What Is the Glow of Sedona?

"Coffee Pot Rock Formation" ©Mary Montague Sikes

In November, my husband and I spent two weeks in Sedona, Arizona. As we completed the two-hour drive from Phoenix, we saw the iconic red rocks rise up on the horizon ahead. And we felt the glow of the desert mountains.

The Sedona landscape encompasses and touches us like no other place on earth. Peace and quiet surrounds us as the dark night sky approaches. In Uptown Sedona where we spent the first few days, there are no street lamps, so it is exceptionally dark. Flashlights are provided at the Hyatt where we were guests.

"Bell Rock" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Years ago, when we first visited Sedona, silence surrounded us everywhere we went. There were many fewer restaurants, and the vortexes were quiet places without hoards of visitors.

Things have changed. Roads are wider now, with many "round-abouts".

When we visited in 2014, I was disappointed and worried because the highway construction confused the landscape and changed the "feel" of the area. I feared that civilization had encroached too far, and the Sedona glow would never be the same.

I was wrong. This time, the highway construction was gone, replaced by a more peaceful glow. The roadways seemed more congested than in the past, but there were places where respite from the everyday trauma could be found.

Looking into the sky over Bell Rock, I discovered the image of an angel, flying high above the formation. Perhaps the angel is symbolic of the glow of Sedona. Perhaps it explains a little of what the glow is all about.

Perhaps.

Perhaps I shall return and question the meaning of the glow one more time. Perhaps I will see more and understand at last why so many are called to the Red Rock Country. Perhaps then, I shall have no need to ask, "What is the Glow of Sedona?".

Loving Artist Workshops - Taking and Teaching Them

"Gloucester Arts on Main 2018" ©Mary Montague Sikes

More than two decades ago, I took my first artist workshop. Mary Alice Braukmann was the instructor. Traveling from Florida to Williamsburg, Virginia, she brought with her a wealth of knowledge and a lifetime of enthusiasm. Besides the excitement of painting in a week-long workshop, she opened a new world for me for interacting with other artists.

After I earned my MFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University, I retreated to my home studio and painted alone. Developing my ideas on canvas was rewarding, but something was missing. I needed to be around other artists. At VCU, I had my own large studio room in a big, deserted school building near the campus. There were 11 other artists, all MFA candidates, painting inside that massive structure. During those two years of intensive learning, visiting artists from New York and California also used the studio space there. We spent time together. I missed that.

The artist workshops filled the interaction void. I found more and more of them. Some, such as a watercolor workshop with Patricia Tobacco Forrester in the Washington DC area. I loved her large expressive paintings and was sad to see that she died in 2011. Creatives are especially missed when they are gone.

I've taken many workshops at Cheap Joe's in Boone NC. That's where I found my hero artist, Mary Ann Beckwith who brought Robert Doak watercolors and Yupo into my life. Janet Rogers is another exceptional watercolor artist I found there. And I will never forget the Robert Burridge workshops where I fell in love with using orange under-paintings on my acrylic canvasses.

Sedona AZ is filled with seduction and energy. Each year, Jan Sitts teaches her workshops there that are filled with color and texture.

Besides taking workshops, I enjoy teaching them. I've had the opportunity to give classes in San Diego CA, Denver CO, Hilton Head SC, Richmond VA, Williamsburg VA, Gloucester VA and more.
For me, art teaching is as much a learning experience for the instructor as it is for the student.

As artists we must continue to grow and make our lives meaningful. The "messy" minds of creatives are filled with all sorts of ideas that cry to evolve.

I love artist workshops. Thanks to all my teachers and to my students.

"Passenger to Paradise" - the Second Book is Set in Sedona

"Bell Rock - Sedona" ©Mary Montague Sikes

After Jamaica, the journeys of the "Passenger to Paradise" continued. She visited Sedona and fell in love with everything about the picturesque terrain of red rock formations against glorious skies. She remembered the same scenery from the old western movies that brightened her weekends long ago, so she enjoyed seeing them even more.

During that initial trip to Sedona, she took a pastel workshop the first week and then grew enchanted with vortexes and meditation wheels. These elements eventually help form the second "Passenger to Paradise" book, Eagle Rising. As with Hearts Across Forever, a touch of the paranormal creeps into her dreams, and she goes on a journey into the spiritual lands of the Indians.

