Home Blog Page 6

The Art of Generosity: How IndigenousWays Is Preserving Native American Culture and Community in New Mexico

By
Star Laliberte
-
0
A performer on a stage with her arms raised above her head, and dressed in indigenous Native American attire at a festival.

The Art of Generosity is a storytelling series made possible through underwriting by the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Each feature shines a light on a local nonprofit shaping the cultural, social, and economic fabric of our region. By elevating these stories, the Foundation furthers its role in connecting people with the organizations and causes that help our shared home thrive.

According to the group IndigenousWays, Native Americans and other indigenous peoples make up 10.6% of New Mexico’s population. Their impact has been and is profound and ongoing. For the last 18 years, the Santa Fe-based organization has offered educational, artistic, and musical programs to serve Native peoples and their supporters, as well as initiatives aimed at promoting cultural awareness, values and traditions. The organization, founded in 2007 by Elena Higgins and Tash Terry, fosters cultural exchange, healing, and connection. 

A man in a hat with a guitar talks to a woman sitting with a yellow shirt and another woman with a hat.

Inside IndigenousWays: Arts, Music, and Cultural Programs in Santa Fe

Higgins, who recently completed a Creative West National Arts Futures Fellowship, also serves as Executive Director. A Maori/Samoan artist and musician, Higgins was born and raised in New Zealand. She lived in Australia before relocating to the United States. While attending South By Southwest (SXSW) in 2006 and being invited to visit New Mexico, she was introduced to Terry (Diné), also a musician. The women quickly formed Indigie Femme, a multiple New Mexico Music Award-nominated duo with six released albums.  

“We were playing on the Santa Fe Plaza, and many people came up and told us we should form a nonprofit so they could donate to us,” says Higgins. “So we did. As we approach 20 years as an organization, I want to express a bit of gratitude to the community, which is a miracle itself, because of the incredible love and support we receive that allows us to do for the community.” 

A group of Native Americans celebrate on a stage.

IndigenousWays is a lean organization with just two employees and a budget of around $300,000. Funds come from individual donations and grants, including a recent Creative West Cultural Sustainability award for small organizations. The board is 66% Indigenous, bolstered by more than 100 volunteers who coordinate the group’s four annual programs.  

IndigenousWays 25th Anniversary Festival

The IndigenousWays Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this August. The annual festival is a family friendly evening of Indigenous music, art, and community. Each spring the IndigenousWays Film Festival acts as a gathering of community and storytelling on the big screen. 

Two women laugh in front of the IndigenousWays Festival sign in blue.

Monthly online wisdom circles feature artists, musicians, educators and others to share ideas. In September, the inaugural IndigenousWays Red Road Pow Wow at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds replaces the organization’s annual fall festival. The name Red Road refers to the widely used Native American recovery and wellness program phrase that represents a journey away from addiction, colonization, and self-destruction.  

“Community is vital at this time, which is why it’s also important for our events to be free, so that no one is left behind.” 

Story by Kelly Koepke
Photos Courtesy of Mariano Frisoli 

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Meet Carmen Benson, Executive Director of Santa Fe’s Cooking with Kids

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A little girl chopping up dough on a cutting board with a green apron on.

On July 1, 2025 Carmen Benson became the Executive Director of Santa Fe-based nonprofit Cooking with Kids, just the third Executive Director in the organization’s 30-year history. Five days later, as the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took an ax to federal spending, Cooking with Kids lost nearly half its annual revenue. It was baptism by fire, and Benson met the challenge head on.

Executive Director Carmen Benson Talks How Cooking with Kids Fights Food Insecurity in Santa Fe

“We were on a trajectory of growth to partner with more schools in neighboring rural counties. While that expansion has been paused for now, I’m incredibly proud of our team and partners as we continue bringing joy-filled food education to 8,000+ kids,” Benson says. That means programs in Santa Fe and parts of both San Miguel and Rio Arriba counties will continue as Benson and her team rebuild the revenue that they lost.

A woman in a white shirt and yellow jacket with blonde hair.
Carmen Benson

“Community support has been incredible, with donation income doubling this year…Thanks to ten years of planning by the people behind this work—our staff, board, and partners—we’ve built responsible reserves and diversified funding, even though SNAP-Ed once made up nearly three-quarters of our funding,” she shared.

SNAP-Ed was the nutrition education program a part of the overall Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and funded by the federal government. It aimed to promote healthy eating habits among young people and at a national level, to combat the ongoing obesity crisis in America.

At a more macro level, Cooking with Kids plays a critical role in the overall food security environment throughout Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico. There was stress on that system of food security prior to COVID, but the economic fallout of the pandemic further illuminated a serious food security crisis throughout our state.

Carmen has seen personally how food intersects with health and income instability. In 2010, as an engineer, the Army National Guard deployed her to Afghanistan for fifteen years to address food insecurity in the country. After acquiring a PhD in Agricultural Education from Texas A&M, she worked on behalf of the U.S government on food security programs around the world.

Three kids and a teacher cooking by putting ingredients into a pot.

The Future of Cooking with Kids

With the assistance of former Cooking with Kids Executive Director, Anna Farrier, who stayed on as a Senior Advisor to assist with the transition, Benson is full of optimism and energy for the future of the program. That optimism coincides with a move into a new space that will support the organization well into the future.

