DEPARTMENTS

Market Makers

By Emily Van Cleve


Range West

Range on the home

Joshua Gannon’s granite fountains quietly emerge out of the landscape, but their journey from field to garden is anything but serene. Gannon of Range West peruses Santa Fe River arroyos and his special source for rocks in Cerrillos, New Mexico, with a pickup truck and hand tools. Granite boulders weighing up to 1,500 pounds are pried out of the earth, rolled down hillsides, and pushed or pulled onto his truck bed.
“Each stone is one-of-a-kind and yet predictable to work with,” Gannon explains. “I love local granite because it generates a sense of timelessness. I feel as if I am unlocking the past when I work with it.”

Since Gannon prefers to stay true to a rock’s raw appearance, he usually polishes the top of a fountain and allows the sides to show their natural beauty. When it comes time for installation, he takes care of that part of the process himself so that the homeowner is completely satisfied with the work from start to finish.

Although Gannon works solo in the studio, his wife, Vanessa, assists in designing. One of the couple’s latest projects is making granite sinks. The sink’s interior is highly polished, but the outer surface is left untouched. Each sink weighs about 80 pounds.
“If asked and if the rock is available, I will go to a homeowner’s property and pull stone for a sink,” Gannon says. “Many clients love the idea that the sink is from their own land or from a place close by in Santa Fe County. It adds a very personal touch to the home.”
Gannon is venturing into the world of artful furniture by combining wood with granite. Dining room and coffee tables, often made out of black walnut, are supported by granite legs. He takes the same approach with wood as he does with rock by leaving some of the natural marks inherent in the wood in the finished piece.

Range West, Joshua and Vanessa Gannon, Madrid, N.M., 505/474-0925, www.rangewest.com


Marcia Newren

Glass Act

Marcia Newren’s former career as an archaeologist fueled this artist’s passion for the vessel form. Rather than unearth buried treasures, Newren now prefers to design and build her own art objects through the labor-intensive fused glass process that involves cutting, firing, polishing, finishing, and assembling individual pieces of glass. “Glass is completely seductive,” Newren explains. “It’s gorgeous, luminous material, and I’m totally hooked on it.”

Newren first ventured into the exciting world of glass in the late 1980s while she and her husband were building a home in Corrales, a village near Albuquerque. The couple decided to install stained glass above the front door. Newren wouldn’t think of buying the glass. Instead, she signed up for a stained glass class with the goal of making a piece herself. “I was brought up believing that anything is better if you make it yourself,” she asserts.
Newren’s enjoyable experience with stained glass inspired her to work as studio assistant to an Albuquerque area glass sculptor for eight years where she learned “a million techniques in fused glass.” In 1996 and 1998 she attended the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, and in 1999 she studied at the studio of the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York.

“I collect as many techniques as possible, so I’m better able to create any design I want to in glass,” she says. “My work has changed through the years. Right now I’m working in black glass fused with luminous colors.”
The captivating plates, jars, and vessels created by Newren are totally functional as well as food- and dishwasher-safe. Sculptural pieces are simple yet elegant. Many designs are inspired by the natural world, Newren’s experiences as an archaeologist, and her fascination with Oriental art.
“Working with glass offers endless possibilities,” she says. “I’m exploring glass on my own time and in my own ways.”

Marcia Newren, Corrales, N.M., 505/898-1231, mtnewren@nmia.com. Studio visit by appointment.

To subscribe to Su Casa order it online here or by phone at 505-344-1783 or toll-free 866-256-4925.


Jon Suttman

That's all folks

Cartoons meet furniture in John Suttman’s superbly crafted cabinets and tables. With lighthearted names like Madhatter and Adzhead, the pieces are as fun to talk about as they are to look at. When clients view them up close, they think they’re standing in front of wood, but underneath the patina beats a heart of pure steel.
“I use steel because I can do things with steel that I can’t with other mediums,” Suttman explains. “I’m still exploring the medium of steel, although I do augment pieces with plastic, stone, wood, and other materials. Cabinet drawers are made out of wood.”
Design inspiration comes from many places. He is drawn to classical and traditional furniture and architecture. “I’m doing fewer straightforward pieces of furniture and a lot of curved cabinets these days,” Suttman says. “It seems that the wackier I make them, the more they sell.”.

John Suttman, Albuquerque, 505/831-4094 (studio) or 505/453-8271 (cell). Studio visits by appointment.

Lonnie Vigil

Guiding spirit of clay

Preserving an art form perfected by his Nambé Pueblo family over generations, Lonnie Vigil has dedicated his life to clay. “We are all born with special gifts,” he says softly. “I am pursuing my gift. I’m thankful for it and feel blessed with it.” He feels the spirit of the clay guides his work. After leaving a Bureau of Indian Affairs job in 1982, Vigil moved back to Nambé Pueblo and learned how to gather clay at sacred and blessed sites, shape it, and fire pieces in traditional pits. His micaceous pottery has won awards at Santa Fe Indian Market since 1990, including Best of Show in 2001. His decorative and functional vases, pots, and bowls are exhibited worldwide, including at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Smithsonian, and the Horniman Museum in London.
Lonnie Vigil, Nambé Pueblo, N.M., 505/455-2871. Studio visit by appointment.


Michelle Watts

Quilts for any décor

Michelle Watts sees herself as a small fish in a big sea of quilters with a passion for Southwestern quilts. Most of these patterns were inspired by Native American arts and crafts, rugs in particular. Watts takes the geometric patterns and softens them to give her quilts wider appeal and to complement varied interior décors. Many quilts are customized for her clients.

Watts’ quilts are 100% cotton embellished with buttons, beads, or hand embroidery. “Even though quilting takes a while, it takes less time to make a quilt than a rug,” Watts says, which makes them more economical. One of her favorite pieces is the Las Cruces Quilt, its 12 crosses inspired by Native American bead work, Southwestern wrought iron work, and Spanish tin work.

Watts also enjoys making wearable art. Rebecca’s Dance, a complete Native American–inspired dance costume, was selected for exhibition in the 2000 Fairfield Fashion Show and debuted on a Houston runway in the International Quilt Market and Quilt Festival. In September the ARTWEAR 2002 Fashion Show exhibited 11 of Watts’ wearable art originals in a Fort Collins, Colo., show. On another front, she recently signed a contract with the American Quilter’s Society to write an instructional quilting book, with publication set for fall 2003.
J. Michelle Watts, Roswell, New Mexico, 505/622-1826, www.swdecoratives.com

Copyright 2003 Hacienda Press