cottage industry at work
February 16, 2026
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16 Comments
Artist friend and fellow martial artist Victoria frequently asks us "how is work in the art departments going"? She knows that Fred and I work on weaving and photography an average of six hours every day, including weekends. Being self-employed in a small house, eventually, the entire house becomes part of the art, and that certainly is the case fo...
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time for love?
February 08, 2026
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6 Comments
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 10th edition, defines love in these ways "an intense feeling of deep affection", "a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone", a great interest and pleasure in something", "affectionate greetings". Thinking about the world as we know it, I would say we need more of it and it is high time. Swiss psychiatri...
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look, see, and feel
February 02, 2026
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8 Comments
In the high desert of the American Southwest, winter is the most monochromatic of seasons. Nothing is in bloom. In some places, the ground is covered with snow. Berries add occasional splashes of color as do robins flitting from point to point and dining on the berries. But basically the landscape feels flat. It is a time when artists' abilities to...
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blooms for the spirit
January 25, 2026
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9 Comments
It has been a rough week for many around our country and the world. I have no doubt that those who lived through the turbulent 60s and early 70s, with the Vietnam War front and center and body counts given in the daily news, are experiencing some deja vu. Somehow, humanity seems to cycle through periods of political disgorgement. The word itself pa...
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reflection and refraction
January 18, 2026
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8 Comments
Photographic inspiration comes from any number of sources in any given time period. Some arise out of necessity for advertising, publication, and portfolio purposes, emerge from one's inner and outer environment, or are presented courtesy of information and stories provided by those in a photographer's orbit. Several weeks ago, I heard from friend...
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winter sports
January 11, 2026
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15 Comments
The snow that fell on Friday and Saturday was the type that makes both downhill and cross country skiers salivate. A powder that seems to be exclusive to locations with fairly dry, perfectly chilled air and high elevations. Those conditions allow the skier to slide with ease down a slope or across a landscape, and become airborne, if desired.
Not...
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a brief review
January 05, 2026
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9 Comments
As a friend of ours frequently says before a long and fascinating email, you might want to get another cup of coffee or snack. This blog is a long one.
Love them or hate them, the new year is packed with "year in review" and "healthy living" and "how to do it better" columns in every media. Too much? I don't think so. At the pace news and informat...
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passageway to 2026
December 27, 2025
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With only three days left in 2025, which was, admittedly, an unsettling and fraught year, we approach the aperture of 2026, and walk through a passageway about which we know very little. In almost every instance of doubt and disturbance, my default is to let nature lead the way, in this case deep into the throat through twists and turns of an amary...
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it is all about the light
December 21, 2025
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4 Comments
The earth moves, as it should and as it has for millennia before mammals emerged on the scene. Sunrises and sunsets change as days become shorter and longer and each season emerges. Yesterday was the winter solstice, offering the shortest day of the year, 9 hours and 44 minutes. Sunset tomorrow will be 2 seconds later. Slowly, steadily, and surely,...
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Governor's Holiday Market
December 15, 2025
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One would be hard-pressed to know, except for the diminished daylight, that it is December in New Mexico. High temperatures throughout the state ranged from the 50s to the 70s this week (depending on elevation), and here in Santa Fe, there have been a few 60s at the airport reporting station. These conditions are relatively rare. But I do remember...
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the practice of art
December 08, 2025
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More than once in my years of blogging, I have addressed the practice and process of art - how practicing artists and craftspeople work, how they organize their time, among other things, and how they deal with a more or less solitary practice. For some, it is almost meditative, like being cloistered and completely involved in their work. A current...
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into winter
December 01, 2025
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8 Comments
A dusting of snow covers the ground this morning as we move into winter, following the most stunning autumn season on record. Now the chill begins, reminding us of the changing seasons and cycles in nature. We have a bird's eye view to it all from our office window and the loom room, where life and work proceed at pace throughout the year. This wee...
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giving thanks
November 23, 2025
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Two things shaped this week's blog. The first was the Ken Burns/Sarah Borstein/David Schmidt series The American Revolution that premiered this week on public television. To say my knowledge of the war was embarrassingly limited is an understatement. Both my husband and I, having been educated in two completely different school systems, were missin...
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to look AND see
November 17, 2025
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4 Comments
More than a few times in past blogs, I have written about the processes of photography and writing, and the way they work for me. Being involved in several different projects much of the time, there is nothing like a good brisk walk not only to awaken a variety of muscles, but to let everything in one's brain go wild into the autumn air. If someone...
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the eleventh hour of the eleventh day
November 09, 2025
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8 Comments
Celebrating the 40th year of Veterans for Peace, the organization published a special "Reclaim Armistice Day 2025" edition of its online newsletter with the subtitle "Until Never Again Means Never Again for Anyone ". As I have mentioned before, the horrors of war should never be forgotten. A much loftier and less achievable goal would be the comple...
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© Daryl A. Black