Kate Palmer - An Artist's Dream Home/Studio

Landscape painter Kate Palmer and husband Robb Habbersett live in this turreted, two-story passive-solar house designed by famed Santa Fe architect William Lumpkins. Kate and Robb's home is  wonderfully unique, embracing the architect's penchant for asymmetrical design and flowing room blocks.  Lush gardens  and open patios - designed and created by Kate and Rob   on each of the home's three levels, offer grand solitude and gorgeous vistas.

Photos by C. Whitney-Ward

The house was designed to be in sync with Mother Nature. Two-story exterior windows capture sunlight, and a series of sliding glass widows on the interior can be opened or closed - depending upon the season - to regulate the temperature.  And as the sun drops in winter, sunlight pouring through the front windows goes deeper into the house. 

As you enter, a sculptural spiral staircase takes you to the second level. The beautiful iron railings were designed to  store  heat...

The only other source of heat is this sleek wood-burning stove, purchased from a neighbor and moved to the second floor with a lot of help...

Each room is filled with much-loved art.

And lots of sunshine.

 Kate's beloved pottery sits on every surface... 

And her soaring 1,100 sq. ft. studio - added on to the north side of the original house - is filled with light from 18 ft. floor to ceiling  windows that face the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and foothills.   There are framed landscapes on every wall, and large and small easels cradle canvases in various stages of completion.

Kate received this behemoth easel as first prize in a show at the Salmagundi Club in New York.

"I was always an outside person," explains Kate who grew up in Oklahoma City.  "I used to make small pots out of red clay down by the stream near my house," she recalls. "My parents had to use a grappling hook to bring me home." 

As a result, she is passionate about landscapes and travels and paints in Tuscany, Charleston and the Monteray Coast when not capturing the beauty of New Mexico. She is formally trained and has won numerous and prestigious awards and has been featured in a myriad of art publications.

"Losing myself in the landscape - finding still passages of time there - is my bliss."

G R E E N B E R G   F I N E  A R T

205 Canyon Road

Santa Fe, New Mexico

505.955.1500

www.greenbergfineart.com

katepalmer.com

CLICK HERE TO GO TO CURRENT CHASING POST

Douglas Magnus - The Spirit of a Studio

C O N T E M P O R A R Y  H E I R L O O M S

D O U G L A S  M A G N U S  fell under the spell of Santa Fe back in the late 1960's. He'd just finished his stint in the army - he'd been drafted when he "flunked" out of school - and wended his way to New Mexico in his 58' VW. He was immediately smitten, started taking photographs, and basically never looked back.

"It was such a golden age for Santa Fe back then," recalls Magnus. "The highway from ABQ was 2 lanes; there was still so much of the old culture; and the beautiful people weren't here yet. It was wild and fun and so foreign to me having grown up in L.A.."

Photos by C. Whitney-Ward

His handsome photographs pepper the walls of his studio and home.

Somewhere along the way, he

began to paint.

And he had an epiphany. "I saw someone making buttons from old coins and decided that I could make jewelry, " recalls Magnus, who admits to being self-taught, but determined. He bought a jewelry saw, a sheet of copper and made his first concho belt. 

And he became enthralled with Turquoise, so much so that he bought several old turquoise mines in Cerrillos, New Mexico. The same mines plumbed by the ancient Mixtec, Aztec and Anasazi peoples, and in the late 19th century, by the  Tiffany Company.

"I feel a direct connection to those ancient people," says Magnus. "It's a privilege to be working with these rare, remaining pieces of turquoise. My mission is to create the most beautiful things I can."

His work and his vernacular over time have evolved from traditional Southwest designs to a more fluid, contemporary style of jewelry.

First comes the idea and then the sketch. Then, for Magnus, the seriously fun part - creating the die. "These die tools are unlike any I've ever made. They allow me to expand on my Southwestern design techniques."

He 'carves' the design...

Tests it on leather strips...

And when the die is just so, the jewelry is created.

And when not in his studio, he and partner Dana Waldon are enjoying their amazing eclectic home  - click on this link to go to Chasing post on Dana and their house -  filled with equally amazing vintage finds.

D O U G L A S  M A G N U S  D E S I G N S

Santa FE, NM

505.983.6777

www.douglasmagnus.com