Show your love for Northern New Mexico...
Hello and welcome to O'Keeffe Country! We run a successful website and blog that celebrate the best of what Northern New Mexico has to offer for locals, tourists, and world travelers. We write, film, photograph, and illustrate our amazing and communities, environment, heritage, culture, cuisine, adventure, art, and shopping. We've been doing this for three years, on our own, because we LOVE it! In order for us to stay independent and local, we want to keep corporate advertising and endorsements off of our site and out of our blog, and we don't want to charge subscriptions! It's difficult for any business to turn down "sales," but it's especially crucial that one like ours does, so that we can remain small, authentic, collaborative, passionate, artistic, charitable, and FREE for everyone to explore and enjoy.
If you love Northern New Mexico and care about the quality of life you enjoy here (whether as a local or tourist), please support our efforts and together we can keep our stories true and authentic!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
If you love Northern New Mexico and care about the quality of life you enjoy here (whether as a local or tourist), please support our efforts and together we can keep our stories true and authentic!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
Heartfelt High Five - O'Keeffe Country Donation
If you can forgo your daily cup of coffee and donate the $5 to us, we sincerely THANK YOU! Every dollar makes a difference.
Enchanted Admirer - O'Keeffe Country Donation
You will be listed and thanked on a webpage on www.okeeffecountry.com as an "Enchanted Admirer." Thank you for your support and your love of Northern New Mexico!
O'Keeffe Country Membership
For a one year membership, you will receive special stories, notices, offers, and discounts (from businesses in Northern New Mexico) throughout the year that are unique and exclusive just for you! You will also be entered into FREE giveaways every month. You can also give a membership too!
Charges will show up on your statement from KLiK here media, our LLC.
Do you need more information to make a decision? Then keep reading... and thank you again!
Put your hand up if you:
· Have been to Northern New Mexico and love it
· Have heard of its wild beauty and vast, unspoiled landscapes
· Enjoy the arts of ancient and contemporary cultures
· Care about preserving and strengthening what is authentic and creative in an age of mass production
· Have any part of your income derived from tourism
If your hand is up, keep reading, in fact, we hope you gather a couple of your friends to read along with you.
O'Keeffe Country is a special place, a unique brand, a collaborative effort, and a promotional campaign all rolled into one. Through original content on our website, blog, and social media channels, we highlight a land that remains remote and unspoiled and promote its exceptional cultural assets and small businesses -- helping them engage visitors, employ local residents, grow without losing their character, and boost our regional economy.
We are seeking your support because we simply don't want to sell typical advertising (we don't want you to be bombarded with it either!), and we don't want our contributors to be held hostage to paid endorsements.
Why O'Keeffe Country?
From Georgia O’Keeffe’s (American Artist, 1887-1986) first prolonged stay in New Mexico, in 1929, she instantly felt an affinity with the unique character of the area, its landscape, and its architecture, all of which inspired her lifestyle and art. Starting in 1949, she lived in Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch for the rest of her life. Her ability to capture the essence of the natural beauty of the Northern New Mexico desert in her paintings - its vast skies, richly colored landscape configurations, and unusual architectural forms - allowed viewers to identify the region as “O’Keeffe Country.”
We too are just as inspired by this land as Georgia O'Keeffe: from Santa Fe to Abiquiu to Taos and beyond, throughout all of Northern New Mexico. Think piñon pines and juniper, sagebrush and chamisa, mountains and mesas, Sangre de Cristos and Rio Grande. We also know that she and her brand - including her art and her life - are an international draw.
We actively and daily promote the region to travelers and tourists using the nationally recognized and iconic reputation of Georgia O'Keeffe in Northern New Mexico, showcasing our unique environment to create a strong, stable economy for generations today and tomorrow.
If you love Northern New Mexico and care about the quality of life you enjoy here (whether as a local or tourist), please support our efforts and together we can make a difference!
