What Are The Odds?

There we were, minding our own business, when Patrick spied a man and a woman with birds just off the Santa Fe Plaza. Patrick loves birds so of course he had to go over for a closer look. After looking the birds over and talking to the people who were from the Wild Life Federation, he asked if he could take some pictures.

I was standing back next to a lady who was also intent in watching and asking questions. You can see her (to the right of the bird’s talons and up) in this photo.

Patrick took his shots and left a donation in the pail. At that point, the lady lamented that she did not have a camera with her and asked if Patrick would e-mail his shots to her if she gave him her e-mail address. He agreed and she started across the street to get him her business card.

Since we were going the same direction, we followed her. It turned out that she was an artist who had a booth just outside a large hotel. As we approached, she said to Patrick, “I’m going to give you a gift.” We both assumed that it would be a small print of one of her works or note cards. But she put out two full size prints and told him to take his pick. He made his selection and she signed the print “To Patrick, Amy Stein.

 Patrick's Selection:  Angel of The Roses

Amy Stein’s bio from her web site is as follows:
AMY STEIN, an award-winning Santa Fe artist, well-known for her beautiful prints of the southwest, has been profiled in the nationally published American Artist magazine. She has conducted self-imagery workshops "Healing the Self Through Self- Portraits" for the California-based American Institute of Medical Education, the Institute for Integral Development in Colorado Springs and the Santa Fe public schools. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the City University of New York and is a licensed New Mexico art teacher. Ms. Stein has been an Artist-in-Residence in New Mexico and accepts artistic portraits commissions.

After a nice visit, we left with her card, Patrick’s new piece of art and a promise to send her the photos as soon as we returned home.

We continued our exploring of the Plaza, had a delightful chicken, green chili, pinon nut and asiago cheese pizza at one of our annual stops, Roof Top Pizza, and returned to our hotel.

We were each sitting on our bed chatting about the day and planning for the next one. Patrick got a strange look on his face and said, “What was that artist’s name?” I responded Amy Stein. He said, “That’s what I thought but I’m not believing this”. I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about other than her generosity in having gifted him with a wonderful print. I asked what he meant and he told me to look behind me. I did.

Can you imagine our amazement to find the work of an artist we chanced to meet on the street, promised photos, and was gifted by on our hotel room wall? There it was. As plain as day. What are the odds?

Little Yellow Flower 

We took this picture of her work on our wall and determined we had to share the story with her.

The next day, we went back to Amy’s booth to share this “against all odds story” with her.

She was as amazed as we had been. I asked if she had prints like the one in our hotel available as I wanted a copy to complete the story of this amazing encounter. She did and I purchased one.

We plan to frame and hang the two works side by side not only because she is a gifted artists doing wonderful work but as a reminder of that special day and how people are brought together in the most mysterious ways.

The Story of Snowy River

My digusdi (cousins in Cherokee) on Etsy have long admired the wonderful bracelet named Snowy River created by our dear friend and talented artist, Cloudburst. This bracelet has been featured in many Etsy Treasuries and has been coveted by many members of the Native American Forum Team….Walking The Red Road.  Here is the Story of Snowy River:


Last week my son, Patrick, and I left Omaha for a trip to New Mexico.  We had the privilege of attending Indian Market in Santa Fe where Cloudburst was vending.  When we arrived at the Santa Fe Plaza for the event, we phoned Cloudburst to find out where she was set up. There were over a thousand booths set up and finding her without assistance would have been a daunting task. As it turned out, her location was easy to find and we were very close to it when we made the call.

Left to Right:  Patrick, Customer, Nora Hasty, Anita

As I approached the booth, Cloudburst was holding Snowy River in her hands and making a sales pitch regarding it. On impulse, I took this shot of her in action.

When I arrived at the booth, Cloudburst, her potential buyer and I discussed the bracelet. The customer was Nora Hasty from Rocky Face, Georgia.   Mrs. Hasty said, “I have looked all around and so far if I could have only one piece from this event, it would be this bracelet.”

But there were still many booths for her to check out and she was not ready to purchase. She said she would sleep on it and might be back the next day for it.  I cautioned her that it might be gone.  She determined that if it was meant for her to have it, it would be there.

Well, Mrs. Hasty’s daughter and granddaughters were lingering in the background. They recognized how much she liked the bracelet and when Mrs. Hasty left the booth area, they slipped to the back of Cloud's booth and purchased it from Daniel for her.

One of the granddaughter’s kept the bracelet in a sack hidden behind her back as they joined their Grandmother and walked away.

Cloudburst, her husband, Daniel, my son, Patrick and I all watched them in hopes that we would get to see her being presented with this wonderful gift. After a while, we decided that they planned to do the gifting at a later time. With some disappointment, we resumed our visiting.

But then, the gifting was done and Grandma was so excited. She came back to the booth with her granddaughters to share her excitement with Cloudburst.

It almost seemed that the scenario was meant for me to witness.  Little did I know when I took that first photo of Cloudburst in action that it would result in the sale of that very special bracelet.

Mrs. Hasty, Granddaughters and Snowy River

I felt honored to me present for the event. Cloudburst was delighted that her bracelet had found its proper home. The daughter and granddaughters were so pleased to do something very special for their mother and grandmother during her visit. And, I got to witness and record the event.


The photos are being sent to Mrs. Hasty so that she can add them to her memoirs of her visit to Indian Market. I hope she will enjoy them and I know that she will enjoy “Snowy River” for many years to come.


So that is the story of Snowy River....A proud Grandmother with her beautiful and thoughtful granddaughters who made her the excited new owner of this wonderful one of kind bracelet.  A talented artist, our very own Cloudburst,  who knows that Snowy River found its rightful owner.  It doesn't  get better than that!