“Starr Interiors Features Taos Artists” series – “Interconnections” the sculpture in stone and clay of Marsha Fawns

Posted by susanna on June 2, 2011
Marsha Fawns Sculptor

Marsha Fawns, Sculptor

As part of “Starr Interiors Features Taos Artists” we invite you to attend the events featuring the work of Marsha Fawns on Saturday and Sunday, June 18th and 19th 2011. This new work, shown for the first time in Taos, New Mexico, is sculpture in stone and clay. The theme for the show is called “Interconnections” which reflects the artist’s philosophical and artistic expression.

She has received awards in juried art shows in Dallas, Texas and her sculpture appears in collections in Texas, Arizona,Colorado, New Mexico and Australia.

Sculpture by Marsha Fawns

Sculpture by Marsha Fawns

On Saturday, June 18th there will be an opening at Starr Interiors from 4-6 pm, in the courtyard as well as in the gallery room inside. On Sunday, June 19th, there will be a sculpting demonstration from 2-4 pm in the courtyard. Everyone is welcome to attend these events.

In the past, Starr Interiors has featured the work of Jonathan Sobol, R.C. Gorman, Charles Collins, Jim Wagner, John Lamkin and Steve Storz, all Taos artists, as well as paintings and prints of Miguel Martinez, R.C. Gorman, Walt Gonske, and Michael Vigil. These shows have linked Taos artists with the Starr Interior’s ongoing presentation of the best of Zapotec Indian weavers.

Recently Taos has been awarded the designation of an Art and Culture District, one of the few in New Mexico. This show of Marsha Fawns reflects Starr Interior’s support of Taos artists and launches the season for other shows to be hosted during the summer and fall which will include:

July 2011 – Pueblo Crafts

August 2011 – Hand-embossed tin work demonstration by Taos furniture maker David Mapes

September2011 – Pottery exhibit and demonstration by Taos potters Tupper and Richard Hawley

October 2011 – Taos Wool Festival – Weaving demonstration

November 2011 – Day of the Dead altar by Hilary Smith

September 2011 – Staging demonstration

December 2011 – Jewelry show and demonstration

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Winner of Zapotec Indian Rug from Starr Interior’s Memorial Day Raffle.

Posted by John on June 2, 2011
Winning Zapotec Indian Rug from Starr Interior's Memorial Day Raffle

Winning Zapotec Indian Rug from Starr Interior's Memorial Day Raffle

The winner of the Zapotec Indian Rug from Starr Interior’s Memorial Day Raffle was New Mexico resident Nancy Sheldon.

This beautiful weaving is from master weaver Felipe Gutierrez.

Keep watching this blog for news of upcoming events.

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An April, 2011 Visit to Oaxaca and the Zapotec Weavers – New Developments in the Line of the Spirit™

Posted by susanna on May 20, 2011

text and photos by Susanna Starr

Back to the mountains of northern New Mexico just in time to experience what we hope is winter’s last fling. The snow is still on the mountain tops.

Laguna Bacalar from Casa Estrella de Bacalar's Terraza ©Susanna Starr

Laguna Bacalar from Casa Estrella de Bacalar's Terraza ©Susanna Starr

It’s wonderful being home again with family and friends, but the recent visit to Oaxaca on a buying trip is still imprinted on my memory. After spending four idyllic and very quiet months at our beautiful home, Casa Estrella de Bacalar, on Laguna Bacalar in the southernmost part of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, it was a real change to be in the city of Oaxaca and especially, in the weaving village.

Casa de mis Recuerdos, Oaxaca MEXICO

Casa de mis Recuerdos, Oaxaca MEXICO ©Susanna Starr

Staying at Casa de mis Recuerdos with our hosts, Conchita and Moises was a delight. Many years ago they rented us the home in Oaxaca we loved so much and that we spent many happy months in over a period of many years. We’ve kept our friendship going all that time. Being with them is always special and the beauty that they’ve created at their Bed and Breakfast provides a delightful retreat from the bustle of the city while still in the heart of everything. Working out on the patio with Abi, our liaison of almost twenty years, gave us just the privacy and space to go over all our buying lists and be able to discuss our new weaving designs and share our mutual excitement.