This initiative is important because tourism is crucial to New Mexico. Our success directly translates to the economic well-being of our state and we take this responsibility seriously. The more visitors we can attract, the more money they spend.. and that money stays here to improve and preserve our amazing culture that draws people from all over the world.
In addition, we sponsor several non-profit organizations each year by providing our services and consultation for free. For 2012-2014, we chose Ghost Ranch, Espanola Valley Animal Shelter, Girls Inc. (Santa Fe), Rancho de Las Golondrinas, and Bandelier National Monument. We are open to hearing your ideas about our pro bono work. With your support, we can help even more!
Why do we need your help?
We are building a nationally recognized brand to increase visitorship to Northern New Mexico, thereby providing a better economy with which to sustain our cultural heritage, preserve our environment, and improve our quality of life (resources, education, infrastructure). We have had great success in our initial 3 years - on a shoe string budget without ads and subscriptions - and now have much bigger goals and initiatives. In order to stay independent and uncompromised in our efforts, to hire and keep quality talent, and to keep big corporate paid advertising and referrals off our website... we need to rally some resources.
We have an original goal to partially fund several of the creative and dedicated people who contribute their talents to our endeavor (until now for free!)... writers, coders, illustrators, photographers, videographers, and artists.
But as all efforts begin humbly, we are really hoping to raise so much more. Your donation guarantees the future of O'Keeffe Country's ability to become a financially viable and sustainable organization.
Specifically we will:
· Strategically hire key staff full-time.
· Register as a non-profit in order to better serve and donate to our community.
· Design and print an O'Keeffe Country map.
· Design and publish 4 new issues of the O'Keeffe Country Magazine (digital editions).
· Create an O'Keeffe Country app for travelers in the area and on the go!
· Provide key marketing services for more non-profits throughout the region.
Where do you come in?
We are so lucky to do what we love - even as a passion in our spare time. We get to talk about Northern New Mexico every day to people who love it here as much as we do. How great is that! And we're good at it too. On average, we receive 36,000 to 42,000 visitors to our website per month. That is very impressive and ranks O'Keeffe Country on par with both the City of Albuquerque and the City of Santa Fe respectively. Except we do it without full-time sales people and we don't have a paid staff! Imagine what kind of success we could achieve with your donation!
What will you get?
Good karma for one. Second, all of our perks involve exposure for you, your employer, your local small business or your favorite charity in varying degrees of promotion through all of our multi-media efforts. Please see the donation buttons for more details. And everyone who contributes will be entered for a final drawing for something great and uniquely New Mexican... maybe artwork, chile, a weekend hotel stay, guided tour, museum membership... you have to donate to find out. YEA!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
Or do you need more information to make a decision? Then keep reading... and thank you again!
What is O'Keeffe Country?
Welcome to O'Keeffe Country! We are a multi-media brand that promotes Northern New Mexico and all the wonders it has to offer. We use the popularity (and recognition) of Georgia O'Keeffe's name and celebrity as the initial way in which to attract travelers' attention. Their affinity for her, her art, life, and land will be the reason for their trip. However, we all know that once they get here, we are so much more than just O'Keeffe. So within the greater message/brand of O'Keeffe Country, we have become a trusted source of information for what visitors must see and do when they are here. We are their go-to resource in deciding where they spend their time and money.
Who is the O'Keeffe Country team?
Members of the O'Keeffe Country team live in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos, and we LOVE Northern New Mexico. Our team has over 100 years combined niche experience in marketing and business development, and promoting tourist destinations and cultural attractions. We are professional writers, web developers, photographers, videographers, graphic artists, and media experts. Up until now, we have kept O'Keeffe Country going with spare time and volunteer efforts. With your support, we can work full-time to elevate the region's prominence for travelers, bring more tourists to Northern New Mexico, and preserve our unique quality of life for locals and visitors alike.
Where is O'Keeffe Country?
