Thankful for Tracks in the Snow

It snowed all night. It sparkled like fallen stars under the moon. This morning I woke up and noticed we had visitors over the night. Dog or coyote tracks on the deck but definitely the four legged kind of visitor.  The dogs usually follow a path from the front of the property where it tends to be more level. The coyotes come from below the ridge. So off went to follow the tracks in the fresh snow.

The sun was still coming up and the clouds were still low. The silent gifts of living on this sacred land are abundant and I am thankful in this moment.

We followed the tracks and it looks like three of them all about the same size went off the side of the deck. They seemed to lead down to the small arroyo so we continued to climb down below the house.

Up and down over the ridge rocks. The path seemed to be leading us to the lower arroyo at the base of the land. 

I was slower than my four legged companion. He sniffed the tracks, left his mark and was in a hurry to find the owners. I on the other hand stopped here and there to get lost in the big blue sky that was emerging from behind the cloudy morning light. 

Feliz dia de amor y amistad aka day of love and friendship

Feliz dia de Amor y Amistad! Happy day of love and friendship! Happy Valentine's Day!

I really enjoy playing in the snow and the corazon/heart shape is a long time favorite of mine. Here are a few I made playing in the snow. Take some time to look in the mirror and say I love you. You have to be able to love yourself just as you are before you can share the love with friends and family. 

Cultural Red Exhibit Santa Fe

Quest For Red © Sabrina Zarco

Cochineal dye was used by the Aztec and Maya peoples of Central and North America for everything from coloring clothing, healing ailments, and for personal adornment. The cochineal is found on the nopal or prickly pear cactus pads inside match head-sized white fuzz balls. By the 14th century, the Incas and Aztecs both had whole agricultural systems based on cochineal and apparently valued the dye as much as gold. The insects were harvested and traded. The insects were collected, dried and crushed releasing the intense red color dye.

This is one of three works of mine that have been accepted into the exhibit at the Santa fe Capitol Rotunda Gallery. The gallery opening for those in New Mexico or visiting will be on Friday, April 17, 2015 from 5-7pm. The exhibit will be up from April to August 2015.

I created a large Cochineal bug and added the white fuzz balls with paint and beads on the nopal pads. String needles on the pads hurt less when handling the work. As always it wouldn't be my work without buttons hand painted and lots of hand stitches. I will share the other two works and their stories later. 

Detail Quest For Red.