Fixedgearhead

My wife and I visited the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe, today. The place is overwhelming and is full of so many wonderful examples of Folk Art from around the world. Well, We stopped into the gift shop for a look see, and the first thing my wife saw was a Retablo called "The Bag Makers Shop", by Internationally known Peruvian Retablo maker Claudio Jimenez. What, you may ask, is a Retablo? These are still life scenes displayed in a small box, which often has doors on it, and usually are of a religious nature. The thing about this particular artist, is that he does those type of scenes, but also does scenes of Peruvian village life and village trades and business types. So she called me over and said what did I think of it. It was absolutely stunning. I of course liked it immediately, as I have been doing more bags than large quilts, and was smitten by the image within the enclosed Retablo. We asked the price, and gulped, and then moved on to other things in the shop. My wife kept going back to the piece and then would look over at me and say what do you think. I said, it's lovely, but it is rather expensive. She would sigh, and say yes it is but it is so you. We wandered around the shop for a bit longer and she came up and said ' I am going to buy it for you and I don't want to hear any more about it. So without any further a due. I hereby present my latest sewing room addition. "The Bag Makers Shop", By Peruvian Retablo Artist, Claudio Jimenez.