As always, the highlight of our stay and, of course, our main purpose, is being with the weavers. This trip provided us with many new colors and designs and, most importantly, has launched a shift in our own designer collection, the Line of the Spirit™. Some years ago, we started a new “co-op” with the core weavers who had been working on the Line of the Spirit™ for almost twenty years.

Co-op Members - Oaxaca Mexico

Co-op Members - Oaxaca Mexico ©Susanna Starr

Now, we have cemented a new working relationship where they are taking complete responsibility for the production of this special collection and are making it official through a government sponsored program designed to help indigenous people become more self-sufficient. It is especially meaningful to the launching of Dux Tsunium, the Zapotec name chosen by the weavers in the co-op (in English: Our Thing).

Alta Gracia, Jazi & Abi -- Coop Meeting

Alta Gracia, Jazi & Abi -- Coop Meeting Oaxaca MEXICO ©Susanna Starr

The Line began with Richard Enzer working with the weavers, then both of us and finally just with me. So the pride that they have always taken will now be enhanced knowing that they now have the ultimate responsibility themselves. We discussed issues like the quality of the hand spun wool and everyone was in total agreement that it was the only kind that would be used. There was lots of laughter and obvious joy in launching the work of the “co-operativa.”

Jazi, Co-op Member Oaxaca MEXICO

Jazi, Co-op Member Oaxaca MEXICO ©Susanna Starr

We celebrated the new beginning with great plans for the future where the weavers will not only do the physical work of producing each piece on the loom, but securing the dyes and the yarn that result in the beauty and integrity of their work, going over each individual piece and taking the ultimate responsibility for creating something to be treasured by the ultimate owner of each piece signed with our trademark logo. Each person working on the project left with the gift of a living plant from our weaver, Alta Gracia’s, vivero (nursery) that will grow and prosper as they do.

So much more to be said about the trip, including wonderful comidas (meals) with the families who are some of my closest connections in Mexico. Being with their children and grandchildren keeps our connection strong. The teenagers are amazing, beautiful and talented with great plans for their futures. They seem to be outstanding students and several of the older ones have already gone on to study specific careers, anywhere from medicine to music.

Jovita - Co-op Member Oaxaca MEXICO

Jovita - Co-op Member Oaxaca MEXICO ©Susanna Starr

In the next post I will share with you some of the changes that are taking place in the village. And how it all has come about because of the magical circle, of producing these beautiful weavings, marketing them and ultimately of those unknown strangers who buy them, appreciating the unique expression of this art form as an enduring part of their home décor.

Line of the Spirit™ Rug on Co-op Loom

Line of the Spirit™ Rug on Co-op Loom ©Susanna Starr

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Remembering Richard Enzer – Final Part

Posted by susanna on January 4, 2011

Remembering Richard Enzer – Part 3 – Final

by Susanna Starr

Read Part 1 Read Part 2

The following year, our work schedule together with Richard continued and now he was living in another house with much more room, while we continued living in the house that would be our Oaxaca home for many more years. There were still parties and art openings and dinners out at places like El Sol y La Luna which was a restaurant that featured local musicians as well as art exhibits on the adobe walls. Food was served in the indoor covered patio and being with Richard meant being with lots of people. He always seemed to have the aura of a rock star” and the years we spent together always seemed filled with ongoing adventure. Completely devoted to the work of the Line of the Spirit, being in the city was another thing and the circle of friends that we were constantly involved with was always a colorful one.

Richard Enzer & Susanna Starr in Starr Interior's Courtyard, Taos, New Mexico

Richard Enzer & Susanna Starr in Starr Interior's Courtyard, Taos, New Mexico

It was during these years that we formed the lasting friendship with Mitzi Linn who was Richard’s “spiritual adviser.” It was also then that we were introduced to Domenico and his friend, both of them fairly recently arrived from Italy. They cooked fabulous pasta dinners at Richard’s house, a prelude to the restaurants that Domenico would own and operate after he married a local Oaxaca girl, as beautiful as he was handsome. Domenico is now the owner of Pizza Rustica, a wonderful and well known restaurant housed in one of the old converted Oaxaca mansions.

