Getting to know a truly BadAss Woman!

Today we continue our insanely intense scrutiny of the work of Georgia O’Keeffe with a visit to her homes here in New Mexico.

But first it’s ’hello sunshine’, Yoga, Breakfast, and our lesson of the day – adding 3D to a flat shape. Texture, shading, shadows, highlights – all will make something flat appear round, spherical, diamond shape, detracted from the other surfaces.

After class we head out to Abiquiu – where Georgia O’Keeffe had her winter/spring home. Her summer/fall home is just a few miles away at Ghost Ranch – but the challenge for her was the isolation of Ghost Ranch. She feared being alone for the winter in such a deserted location – and I don’t blame her. When we did the drive from Abiquiu to Ghost Ranch – I was stunned by the drastic descent we made! Ghost Ranch is in bottom land. Towering around it on 3 sides are red stone cliffs reminiscent of Bryce Canyon. It’s Glorious – but not where you want to be isolated.

As per our brilliant guide – Frank – there was just a dirt road from Ghost Ranch back to Santa Fe in the 1940’s – and she had a driver. They went up a hill into the town of Abiquiu – and Georgia spotted a ruined adobe home on her left. Asking the driver to stop – she got out and explored – the view was astounding! Truly awe inspiring. She was determined to buy the ruins and to renovate them – but it took years of negotiation to get that to happen. Meanwhile she managed to buy a small plot of land inside of Ghost Ranch, and made that into her home – but her real love was to get that ruin in Abiquiu.

Eventually she managed the feat – and then her husband died. She returned to NYC to deal with the aftermath of that while her friend championed the renovation of the ruin into the home we visited.

Why was this particular site so special? Not only did it have an amazing view that could not be taken away – it had water rights. Dating from the 1700’s – it got water for two hours once a week.

Renovation done – she moved into her home in 1949.

It’s hard to imaging how critical that was in those days in this spot – but with water she could create a garden and a small orchard. Eventually she was able to grow and preserve enough food to feed herself year round – leaving only diary and meat to be purchased.

For a woman who left an estate of over $77 Million Dollars – she lived surprisingly frugally. But her taste was extradinordinary.

She only acquired things that spoke to her – and she loved modern furnishing – as our guide quipped – nope – these are not from IKEA!

Butterfly chairs, A dinning table of folded Plywood, Eames Chairs, Womb Chair, Womb Ottoman, Barcelona Table, clothes from Marimekko, and of course her paintings. Huge floor to ceiling windows – unique in an Adobe structure – graced every room. And there were skylights!

It was a home crafted to foster inspiration, contemplation, and artistic innovation.

She explained that moving her art around in the home at least seasonally helped her to see each painting anew.

The outside color palette dictated the inside palette – nowhere more evident than in the living room where she spent every evening enjoying music with only her dogs for company.

When Georgia decided in 1984 at age 96 that she needed to move to Santa Fe to be closer to medical help if needed – she intended to return. And everything was left exactly as it was on that day.

Walking thru the rooms felt like being part of her life, her energy, her determination, her artistic vision.

A humbling experience.

The home offers several ‘roofless’ courtyards – and across one of these is her studio and bedroom. The studio is of course the largest space in the home – most open, most airy, most windows, most view.

Our guide tells us that towards the end she had an aide living in this room so that she could get help as needed. She lost all vision out of the center of her eyes – and could only see out of the edges. So if she looked at you sideways – it was because she thought you were interesting, and worth really seeing!

Her bedroom was accessed thru the bathroom – maybe not my favorite layout – but clearly it worked for her. Her closet contains only a few of her favorite dresses – partly for display, partly for preservation. As per Frank, the trust rotates items in and out to keep them all well protected.

From the closet – you are in her bedroom – and the huge windows at the corner opposite the bed go a long way towards explaining why she picked this ruin to restore, with this view. Stunning.

She would start every day by getting up before dawn, making her coffee (in a ceremony worthy of green tea), and return to sit on the edge of the bed with her dogs, awaiting dawn.

I want that so bad!

Tour over, we returned to the welcome center, enjoyed a marvellous lunch – and recalled a few of her favorite sayings:

Painting is breaking up a flat surface in a beautiful way

Simplicity is the result of profound thought

Take Time to Look

Our next stop is Ghost Ranch – where Georgia spent her Summer/Fall months. This was a very popular for the period Ranch that hosted many famous folks (including Ansel Adams, Charles Lindbergh and John Wayne).

While the drive to and from was stunning – the visit was rather a disappointment after the glory of her home in Abiquiu. The home she lived in while at the ranch is off limits – even for a drive-by, and as a group we were so exhausted that walking in the heat didn’t seem logical. So we snapped a few shots – and checked out a log cabin that’s been used in City Slickers and the Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Drive home, dinner, chat, and a bit more painting – I learned how to make greeting cards! Then bed.

Signing off – The Soup Lady