A Little Zia in My Life

Some of you may have figured out that I am a little attached to my New Mexican roots. I suppose that's normal for anyone in regards to where they grew up. Growing up, I did my fair share of whining about the general lack of things to do on Friday nights, lack of coffeehouses to hop around to (there are some fine choices around the state, I know...teenagers will whine about anything), or lack of concerts landing in the general area (I have seen Mary Chapin Carpenter play 5 times...once in Santa Fe, twice in California, once in Denver, and once in Atlanta...I have been forced to travel for my Chapin fix). But really...if that's all the bad I have to share, life in the Land of Mañana is pretty sweet, right? Before my friend Steph left for the Peace Corps in 2003, we made a pact that when she returned, we'd get tattoos together. I kind of picked out something in my head but wasn't exactly sure it would ever happen, because I am kind of a chicken and two years is a long time. Sure enough, when Steph got back from Malawi (SE Africa...she's hardcore), and after we took a month-long road trip to Seattle and back...we made an appointment to get tattoos and I got a little nervous. I knew I would be moving to Austin shortly, and I wanted a piece of New Mexico to go along with me. I have always loved the Zia sun design, an ancient Native American symbol that lives on the state flag. While the normal symbol has 4 rays on each side of the sun, I opted for three. I like threes, and each group of 3 rays means something to me. Ask me sometime and I'll mess up my explanation. Fast forward to this past weekend, and when acquired my newest piece of Zia art. Kyle Gross is an awesome artist and jewelry designer who shows his work at the Downtown Artist's Market every Saturday...where I play for a couple of hours each week. I have gotten to know many of the artists there and respect their work even more after getting to know them and a little about their craft. A couple of weeks ago I asked Kyle if he could replicate my tattoo design in one of his copper pendants. Of course he could. I now proudly sport a little bit of home around my neck, and I think it's very cool that no one else has one like it and a friend of mine made it. I highly suggest checking out the Downtown Artist's Market at Mother Egan's on 6th Street, or any market around your area (this blog is global, yo)...and take a moment to chat with the artists! (Mean people don't make pretty things, so it's not a scary proposition, I promise.) Also, check out the Stone's Throw Studio website for a sampling of Kyle's work. But you can't have a Zia. Ok maybe you can. Technorati Tags: newmexico, zia, sun, jewelry, austin