Miriam got married to an architect that she met through the Line of the Spirit and left to raise a family. Abi took her place and I work with her still. She is my very close friend. Although Sergio moved on, we now have another art director who was just a child when we began working together with Richard. Jace is Alta Gracia’s son, which makes it very convenient since he’s working directly with his mother, our extraordinary dye-maker. He and his family are all still very involved in producing special pieces for the Line of the Spirit and Alta’s gardens are as magnificent as the colors she produces for the yarns that hang out to dry in the strong Mexican sunlight.

About five years ago we decided to change the name of our gallery from La Unica Cosa which we had for about thirty years, to our new name of Starr Interiors. We had a party to celebrate and much to my surprise and great pleasure Richard came. I cried, stirred by an emotion I didn’t know I had. He had been sick, I knew, and had survived a kidney transplant. He looked older, but so did I. I flashed back to one of the first openings we had for the Line of the Spirit shortly after we formed our partnership. Richard bought me a very special huipil from one of the seven regions of Oaxaca which I wore to that opening. It had been a number of years since we had seen each other, with Richard moving onto the Romanian project after our partnership ended, and my continuing with the Oaxaca project. It was emotional for both of us and his smile was a reminder of many times we had working together in those early years of the nineteen nineties.

I think, too, of the time when the telephone rang one evening and it was Richard. I knew immediately from his voice that something had happened but wasn’t prepared for the news that his son, Michael, had just been killed in a motorcycle accident. Michael was spending time with his Dad in Oaxaca and it was Richard’s hope that his involvement would continue. But that was not to be. It was a devastation that only a parent could know. Unfortunately, I knew from firsthand experience, having lost my own son, when he was younger than Michael, a number of years earlier.

Now Richard, too, is gone, having passed away last year. Hard living took a toll, I’m sure, but it was the kind of life he chose and I think he enjoyed it “to the max.” There were difficult moments but they always passed and whatever happened that appeared disruptive was always resolved. But his genius lives on in the continuation and flourishing of the Line of the Spirit™. Shortly after we became partners, I recognized the need for a trademark which remains the identification for this stunning body of work. Although I have gone on to introduce some designs and colors of my own, the collection still retains his initial vision.

Alta continues to do her magic with making the colors. Abi continues to keep everything together in Oaxaca, Jace continues to visit each weaver on the project and supply them with the material they need to complete their individual pieces and the fine staff at Starr Interiors continues to present the Line of the Spirit collection in the three rooms that house the collection. We continue to use the hand-carded, hand- spun wools prepared on a drop spindle at a remote Zapotec Indian village high up in the mountains. How can I mention that village without mentioning their other claim to fame, the making of mescal in home-made stills. Which brings up the memories of going there with Richard to buy wool and sampling each of the offerings of special mescal from the various houses in that little village. What an adventure! That, too, is part of remembering Richard.

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Remembering Richard Enzer 2

Posted by susanna on January 4, 2011

Remembering Richard Enzer – Part 2

by Susanna Starr

Richard Enzer & Miriam on our porch

Richard Enzer & Miriam on our porch

Although pretty much wild and crazy, Richard was also very charming and convincing. There was very little that could be further from our minds than entering into a partnership with him. But Richard was firmly convinced that he needed to develop the Line of the Spirit beyond where it was at the time and that we would be the perfect partners because of our history in the village and relationship with the weavers. So, he sweet talked us into it!

After the agreement was signed and we were officially partners, we left for Mexico and showed up, as agreed, at Richard’s house in the city of Oaxaca. A party was going on. We were soon to learn that he always was surrounded by an entourage, mostly of artists, musicians and various other assorted people, some Mexican nationals, some friends from the States and some new friends he would make on a steady basis. Richard was enthusiastic about having us stay with him, but we quickly realized that we would need a place of our own. We would join him in the rounds in the village each day, but maintained a life that was a little less involved with other people.

