great time."

In addition to Open Mic night, the cafe hosts live music on the first and third Saturday of each month. Victor is also starting an Art Gallery on-site. Artists from Las Vegas and surrounding communities will rotate their art, with an artists' reception being held at the beginning of each month.

"I want to provide a little world culture here in Las Vegas," Victor smiles. "Our world is so big, but the internet and travel make it possible to pull the world a little bit toward us."

For more information on World Treasures & Travelers Café, please visit the cafe website at www.worldtreasuresimports.com, or email Teresa Victor at tvictor5@hotmail.com. Open Mic Night: 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, from 7 to around 8:30. Private meeting space available, with beverages and food, for parties, meetings, etc.

Migrating Birds of the Central Flyway

by Birdie Jaworski

A lazuli bunting rests on a local sunflower

Snow tries to break the sky, but the clouds hold firm, hold back everything but a dusting of flurries. An armful of ducks dodge the snowflakes, sending a series of rhythmic quacks against thawing ground. Spring sends her first hints through feathered messengers, through the choreographed movements of birds traveling home. This Sunday, the Friends of the Las Vegas Wildlife Refuge are sponsoring a free lecture and slideshow on the coming fury of the skies, "Migrating Birds of the Central Flyway."

Madrid migration expert Lawry Sager will conduct Sunday's talk, accompanying his information on bird watching techniques with a slideshow of colorful photographs he has taken of New Mexico's migrating birds.

"Over the years I've done contract biology with the State Game and Fish department as well as federal and non-government agencies," Sager says. "Most of my work has been on the Eastern plains. A lot of the birds I deal with are threatened or species in decline. I take photos during the spring and fall migrations."

As spring approaches, attentive Las Vegas residents can expect to see more and more birds traveling north, first in small groups, then in larger and larger numbers as warmer weather approaches. Bigger birds such as ducks, geese, and cranes make their way north, first, before smaller species. Sager explains that the best time to watch for migrating birds is in the hours before dawn and dusk.

"Traditionally, early morning is the absolute best time to watch for migrating fowl. You get to enjoy the birds as the light increases. There is never much activity during the heat of the day," Sager cautions. "At dusk, you are losing light, so you limit yourself as the day goes on, but you can still see quite a few migrating groups. The birds will be showing up fairly soon, now that warmer weather is coming."

Ancient references to bird migration can be found in the works of Aristotle and Homer as well as in the Bible. The question of why birds migrate has mystified people from the earliest times. Fall migration allows birds to move to a more hospitable location so that they will continue to be able to find food. In the spring they return to the places where they breed and raise their young. It may be the slant of the sun's rays, hormonal changes, magnetic influences, and the change of the weather that contribute to the birds' urge to migrate to their other home. Scientists still don't understand all of the issues surrounding migration.

"Migration has always fascinated me," Sager says. "As a biologist, I've always been interested in birds, in their behavior. Ecology is an important issue to me, too, as well as many other people these days. We want to know what's going on out there in the prairies, why some migration patterns are changing, and why some bird populations are in decline."

Sager tells new bird watchers that they can gain all the practical knowledge they need by reading birding books and spending time in the field.

"It's good to be out there looking. You can learn a lot from watching your own backyard on a day-to-day basis," Sager advises. "All you need is a good pair of binoculars and some patience. It takes a little practice to be able to identify the birds in your area, but after some time, you can become an expert."

Attendees of Sunday's lecture will be able to look for migrating birds at the Wildlife Sanctuary's observation platform near the Ranger Station after the event. The talk is limited to 40 people on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sager hopes to inspire Las Vegas residents to experience the wonder of migrating birds.

"Every day is a new adventure," he laughs. "I guarantee you will see interesting behavior or some unexpected interaction."

Migrating Birds of the Central Flyway, Sunday, March 9 1 p.m. National Wildlife Refuge. Seating limited to 40. Phone 425-9452 for more information.

Rick Mobbs Draws on His Intuitions

by Birdie Jaworski

New Mexico landscape, by Rick Mobbs

Four people float in a rain-reminiscent sky, simple grins lighting round faces, arms extended past swollen bodies the colors of spring grass. They fly in harmony, in silly joyous formation, a family of Macy's Parade balloons, perhaps, or a collection of free-wheeling cartoon thought bubbles. Rick Mobbs' study in watercolors, "Flying," offers a glimpse into captured serenity, but the artist's vocation began in a place far from calm.

