Art Tour of the Ranch

A must do at the Ranch is the Art Tour with Jennifer Brandt.  Jennifer, in case you don’t know, teaches our jewelry making, painting and drawing classes here at the Ranch.  She also has a background in acting and theater, so not only is she very knowledgeable about art, but she extremely engaging and entertaining!  Her stories about the history of the art at the Ranch are really fun to listen to (my favorite is the history of Day of the Dead) and I learned (noticed for that matter) things about the Ranch that I hadn’t known before.  For instance, there’s three beautiful works of art that you need to keep an eye out for next time you come to the Ranch because chances are, you may have missed them.  The mother and child sculpture in the main Administration building where you check in, the native american sculpture on the walk from check in to the dining hall and wood sculpture in the serving area of the dining hall.  It’s amazing, after Jennifer pointed out, how many times I have walked past these works of art and not even noticed them because my mind is focused on checking in, getting somewhere and eating.  Sad actually.  Lesson learned.  No sense in rushing around at the Ranch, take the time to notice these beautiful details.

Art from top: Yarn painting by Tim Hinchcliff (Dining Hall), Under the Sea themed Tree of Life (Dining Hall), prayer arrows (Dining Hall), Day of the Dead Tree of Life (Dining Hall), sculpture of woman by Victor Hugo Castaneda (walk from Admin Building to Dining Hall), Jennifer talking about the history of the sculptures at the Ranch, close up of the woman sculpture, “High Mountain Wind” by Bruce La Fountain (walk from Admin Building to Dining Hall), “Maternidad (Maternity)” by Francisco Zuñiga (Admin building), Tree of Life (Admin Building)