The time we spent in the village was wonderful and we were introduced to various people we had never come in contact with before. There was Sergio, the art director, handsome and talented and from the village. Meeting him and his family was a special experience and we were to spend much time in the following few years together. The weavers who were part of the Line of the Spirit were very enthusiastic about the work they were doing with Richard and recognized that they would be involved in an entirely new art project that was carefully overseen by Sergio with lots of direct input by Richard, which they really appreciated. Although they hadn’t known us previously, they knew who we were and welcomed us into their homes with warmth and hospitality.

The team also included Miriam, a lovely young woman who quickly became a friend. She was the liaison person who handled all the money as well as distributing what was needed to the weavers working on the project. And then there was Alta Gracia, the dye-maker. Richard had spent quite a lot of time working with her with his sleeves rolled up, at the dye-pots. She was an important part of the team since the vibrant colors that she hand-mixed over an open fire were a cornerstone of the Line of the Spirit weaving collection.

Those were exciting and intense days, weeks and months we spent together with Richard and all the various people in our circle. Every day we would pick up Miriam and go to Sergio’s house where his wife, Thomasa would be stirring a pot of atole or coffee and feeding the babies. Then we’d make the rounds. That meant visiting each and every weaver working on the Line of the Spirit project, spending time with them as they worked on the loom, going over the designs and the colors to be used. It was an amazing and inspiring time, and we would often return to Oaxaca after dark, exhausted but elated. Richard exuded energy and it was hard for him to stop and call it a day when he was in the rhythm of working with the weavers. We would also spend part of the day with Alta, discussing the dyes and the nuances of the colors. She was a consummate artist at the dye pots.

Richard Enzer with Line of the Spirit, Corazo de Maguey tapestry

Richard Enzer with Line of the Spirit, Corazo de Maguey tapestry

Everyone loved Richard, his enthusiasm, his willingness to work with each of them, imparting his vision to them and appreciating his pleasure with what they were producing. When pieces would come off the loom, they would be carried back to Richard’s house where we would examine each weaving, inspecting and admiring them. There was always an intimate connection between us, the team of Sergio, Miriam and Alta and, of course, the individual weavers and their families, including the children who seemed to delight in our visits. Now, twenty years later, many of the original weavers are still working on the Line of the Spirit and some of those children have joined the project, having become excellent weavers in their own right.

Read Part 3

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Remembering Richard Enzer

Posted by susanna on December 28, 2010

Remembering Richard Enzer – Part 1

by Susanna Starr

Richard Enzer in Zapotec Weaving Village

Richard Enzer in Zapotec Weaving Village

Everyone has moments in their lives that seem inconsequential at the time but, in retrospect, we can recognize the impact of that chance meeting or conversation.

It was an outdoor party held at Ellie’s house, just down the road from where I lived in the small valley of Valdez, just outside of Taos, New Mexico, that Richard Enzer rode into my life. I had been stumbling around in the woods, trying to get back to where most of the people were gathered in the open area around the house, unable to find my way through the dense vegetation. I was beginning to feel panicky.

At the moment I started to emerge into the warm sunlight, Richard got down from the horse he had been riding and, seeing my face, strode over and opened his arms to hold me. There were no words exchanged, just the comfort and security offered in that reassuring embrace, one person to another. For me, it was a defining moment and despite the various experiences we shared in the ensuing years, that gesture of kindness and recognition remained.

We each wandered off in different directions then at the party and during the following years. Living in a small town, I heard about him from time to time but it wasn’t until a number of years later that he reappeared in my life.

My partner and I had spent more than a dozen years building a business that involved our active participation in a small Zapotec Indian weaving village located in the mountains just outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. As the years passed, our business grew as did that of the people we worked with. We worked seven days a week and spent several months in Mexico every winter working with the weavers and building what developed into a small eco resort and retreat center in another part of the country, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

During the years of the 1980’s, we were buying large quantities of beautiful hand-loomed rugs and wall hangings, carefully selecting each piece. We were receiving shipments regularly and had our own “bodega” or storage area. Here our extra inventory was carefully stacked and laid out. Shipments that were received at the shop were taken there to be unpacked, examined and admired again before putting them in their proper places.