"I have had a love of making things for as far back as I can remember," muses Mobbs, "but never really thought of myself as an artist until I wound up in a halfway house for homeless men with alcohol and substance abuse problems. I was free of drugs and alcohol for the first time in many years but it seemed that I was still crazy. I looked at the way I had made things all my life, no matter the circumstances, relationships, geographic locations and thought maybe I should pay attention to that. The making of things - drawings, paintings, poetry, sculpture, assemblage using found objects - had been the most profound constant through a crazy life. I began to think, maybe I wasn't crazy, maybe I was an artist. I certainly hoped I was. You can do something about being a drug addict or an alcoholic or an artist. There isn't much I know you can do about being crazy. Maybe medication and love and therapy."

Mobbs returned to school and studied art, eventually becoming a head painter, set painter, scenic artist, sculptor, storyboard artist, production illustrator, and art director. He considers his favorite movie jobs "Elmo in Grouchland" and "Muppets From Space." Mobbs recently moved from the east coast to Las Vegas with his wife, Naomi Swinton and their son, Broadus, when Swinton was offered a position at UWC-USA in Montezuma.

"We love it here. I was ready for a real landscape," says Mobbs. "Coastal North Carolina is so flat! We have found an active and lively activist community here, supportive, kind, interesting people, and great natural beauty. We were ready to come here."

New Mexico has begun to infect Mobbs' work. A new piece, "New Mexico Landscape," mixes the earthy browns, purples, and mustard-hues of San Miguel County's flora in an explosion of texture and rhythm. Mobbs spent a recent afternoon working with seventh-graders in a basement classroom of the Montezuma Castle. With the lights dimmed, Mobbs intoned a gentle visualization exercise, asking the students to bring to life a dream image, to give it form with charcoal and pastel.

"I would love to do that with them again," Mobbs explains. "The techniques were useful to me when I was given them and I think it's fun and useful to teach the techniques of creative visualization, guided imagery and interactive story-telling. Kids have great imaginations. All of them, even the ones we think maybe don't. So do adults but sometimes they are a little more distanced from their creative sides."

Mobbs finds inspiration in everyday life, in the lives of those closest to him. His favorite collaborator is his eight-year-old son, Broadus.

"He's one of the major lights of my life. He grew up in my studio and considers it his," Mobbs smiles. "We collaborate on some things, both of us working on a painting or sculpture. It is a dance for both of us and a wonderful experience."

Often using found materials in his work, Mobbs enjoys pushing the artistic envelope. He once built a wind harp from from a dead but standing cedar tree on a bluff overlooking the ocean, lacing the trunk with eye-hooks strung with taut cables until it sung with the salt wind.

"I love rust and texture, weathering, evidence of the passing of time. I am using some old, bullet-riddled refrigerator doors I found at dump sites, as material for some sculpture I am making now," Mobbs says. "I found some children's drawings on the web that were collected by UN workers in war zones, places like Darfur, Iraq, Iran, even some from kids in London done in the 40's. Drawings of tanks, solders, men with guns, helicopters, burning huts, burning city buildings. I transferred those drawings and cut them out of steel plate and turned them into refrigerator magnets to use on the doors."

Mobbs' work spans different materials and media as well as a wide-range of conceptual landscape from etheric otherworldly family portraits to illustrations of war in a world gone mad. Even though he studied art in school, he relishes the unusual, the true expressions of creativity that can't be boxed and packaged.

"I basically don't care if people make things from Italian marble or popsickle sticks, as long as they are doing what they love to do," Mobbs insists. "I also don't think it is necessary for someone to take the road of art schools and study. The important thing is to listen for the calling, to pay attention to the nudges and urges, the nameless longings that come from inside. I think our most important direction comes from our intuitions, and that is what we should pay attention to, even if it runs counter to common sense."

You can see an online collection of Rick Mobbs' work at www.rickmobbs.com.

Scenes from the March 4th Election

Andy Feldman campaigns with his dog, Kiska, at Carnegie Park during the polls. Carnegie Park is the site of the Ward 3 Election. Congrats, Andy!

Candidates and their helpers hope to convince voters outside the Carnegie Park polls.

Water issues and the ongoing problems with the gas bills were the two biggest issues during this year's campaign. This sign helped elect both Andy Feldman to City Council and Tony Marquez to the Mayor's seat.

Tony Marquez supporters sit on the back of a decorated pickup truck, holding signs at Carnegie Park. Congrats, Tony!

If you have thoughts on this year's election, please visit the My Tiny Vegas Forum and post your two cents.