The Tewa Country exhibit included edgy works like this take on a superhero story of a woman warrior surrounded by symbols of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that burned down Catholic churches and drove the Spanish colonial forces out of New Mexico for 12 years.

Hopi artist Arlo Namingha sculpted natural materials into a timeline of the land. Titled “Tsi’ Pin (Pedernall),” it speaks to O’Keeffe’s statement of “owning” the Pedernal mountain, saying instead that we are stewards for a brief time of the locations we inhabit.

Artist Eliza Naranjo Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo) painted “A Prayer Making Its Way” of a badger carrying Tewa creations up a snowy mountainside with pink rain clouds offering encouragement in the background. A different take on New Mexico’s landscape that caught my attention.

Georgia O’Keeffe painted this landscape in 1930, but the Tewa people honor the same land as ancestral places worthy of songs and ceremonies. Kudos to the museum for displaying creations by local Tewa (Pueblo) artists that offered commentaries on O’Keeffe’s works and worldview.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe was a highlight of our visit to New Mexico’s capital. This oil painting of a corn plant focuses in on a few leaves, a technique O’Keeffe used in many of her artworks.

This earthenware clay sculpture depicts a mother and father holding their child and surrounded by extended family. At 14 feet wide, it hangs in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center and the artist, Roxanne Swentzell, wanted to show the strength of these bonds for the community.

Inside the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center we found a class full of weavers creating wall hangings on small looms. In another room we talked with this local woman who regularly works on projects at the center. Fascinating to watch her expertly operate the shuttle and loom.

We stopped at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center while driving through northern New Mexico. The building’s side wall provides a visual cue to what we found inside.

The concave sheer wall of Echo Amphitheater bounced our words (and songs) back over our heads! The dark streaks are from minerals dripping down the cliff over centuries.

The local tribes told the Spanish explorers of the 1500s about cities of gold in the mountains of New Mexico, and from a distance this rock formation would have looked positively golden! Just not the kind that the conquistadors were hoping to find.

Driving down a narrow valley in northern New Mexico, we came across this picnic area that featured amazing colored rock layers and a natural amphitheater.

Driving south into New Mexico for the first time, we found unusual rock formations on a side road near Aztec, New Mexico. Do you see any faces or profiles in these sandstone giants?