It was on one of these occasions that we were unpacking a shipment, that we realized the rugs were not familiar to us. They were stunningly beautiful in deep rich tones of complex designs. It didn’t take us long to realize that they were Richard’s rugs that had been sent to us by mistake.

Although we hadn’t been in touch with him, we knew that Richard had been working in the same weaving village that we were, after a long absence from Taos, and designing his own rugs there. With the help of noted weaver and colorist, Rachel Brown of Taos, New Mexico, he developed a palette of deep, rich colors more reminiscent of fine oriental rugs than the colors and designs being used in the small Zapotec Indian village.

His experience working with the New York rug gallery, the Gordian Knot, expanded his design horizons with oriental design elements included in his own collection of Southwestern designs, which he called the Line of the Spirit. We hadn’t ever seen any of his collection but it was clear as we unfolded the pieces that day in our bodega, that Richard had gone far beyond anything being produced in the village and, with good reason, we were very impressed.

Tracking him down wasn’t difficult and we sent the shipment on to him. Not long after, he suggested that we look once again at some of his pieces with the idea of our purchasing them. We did and found it a perfect addition to our own fine collection at what was then known as La Unica Cosa (the only thing), now Starr Interiors. We loved the rugs and our customers responded to our enthusiasm and were soon buying from Richard on a regular basis.

It wasn’t very long afterward that Richard showed up at the shop one day with his art director from the village to lay out a proposition. What came of that discussion was the beginning of my long involvement with the Line of the Spirit, which continues to this day.

Read Part 2

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Day of the Dead – Dias de los Muertos – Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted by susanna on October 24, 2010

Altar, Cemetery Chapel - Day of the Dead - Oaxaca State, Mexico

Susanna Starr placing photo on Altar, Cemetery Chapel - Day of the Dead - Oaxaca State, Mexico ©John Lamkin

The Day of the Dead celebration is marked by various rituals, including the American Halloween. But in Oaxaca this holiday, known as Los Dias de los Muertos, is something that goes far beyond trick or treating and children in costumes. It is not marked by carved pumpkins and children garnering as much candy as can fill their bags.

Rather, it is a holy holiday, one that marks the celebration of those who have passed away, death being part of life. Further, it is an honoring of those who once were part of their lives, a day of remembrance. It is a day infused with a feeling of spirit. Yes, there are parades, such as the large on in Mitla with all kinds of flamboyant costumes, and major decorations in the large cemeteries, but the most important acknowledgment of this holy holiday takes place at the individual altars in each home.

For the Zapotec people, the altar is the focal point in their home. All during the year, it is adorned with photos, some of Mary and Jesus, with candles, with vases of flowers and with other objects that have special meaning. But on these two days, November 1st and 2nd, the altars become more specific and elaborate. Now, particular flowers, including the deep red foxglove and the bright orange and yellow marigolds, symbolize this holiday. More photos are added of their loved ones who have passed on. There are plates of the special egg based bread that are in abundance in every market and more candles. Plates of nuts and fruit and specially prepared candies are there too, as well as a bottle of mescal, the traditional drink used to commemorate all special events

In the evening, most of the village walks to the cemetery at the church, as they have been doing for centuries. They carry flowers and candles, food and drink, and kneel at the graves of their loved ones, as well as visiting the graves of their departed friends. It is a sharing with the difunctos, as they are known in Spanish, this day when they feel those spirits have returned to be with them once again. The first day of Los Dias de los Muertos is dedicated to the memories of the children. It is the day when they return to their families one more time. The second day is for all the others, which ends with the pilgrimage to the cemetery.

Alta Gracia (Line of the Spirit dyemaker) at her Altar ©John Lamkin

Alta Gracia (Line of the Spirit™ dyemaker) at her Altar ©John Lamkin

In my almost 40 years of living and working with the weavers and other  Zapotec people of a small village outside of Oaxaca, I have always been reminded of whatever they do, whether it is celebrating a special holiday or simply being involved in an exchange of business, everything is infused with the spirit. Every home, rich or poor, has as the focal point of their home, a carefully tended altar. The weavings that may be piled up on the benches along the wall are also infused with this same sense of spirit. There is no separation. It is something that I think is worth remembering when we are involved in our own business transactions, that they are not apart from, but part of our everyday lives…..