Unable to shake the horror of her fiance's death, Rachael Barker draws the concern of her kindly boss at the Observer Times. Perhaps, he thinks, an assignment in the exotic desert community of Sedona, AZ, might shake Rachael's malaise, so he sends her to cover the enigmatic New Age guru, Arch Adamson at his Earth Awareness seminar. Unnerving things begin happening before Rachael can interview her subject...she meets Derek Ryder, a man with an obvious secret in his past, but is further shaken by her experiences in the mystical desert where an Indian warns her to leave their hallowed ground undisturbed. As Derek and Rachael search for answers, a new question presents itself: Can they overcome their wounds? 

 

 

 

 

Lots of travels. Lots of stories. That's the life of the "Passenger to Paradise".

"Sedona Red Rocks" ©Mary Montague Sikes

 

 

"A" is for Antelope Canyon on Navaho Nation Land

"Antelope Canyon" pastel and watercolor ©Mary Montague Sikes

Although my theme for the A to Z Blog Challenge is mostly National Parks, my choice for "A" is Antelope Canyon which is on Navaho Nation Land and is not a National Park.

In 2012, we were visiting Sedona, Arizona and having breakfast in a little restaurant there. The couple seated next to us was talking with the waitress about Antelope Canyon, their destination for the day. We had never heard of the slot canyons, located near Page, Arizona, but they sounded fascinating. Although it was a 3-hour trip, we decided to go there the next day.

The drive from Sedona to Page was beautiful. We stopped along the way for lunch at a restaurant operated by the Navaho. At the entrance to Lower Antelope Canyon, we paid the fee and waited for the next guide to take us down. Although information says the tour is easy, it actually requires climbing up and down ladders at several points. Also, it might be difficult for someone heavy to pass through several very narrow passages in the canyon. As an artist, I loved it. The colors are glorious and surreal.

The canyon gained its name because long ago pronghorn goats roamed there. Now it can be dangerous when flash flooding sends water rushing through the tight passageways. A few years ago, a group of tourists died in the Lower Canyon during an unexpected flash flood.

We did not have time to go to the Upper Antelope Canyon two years ago. Hopefully, we can return someday and discover what we missed there.

Sedona, Arizona is a Place to Love

Sedona Red Rocks October 2013 ©Mary Montague Sikes

Whenever I see the red rock formations of Sedona, Arizona come into view, I marvel at the sight. These amazing rocks have inspired artists and writers forever, I suspect. As the lighting shifts across the rocks, so does the impact of the red rock images.

Within the last 12 months, we have made the trip to Sedona from the East Coast three times. We have stayed in three different locations, Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort, Hyatt Pinon Point, and Poco Diablo Resort. All three resorts are outstanding for different reasons.

The Ridge is located at the Village of Oak

Sedona Red Rocks 2007 ©Mary Montague Sikes

Creek and is near the Red Rock Cafe, an exceptional restaurant for breakfast that features 99-cent mimosas on the weekend. Several art galleries are located in the area, including Cielo Bella. Of course, it is near the famous Bell Rock formation. For sports lovers, PJ's sports bar is nearby.

The Hyatt is situated conveniently close to uptown Sedona with lots of rock shops in the area. The Sedona Art Center is within easy walking distance. The resort is not far from Tlaquepaque which is well-known for arts and crafts shopping and has several attractive art galleries. Sports fans will enjoy the TV screens and the convenience of the Steaks and Sticks restaurant that is next to Tlaquepaque.

Poco Diablo is in a quiet setting next to Oak Creek. The Best Western restaurant on the site is excellent for breakfast. Our room faced the golf course which gave us a nice view from a little patio. The location is convenient for several rock formations, including Bell Rock and is situated between Oak Creek and Sedona.


The Golden Goose Cafe has become one of our favorite places for breakfast dining in Sedona. The Little Mermaid omelette is outstanding. Featuring shrimp, crab meat, jack cheese, and an hollandaise

Little Mermaid ©MMSikes

sauce topping, it's a meal worth a return trip to the city. Their roasted potato medley is delicious as well.