O'Keeffe Country is most commonly known as the region in Northern New Mexico that encompasses Santa Fe, north to Abiquiu, through Ghost Ranch and up to Taos. Georgia O'Keeffe (American artist) held residence in all of these places at one time during her life, documenting most in her unmistakable, artistic style through drawings, pastels, paintings and photographs.
She is arguably the most famous person to fall in love with this terrain, but she isn't the only one to claim this place as home. We think everyone who visits has dreams of some type of spiritual ownership. This is simply the magic of the land. There are so many amazing people, places, and things to discover in Northern New Mexico. O'Keeffe Country is your guide to a few of our favorites.
"Well! Well! Well!...This is wonderful. No one told me it was like this!"
~Georgia O'Keeffe upon arriving in New Mexico
Who should contribute to our mission?
1. Are you a person who lives in Northern New Mexico and relies on tourism for any part of your income?
2. Are you a local or visitor who loves Northern New Mexico and you want to help preserve it?
3. Are you a small business in Northern New Mexico that relies on travelers and tourists for your income?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, O'Keeffe Country is the perfect cause for you to champion!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
Or do you need more information to make a decision? Then keep reading... and thank you again!
How do we promote the O'Keeffe Country brand?
We are content marketing driven and write/create everything on our site, including stories, photos, and graphics. We are original, creative, and engaging. We are a place that people can go to get personal and trusted referrals for planning their trip - what to do, where to stay, what to buy, where to eat, where to go, what to see, etc.
We are hyper-targeted on an audience that not only loves Northern New Mexico, but has and will travel here to experience the things we recommend. AND they talk to their friends! We know this because our site receives between 36,000 - 42,000 visitors a month. We are live, current, and promote every day. This is important... we have an active site with new information and resources added daily. We attract, connect, and correspond with interested travelers daily! With your support, we can provide even more time, talent, and man power!
We are focused on the multiple media channels that our audience uses and prefers. We understand our audience, we know how to keep them active, AND we can reach them directly. Our site is clear, informative, and friendly. All of our media channels are connected, easy to find, easy to share, and mobile.
We direct all of our media efforts and tools to drive visitors through O'Keeffe Country portals to the websites of the people/locations/businesses we feature, and to those actual, physical places. We will be working full-time on your behalf to elevate not only the region's prominence for travelers, but your place on their itinerary.
We promote the collaborative actively using the following searchable, permanent digital channels:
website: www.okeeffecountry.com
twitter: @okeeffecountry
facebook: facebook.com/okeeffecountry
pinterest: pinterest.com/okeeffecountry
blogs: okeeffecountry.wordpress.com and
okeeffecountry.com/okeeffe-country-blog
eblasts from: okeeffecountry@gmail.com
BONUS: We also run www.farolitowalk.com - and get an average of 50 unique visitors a day on this site. If you have any winter holiday specials coming up in December, please let us know now.
ANOTHER BONUS: We manage the twitter account for @newmexicotrue which complements the State's own $6 million advertising campaign.
We are transparent about our numbers and routinely post analytics about tracking to our site (hits, visitor usage, location, most visited pages). We provide numbers of fans and follows from Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. We also provide additional information on all of our promotional activities.
What is the meaning behind our logo and messages?
O’Keeffe Country’s logo is the zia (the state flag and an ancient Native American symbol of the Circle of Life: the four directions, the four times of day, the four stages of life, and the four seasons, bound together by an inner circle) with a heart in the center. Our mission is "Travel with all six senses.” We feel this captures the spirit and uniqueness of New Mexico, draws people back to O’Keeffe Country, and reinforces/familiarizes them with our themes of Breathe, Taste, Hear, Touch, See, and Feel.
Vivid imagery, featuring our iconic landscapes and events in the region, will be used and overlaid with emotional vocabulary...
• Eyes Wider.
• Heart Happier.
• Spirit Lifted.
• Breathe Easier.
• Body Better.