Susanna Starr  October, 2010

Cemetery - Day of the Dead ©John Lamkin

Cemetery - Day of the Dead ©John Lamkin

Children's Altar - Day of the Dead ©John Lamkin

Children's Altar - Day of the Dead ©John Lamkin

Day of the Dead Celebration - Oaxaca, Mexico - ©John Lamkin

Day of the Dead Celebration - Oaxaca, Mexico - ©John Lamkin


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Events at Starr Interiors – Book Signing & Weaving Demonstration

Posted by susanna on October 4, 2010
Father Bill & Mirabai Starr signing "Mother of God; Similar to Fire" at Starr Interiors, Taos, New Mexico

Father Bill & Mirabai Starr signing "Mother of God; Similar to Fire" at Starr Interiors

People were lined up from one end to the other of the Starr Gallery room at Starr Interiors, Taos on Friday night (Sept. 24th) as Mirabai Starr and Father William McNichols (Father Bill) signed their newly released book Mother of God; Similar to Fire*.

This exquisite book, a collaboration between both author and artist, presents a selection of the icons of Father Bill’s with Mirabai’s accompanying reflections. The book is dedicated to the Feminine represented by Mary, Mother of God since she transcends any religious boundaries, but represents the Mother as she appears to all people in all cultures.

It was a beautiful and joyous occasion at Starr Interiors with both old friends and new, members of the community and visitors, milling around the courtyard, sampling the delicious, beautifully-presented food prepared by the School of Culinary Arts of the University of New Mexico at Taos.

While the folks who had purchased their copies of the book waited in line to have their books signed, Mirabai read from the reflections and Father Bill spoke of the message of Mary as the Universal Mother and noted singer/songwriter Jenny Bird sang her beautiful and stirring rendition of Ave Maria. What a lot of love and affection poured through the gallery!

Florentino at loom in Starr Interior's courtyard

Florentino at loom in Starr Interior's courtyard

The next weekend event (October 2nd and 3rd) was just as successful – the annual visit by master weaver Florentino Gutierrez and his associate Hugo Gonzales. While they did weaving demonstrations on the traditional Zapotec loom in Starr Interior’s courtyard, Florentino’s wife, Eloisa, prepared and served delicious Oaxacan hot chocolate. This event coincided with the annual Taos Wool Festival.

*Mother of God; Similar to Fire is available from Starr Interiors of through Mirabai’s website.

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Book Signing for “Mother of God, Similar to Fire” at Starr Interiors – Taos, New Mexico

Posted by John on August 29, 2010
Mother of God:

Mother of God, Similar to Fire by Fr. William Hart McNichols & Mirabai Starr

On Friday, September 24th 2010 from 5:30-7:30 PM, there will be a book signing of Mother of God, Similar to Fire. This is a stunning collaboration of artistic expression of Icons by Father William Hart McNichols with Reflections by Mirabai Starr. The book signing and celebration will be held at Starr Interiors* at 117-119 Paseo del Pueblo Norte (2 doors south of the Taos Inn). Continue reading →

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A Taste of Oaxaca in Taos, New Mexico: Master Zapotec Weaver, Florentino Gutierrez Gives Weaving Demonstration

Posted by John on August 24, 2010
Florentino Gutierrez Master Zapotec Indian Weaver

Florentino Gutierrez Master Zapotec Indian Weaver ©John Lamkin

Florentino Gutierrez, noted weaver of Zapotec handmade rugs, will be giving a weaving demonstration showing the traditional way of the centuries old Zapotec Indian weaving technique Saturday and Sunday, October 2nd and 3rd, 2010. Starr Interiors will be hosting this special event in their courtyard at 117-119 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, New Mexico two doors south of the historic Taos Inn.
 Continue reading →

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