Recently, I watched "Drum Beat", a 1954 movie featuring Alan Ladd. With its setting in Sedona, I was captivated. I was also amazed at the beautiful red rocks rising up from a remote wilderness. Now, the Village of Oak Creek has expanded almost to the edge of Bell Rock. It was nostalgic to see the earlier movie setting. I'm glad so many old movies were set there. I'll be on the lookout for them because Sedona, Arizona, then and now, is a place to love.

Where Should Artists Promote Their Work? Only at Home?

Mary Montague Sikes in Cielo Bella Art Gallery with her meditation paintings

Recently, someone asked me why I had come all the way across the country to Sedona, Arizona to promote my art work. That is a really good question and it started me thinking. Weren't there plenty of venues in Virginia where I live?

Yes and no.

When I first visited Sedona in the early 1990s, I was both stunned and captivated by the scenery. No wonder so many of the old western movies used the Red Rock Country as a background. I loved the "feel" of the area. I enjoyed snapping photos--actually mostly 35 mm color slides at that time. I liked the New Age atmosphere all around me.

Over the years, we've returned many times. The Hotel El Tovar is part of my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. Side stories and many photos in the book relate to Sedona and the area. I've taken art classes there, and I set my novel, Eagle Rising, in and around Sedona. What better place to visit and promote my art?

That's why I returned to Cielo Bella Art Gallery in the Village of Oak Creek to sign books and to talk about my new Master's Meditation Paintings and Soul Songs that accompany them. The gallery is also featuring my Giclee prints from Hotels to Remember, and I plan to ship some of the original paintings from the book for display there.

On this trip, it made me sad to know that the Grand Canyon National Park was closed. The El Tovar is located inside the park, so that historic edifice, along with many other famous tourist stops, is closed as well. I cannot imagine the disappointment of planning all year long for a special trip to the Canyon and being stopped by the antics of foolish politicians from visiting it. I wanted to go and sit along the edge, take more photos, sketch, and muse about my writing as well as imagine new paintings I would like to create.

The wonder of the Grand Canyon, the New Age essence, the vortexes hidden among the Red Rocks, and so much more beckon me to cross the country and show my art somewhere different where visions align with my own.

I love Virginia, but my breath catches as soon as the Red Rocks come into view. The artist and the writer within me are both torn. No wonder Mark Twain loved to travel.

(The art work behind me in the photograph is the work of other gallery artists. The art pieces on the table are paintings in progress from the Master's Meditation series.)

Taking an Artist Workshop in Sedona, Arizona

At the Sedona Arts Center - MMSikes

We just returned from an awesome and intense 10 days in Sedona, Arizona. I traveled there because I have long admired the work of artist Jan Sitts, and I wanted to take one of her workshops.

After her class at Cheap Joe's in Boone, NC was cancelled last summer, I found that Jan teaches workshops at the Sedona Arts Center in Sedona, the beguiling destination that is the setting for my novel, Eagle Rising. After much consideration, I decided to sign up for the workshop. Since we needed to fly, I would be unable to carry all the supplies I normally take in our car. Therefore, I ordered a limited amount of materials from Utrecht and got them shipped to the Art Center.

The full class of 16 students watched Jan demonstrate her method of working with experimental water media. Using multiple materials, intense color, and lots of layers, she inspired an amazing number of outstanding art pieces created during four days of passionate, concentrated work.

Jan Sitts introduction the first day - MMSikes

Jan winding down the final day - MMSikes

It's always sad to reach the end of a workshop, but, along with everyone else, I headed home inspired and grateful for the opportunity to learn and expand my painting horizons. Although I missed having all the acrylic colors, watercolors, and inks I enjoy using, I survived with my limited palette!

Thank you, Jan!

--Mary Montague Sikes

A to Z Blogfest Around the World in 30 Days - Sedona AZ

Cathedral Rock, Sedona AZ  MMSikes

For "S" in the A to Z Blogfest, the Passenger to Paradise didn't think long for her Around the World in 30 Days choice. She has just returned from an amazing week in Sedona AZ where there are photo ops at every turn. She loves nothing better than photo ops!

Sedona Art Outside a Gallery  MMSikes

So much to see, you have to long to return again and again. The Passenger to Paradise can hardly wait until her next trip there!