Rio Grande from the High Falls (Falls Trail)

54″ x 24″ Mixed Media Collage
On 1.5″ Cradled Birch Panel

Piece from the Pathways & Precipices ~ An Artist’s Return to Awe and Wonder Series inspired by experiences and transformations from Bandelier National Monument Artist Residency for month of November 2022.

The Falls Trail was my second hike alone… It was a crystal-clear sparkling day, from the gurgling Frijoles creek I was following to the blue sky and shimmering late autumn leaves. This was the first use of my walking sticks, my new best friends, it is remarkable how that little bit of stabilization helped! As I headed up a narrow part of the trail with a sheer drop off to left, I took it slow until I came to a stark vista looking down into the canyon and on to the Rio Grande River… I froze, could not take one step further, so I back tracked a couple yards to the juniper growing out of the canyon wall. I stood there holding that tree for several minutes calming myself, overcoming my precipice triggered panic attack, trying to convince myself to keep going. The Holy Spirit took me by the hand, and we headed around that sheer corner, around a fallen boulder on the trail and down to the overlook for the Upper Falls. This piece captures the view from that spot with my back to the Upper Falls looking east towards the Rio Grande River. The morning light and the everything in that canyon sparkled.