• Spirit Healed.
• Mind Opened.
• Wish Granted.
• World Brighter.
We are perfectly poised to tie O'Keeffe Country and our efforts to the emotional need/fulfillment of travelers to Northern New Mexico. We are more than just hotels, restaurants, and art galleries. We are more than the sum of our parts. This area is absolutely unique for its culture, environment, and true ability to feed the soul. We will capture this essence in all of our promotional efforts.
Other ways you can help?
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE O'KEEFFE COUNTRY TEAM... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Georgia O'Keeffe loved Northern New Mexico. This is an undisputed fact. She adored it so deeply that she couldn’t help but show her appreciation in every aspect of her life… from painting to cooking to architecture. She changed entire sections of her homes in Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch, just to have the best views out of her windows. And then, took her own paintings off the walls in those rooms because they simply couldn’t compete. She thought her own work was a distraction from what the land itself could offer as true art.
It isn’t enough to read about Northern New Mexico. Not even through the gifted writing and adjectives of Miss O’Keeffe herself. You have to see it, breathe it, walk it… with your own eyes, soul and step. We can learn from her adventures here and we can certainly revel in her memories, put so elegantly on canvas for all to witness. But even she would want us to make our own experience and live our own life.
As she told her friend Maria Chabot… “You are much better off starting something of your own.” (from a letter postmarked New York, April 10, 1945)
“It seems to me that you are very fortunate – that you should be able to go on with the kind of life you think you like… it all seems pretty fine.” (from a letter postmarked New York, Around October 17, 1944)
We believe this is a lesson and we should all take this advice to heart. When you want to live like Georgia O’Keeffe, what that means is living your own way, as authentically as possible, to who you are at your core. Not who she was, not who anyone else was. For many of us, ourselves included, this is extremely difficult to do. We like to pretend to self-analyze, but more often than not, we don’t like what we find. And we usually don’t have the courage to change. To forge the path that only we can forge. To walk the road that we need to walk. Not the one society tells us is the one we should or want to travel. Georgia O’Keeffe didn’t walk someone else’s predetermined path. She moved heaven and earth, literally, to make her own road.
It wasn’t the fame or money that brought her here to New Mexico. Certainly those afforded her the luxury of two homes and a dozen or so staff members. But we believe she would have come here regardless. And her personal reward was a life, that she created, and lived to the fullest, for no one else but herself. A life with purpose. A life truly unique. A life of authentic memories. It was made for her, just like it was made for us.
So as O'Keeffe said, "Take time to look." And as she meant, take time to live. "It all seems pretty fine."
Please donate today. Even if you can't contribute, you probably know someone who can. We would love for you to share our story with your friends, family, and fellow travelers. Welcome to O'Keeffe Country, we hope to see you in Northern New Mexico soon!
XOXO,
O'Keeffe Country
Put your hand up if you:
· Have been to Northern New Mexico and love it
· Have heard of its wild beauty and vast, unspoiled landscapes
· Enjoy the arts of ancient and contemporary cultures
· Care about preserving and strengthening what is authentic and creative in an age of mass production
· Have any part of your income derived from tourism
If your hand is up, keep reading, in fact, we hope you gather a couple of your friends to read along with you.
O'Keeffe Country is a special place, a unique brand, a collaborative effort, and a promotional campaign all rolled into one. Through original content on our website, blog, and social media channels, we highlight a land that remains remote and unspoiled and promote its exceptional cultural assets and small businesses -- helping them engage visitors, employ local residents, grow without losing their character, and boost our regional economy.
We are seeking your support because we simply don't want to sell typical advertising (we don't want you to be bombarded with it either!), and we don't want our contributors to be held hostage to paid endorsements.
Why O'Keeffe Country?
