The Thread


A collection of solar plate etchings by Santa Fe artist Laurie Archer

May 5–June 25

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 5, 5–7pm

Artist Lecture:  Thursday, May 5, 7pm FREE

Closing Reception:  Thursday, June 23, 5–7pm

About the Artist

Laurie Archer earned a BFA in Fine Arts from Colorado College.  She is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship for Dance & Art in Peru, and the John Hay Whitney Fellowship to pursue studies in theater, acting and dance in New York City.  Archer was in the original cast of Camelot on Broadway that debut in 1960. As a visual artist, she has shown at the Palace of the Governors (Santa Fe, NM), Stables Art Gallery (Taos, NM), the Gran Palais (Paris, FR), the El Paso Fine Arts Museum (El Paso, TX), and the Taller Boricua Gallery (New York, NY) among other venues.

The natural world is where I feel most at home. This series of etchings reflect three different aspects of that interest.  Roads—where I collect detritus on my walks; Wood—where the beetles have tunneled their calligraphy under the bark: and lastly, Water—where time has been spent observing and fishing. The title, THE THREAD, comes from a poem by William Stafford called “The Way It Is.”  Each of the artworks is hand stitched with threads echoing the intent of the poem, visually tying the works together. — Laurie Archer

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

By William Stafford, 1998

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