Travel and Art Journal – Sedona, Week Two

Nov 5, 20223 min read

Keeping you up to date on my adventure as the Vagabond Artist. I hope to inspire you to embark on a creative journey with me. This travel and art journal shares my adventure in quick and small pieces of art. The results are imperfect, but the experience is fun!

Spooky Doings Around Sedona

The final days of October are at hand and the Sedona area is preparing for Halloween, All Saint’s Day, and All Souls Day (Dia de Los Muertos). The skies are moody in anticipation. One night, while walking back to the room from dinner, Jim spotted an unusual occurrence in the western sky. He was able to get a decent picture of the experience from his iPhone but could not explain it.

Unusual Sky Even For Sedona

Later in the hot tub, someone mentioned the sky was the result of a Space-X take-off. Not so spooky after all.

Statues Around Los Abrigados

Sedona cherishes its ties to Native American history. The grounds of Los Abrogados are adorned with various status telling the stories of the natives. One particularly caught my eye – a statue called “Moon Maiden.” According to the artist, the Moon Maiden is the goddess of the night sky and spiritual keeper of mystery and magic. An old folktale by the Pueblo Native Americans tell the story of how the Moon Maiden or Mother lost an eye and was relegated to the dark so that her children could sleep, and her husband retain both eyes. She sacrificed for love. Read the whole folktale below.

https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/sw/pifs/pifs12.htm

I tried to capture her spirit.

Moon Maiden

Jerome, Arizona

Once considered the wickedest town in the west, Jerome is located between Flagstaff and Prescott on top of the richest copper mine in Arizona during the early 20th century. Now it is the largest ghost town in America. Relics of the past dot the scenery and the area has become a tourist attraction and art haven. Where miners, bootleggers, and prostitutes ruled the town, now you will find tourists, winemakers, and artists. Many of the buildings still standing are said to be haunted. A local restaurant called Haunted Hamburger is supposedly haunted and strange occurrences involving hammers have been reported.

This building looked like the ruins of a jail to me, but it was originally a grocery store built in 1900. The remaining wall is the entrance to a glassblowing studio called La Victoria. I obviously need to work on perspectives!

The Old Grocery Store in Jerome, Arizona

Tlaquepaque Festivities

Built in 1970 and modeled after the town of Tlaquepaque in Mexico, it is a shopping area with art galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. The name Tlaquepaque translates to “best of everything” – a fitting name to describe it. The area always decorates for the seasons and many events are held throughout the year.

Decorated Fountain in Tlaquepaque

Dia de Los Meurtos (Day of the Dead) is one of the bigger events. I am drawn to this event and have dressed up for it in the past. I like the sugar skull face painting.

My husband and I in Dia de Los Meurtos Garb

Sugar Skull

Where in the World is the Vagabond Artist Next?

Next leg of this adventure takes us to Oro Valley, a suburb of Tucson, Arizona. I am looking forward to two months in one place and overseeing the house build. I hope you enjoyed this adventure with me. Sign up for my freebie below and continue to follow the Vagabond Artist!

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