From Georgia O’Keeffe’s (American Artist, 1887-1986) first prolonged stay in New Mexico, in 1929, she instantly felt an affinity with the unique character of the area, its landscape, and its architecture, all of which inspired her lifestyle and art. Starting in 1949, she lived in Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch for the rest of her life. Her ability to capture the essence of the natural beauty of the Northern New Mexico desert in her paintings - its vast skies, richly colored landscape configurations, and unusual architectural forms - allowed viewers to identify the region as “O’Keeffe Country.”
We too are just as inspired by this land as Georgia O'Keeffe: from Santa Fe to Abiquiu to Taos and beyond, throughout all of Northern New Mexico. Think piñon pines and juniper, sagebrush and chamisa, mountains and mesas, Sangre de Cristos and Rio Grande. We also know that she and her brand - including her art and her life - are an international draw.
We actively and daily promote the region to travelers and tourists using the nationally recognized and iconic reputation of Georgia O'Keeffe in Northern New Mexico, showcasing our unique environment to create a strong, stable economy for generations today and tomorrow.
If you love Northern New Mexico and care about the quality of life you enjoy here (whether as a local or tourist), please support our efforts and together we can make a difference!
This initiative is important because tourism is crucial to New Mexico. Our success directly translates to the economic well-being of our state and we take this responsibility seriously. The more visitors we can attract, the more money they spend.. and that money stays here to improve and preserve our amazing culture that draws people from all over the world.
In addition, we sponsor several non-profit organizations each year by providing our services and consultation for free. For 2012-2014, we chose Ghost Ranch, Espanola Valley Animal Shelter, Girls Inc. (Santa Fe), Rancho de Las Golondrinas, and Bandelier National Monument. We are open to hearing your ideas about our pro bono work. With your support, we can help even more!
Why do we need your help?
We are building a nationally recognized brand to increase visitorship to Northern New Mexico, thereby providing a better economy with which to sustain our cultural heritage, preserve our environment, and improve our quality of life (resources, education, infrastructure). We have had great success in our initial 3 years - on a shoe string budget without ads and subscriptions - and now have much bigger goals and initiatives. In order to stay independent and uncompromised in our efforts, to hire and keep quality talent, and to keep big corporate paid advertising and referrals off our website... we need to rally some resources.
We have an original goal to partially fund several of the creative and dedicated people who contribute their talents to our endeavor (until now for free!)... writers, coders, illustrators, photographers, videographers, and artists.
But as all efforts begin humbly, we are really hoping to raise so much more. Your donation guarantees the future of O'Keeffe Country's ability to become a financially viable and sustainable organization.
Specifically we will:
· Strategically hire key staff full-time.
· Register as a non-profit in order to better serve and donate to our community.
· Design and print an O'Keeffe Country map.
· Design and publish 4 new issues of the O'Keeffe Country Magazine (digital editions).
· Create an O'Keeffe Country app for travelers in the area and on the go!
· Provide key marketing services for more non-profits throughout the region.
Where do you come in?
We are so lucky to do what we love - even as a passion in our spare time. We get to talk about Northern New Mexico every day to people who love it here as much as we do. How great is that! And we're good at it too. On average, we receive 36,000 to 42,000 visitors to our website per month. That is very impressive and ranks O'Keeffe Country on par with both the City of Albuquerque and the City of Santa Fe respectively. Except we do it without full-time sales people and we don't have a paid staff! Imagine what kind of success we could achieve with your donation!
What will you get?
Good karma for one. Second, all of our perks involve exposure for you, your employer, your local small business or your favorite charity in varying degrees of promotion through all of our multi-media efforts. Please see the donation buttons for more details. And everyone who contributes will be entered for a final drawing for something great and uniquely New Mexican... maybe artwork, chile, a weekend hotel stay, guided tour, museum membership... you have to donate to find out. YEA!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
Or do you need more information to make a decision? Then keep reading... and thank you again!
What is O'Keeffe Country?
Welcome to O'Keeffe Country! We are a multi-media brand that promotes Northern New Mexico and all the wonders it has to offer. We use the popularity (and recognition) of Georgia O'Keeffe's name and celebrity as the initial way in which to attract travelers' attention. Their affinity for her, her art, life, and land will be the reason for their trip. However, we all know that once they get here, we are so much more than just O'Keeffe. So within the greater message/brand of O'Keeffe Country, we have become a trusted source of information for what visitors must see and do when they are here. We are their go-to resource in deciding where they spend their time and money.
Who is the O'Keeffe Country team?
Members of the O'Keeffe Country team live in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos, and we LOVE Northern New Mexico. Our team has over 100 years combined niche experience in marketing and business development, and promoting tourist destinations and cultural attractions. We are professional writers, web developers, photographers, videographers, graphic artists, and media experts. Up until now, we have kept O'Keeffe Country going with spare time and volunteer efforts. With your support, we can work full-time to elevate the region's prominence for travelers, bring more tourists to Northern New Mexico, and preserve our unique quality of life for locals and visitors alike.
Where is O'Keeffe Country?
O'Keeffe Country is most commonly known as the region in Northern New Mexico that encompasses Santa Fe, north to Abiquiu, through Ghost Ranch and up to Taos. Georgia O'Keeffe (American artist) held residence in all of these places at one time during her life, documenting most in her unmistakable, artistic style through drawings, pastels, paintings and photographs.
She is arguably the most famous person to fall in love with this terrain, but she isn't the only one to claim this place as home. We think everyone who visits has dreams of some type of spiritual ownership. This is simply the magic of the land. There are so many amazing people, places, and things to discover in Northern New Mexico. O'Keeffe Country is your guide to a few of our favorites.
"Well! Well! Well!...This is wonderful. No one told me it was like this!"
~Georgia O'Keeffe upon arriving in New Mexico
Who should contribute to our mission?
1. Are you a person who lives in Northern New Mexico and relies on tourism for any part of your income?
2. Are you a local or visitor who loves Northern New Mexico and you want to help preserve it?
3. Are you a small business in Northern New Mexico that relies on travelers and tourists for your income?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, O'Keeffe Country is the perfect cause for you to champion!
ARE YOU READY TO DONATE... THANK YOU!
Or do you need more information to make a decision? Then keep reading... and thank you again!
How do we promote the O'Keeffe Country brand?
We are content marketing driven and write/create everything on our site, including stories, photos, and graphics. We are original, creative, and engaging. We are a place that people can go to get personal and trusted referrals for planning their trip - what to do, where to stay, what to buy, where to eat, where to go, what to see, etc.
We are hyper-targeted on an audience that not only loves Northern New Mexico, but has and will travel here to experience the things we recommend. AND they talk to their friends! We know this because our site receives between 36,000 - 42,000 visitors a month. We are live, current, and promote every day. This is important... we have an active site with new information and resources added daily. We attract, connect, and correspond with interested travelers daily! With your support, we can provide even more time, talent, and man power!
We are focused on the multiple media channels that our audience uses and prefers. We understand our audience, we know how to keep them active, AND we can reach them directly. Our site is clear, informative, and friendly. All of our media channels are connected, easy to find, easy to share, and mobile.
We direct all of our media efforts and tools to drive visitors through O'Keeffe Country portals to the websites of the people/locations/businesses we feature, and to those actual, physical places. We will be working full-time on your behalf to elevate not only the region's prominence for travelers, but your place on their itinerary.
We promote the collaborative actively using the following searchable, permanent digital channels:
website: www.okeeffecountry.com
twitter: @okeeffecountry
facebook: facebook.com/okeeffecountry
pinterest: pinterest.com/okeeffecountry
blogs: okeeffecountry.wordpress.com and
okeeffecountry.com/okeeffe-country-blog
eblasts from: okeeffecountry@gmail.com
BONUS: We also run www.farolitowalk.com - and get an average of 50 unique visitors a day on this site. If you have any winter holiday specials coming up in December, please let us know now.
ANOTHER BONUS: We manage the twitter account for @newmexicotrue which complements the State's own $6 million advertising campaign.
We are transparent about our numbers and routinely post analytics about tracking to our site (hits, visitor usage, location, most visited pages). We provide numbers of fans and follows from Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. We also provide additional information on all of our promotional activities.
What is the meaning behind our logo and messages?
O’Keeffe Country’s logo is the zia (the state flag and an ancient Native American symbol of the Circle of Life: the four directions, the four times of day, the four stages of life, and the four seasons, bound together by an inner circle) with a heart in the center. Our mission is "Travel with all six senses.” We feel this captures the spirit and uniqueness of New Mexico, draws people back to O’Keeffe Country, and reinforces/familiarizes them with our themes of Breathe, Taste, Hear, Touch, See, and Feel.
Vivid imagery, featuring our iconic landscapes and events in the region, will be used and overlaid with emotional vocabulary...
• Eyes Wider.
• Heart Happier.
• Spirit Lifted.
• Breathe Easier.
• Body Better.
• Spirit Healed.
• Mind Opened.
• Wish Granted.
• World Brighter.
We are perfectly poised to tie O'Keeffe Country and our efforts to the emotional need/fulfillment of travelers to Northern New Mexico. We are more than just hotels, restaurants, and art galleries. We are more than the sum of our parts. This area is absolutely unique for its culture, environment, and true ability to feed the soul. We will capture this essence in all of our promotional efforts.
Other ways you can help?
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE O'KEEFFE COUNTRY TEAM... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Georgia O'Keeffe loved Northern New Mexico. This is an undisputed fact. She adored it so deeply that she couldn’t help but show her appreciation in every aspect of her life… from painting to cooking to architecture. She changed entire sections of her homes in Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch, just to have the best views out of her windows. And then, took her own paintings off the walls in those rooms because they simply couldn’t compete. She thought her own work was a distraction from what the land itself could offer as true art.
It isn’t enough to read about Northern New Mexico. Not even through the gifted writing and adjectives of Miss O’Keeffe herself. You have to see it, breathe it, walk it… with your own eyes, soul and step. We can learn from her adventures here and we can certainly revel in her memories, put so elegantly on canvas for all to witness. But even she would want us to make our own experience and live our own life.
As she told her friend Maria Chabot… “You are much better off starting something of your own.” (from a letter postmarked New York, April 10, 1945)
“It seems to me that you are very fortunate – that you should be able to go on with the kind of life you think you like… it all seems pretty fine.” (from a letter postmarked New York, Around October 17, 1944)
We believe this is a lesson and we should all take this advice to heart. When you want to live like Georgia O’Keeffe, what that means is living your own way, as authentically as possible, to who you are at your core. Not who she was, not who anyone else was. For many of us, ourselves included, this is extremely difficult to do. We like to pretend to self-analyze, but more often than not, we don’t like what we find. And we usually don’t have the courage to change. To forge the path that only we can forge. To walk the road that we need to walk. Not the one society tells us is the one we should or want to travel. Georgia O’Keeffe didn’t walk someone else’s predetermined path. She moved heaven and earth, literally, to make her own road.
It wasn’t the fame or money that brought her here to New Mexico. Certainly those afforded her the luxury of two homes and a dozen or so staff members. But we believe she would have come here regardless. And her personal reward was a life, that she created, and lived to the fullest, for no one else but herself. A life with purpose. A life truly unique. A life of authentic memories. It was made for her, just like it was made for us.
So as O'Keeffe said, "Take time to look." And as she meant, take time to live. "It all seems pretty fine."
Please donate today. Even if you can't contribute, you probably know someone who can. We would love for you to share our story with your friends, family, and fellow travelers. Welcome to O'Keeffe Country, we hope to see you in Northern New Mexico soon!
XOXO,
O'Keeffe Country