“Along with the financial challenges, the building we’d been in for 17 years sold, so one of my first tasks with the team was finding a home for our scrappy, growing operations. We landed in a great space—larger, better suited to our programs now and into the future, and even at a lower cost per square foot” she says.

The new space occupies two floors of a retail front near the Rufina neighborhood and has functional space for programs on the first floor and for staff offices on the second floor. “We have a roll-up door,” Carmen says with glee. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to move pallets of fresh produce and thousands of cans of beans a year through a regular doorway?” The new space should be ready for occupancy before the next school year begins.

“Our talented Educators lead cooking classes and cafeteria tastings for 430 classes in 33 partner schools, and we remain committed to our children, their families, and our communities,” Carmen said. “I feel grateful to be leading Cooking with Kids at this critical time. I’ve always believed in doing work that matters—and I get to do that alongside an incredible team and community.”

Story by Bill Smith
Photos Courtesy of Cooking with Kids

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Picnicking in the Pecos River with Field Trip

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A group of people eat at a table in the Pecos River river.

You may have picnicked by the Pecos River, but how about in it? Suzanne and Mark Rasic – founders of Field Trip – took the table to the river and shared a seasonal feast with favorite friends.

Field Trip Takes to the Pecos River for a Picnic

Sometimes, people land exactly where they were meant to be, doing exactly what they were meant to do. That’s the case for Suzanne and Marc Rasic and Field Trip, their outdoor getaway situated on the banks of the Pecos River. It’s a thriving business that caters to people wanting to get away from it all – whether for a family vacation or an intimate wedding. But more than that, it’s a passion project the two conjured up when they were living in San Francisco.

A woman walks in front of a table in a river carrying wine bottles.
Suzanne Brings Out the Wine
A woman in a hat eats at the table with a child in her lap.
Artist and Stylist
Jessie Baca
A woman places a plate down at a blue dining table in the river.
Kimmy
Rohr Helps Serve
A man pets a down under a table in the river.
Even the Dogs Join in

Marc is a classically trained chef who spent years honing his cooking skills in Michelin-starred restaurants, cooking for Luxembourg’s royal family, doing a stint as a chef on the Cunard cruise line, and even setting up restaurants on Google campuses. They met when Suzanne was running her women’s clothing store in Pacific Heights and Marc was at the helm of a restaurant 11 blocks away. They both used the same florist, who providently set them up on a blind date. “We met in April, got engaged in June, and married in August, and that was 23 years ago,” laughs Suzanne.

Building a Dream Come True at Field Trip

They knew they wanted to work together and linked up with Suzanne’s godson, the designer and architect William Fox, to imagine their dream business. “We we were talking about moving back to Santa Fe and Marc said, ‘If you could live anywhere, where would it be?’” Suzanne’s answer? Either Tesuque or Pecos. “And somehow the gods smiled on us and we got Pecos.” While the property needed some tidying up, the two intentionally kept a light touch. “It’s so beautiful that we didn’t want to alter the landscape or try and make it feel more polished,” says Suzanne. “It needed stewardship. It didn’t need change.”

A man and a woman sit in a hammock together.
A man fishing in the river beyond a set blue table.
Fishing on the Pecos
A tent bedroom with a red bedspread.
Glamorous
Glamping at Field
Trip
A man in an apron cleans a pot over a grill.
Marc Tending the Fire

They bought the property in 2021 and opened in October of 2022. Today Field Trip feels even more a part of the landscape, with views of the river and the surrounding mountains. A rare moment off provided the opportunity to bring friends together for a picnic in – not on – the river. Feet bare and pant legs rolled up, they were truly immersed in nature. The menu showcased Marc’s signature cooking style that leans into what’s local and fresh, with minimal intervention. It’s an approach that comes from skill, a deft palate, and confidence. “There’s something magical about taking something as ordinary as a carrot and you grill that carrot and you serve it with mint, and salt, and olive oil – three ingredients – and highlight, truly, what the complexity of a carrot could look like and taste like,” he says.

More Than Just Food

His cooking is informed not only by years spent in professional kitchens but also his own childhood in Luxembourg raised by Croatian parents. Summers were spent focused on food and family. “My summers were mostly in the countryside, eating food and having large meals with all the cousins and family together,” he says. Now traditions from his childhood like peka – a traditional Croatian cooking method where meat, seafood, and vegetables are slow-cooked under a domed lid and covered with hot embers – appear on the menu for large gatherings or casual get-togethers, like the river picnic.

A plate of food with red jam sitting on a blue and white blanket.
Pan Con Tomate
With Anchovies
A white plate with. noodles and cabbage beside a napkin and salt.
Raw Zucchini and
Porcini Salad
Grilled peppers on skewers inside a bowl beside a spoonful of salt.
Fire-Kissed
Padron Peppers
Various stringy carrots sit on a plate and stone.
Carrots
Cooked Over the Embers of
a Fire
Chicken wings in a stone oven beside a sauce.
Peka, a Traditional Croatian
Dish, Ready to Serve
A short glass with a reddish tint and mint in the cocktail with cherry tomatoes and strawberries.
Photographer and Mixologist Extraordinaire
Ashley Lynn Created the Camp Cooler as an
Ode to Field Trip and Heady Summer Days

“You can bring different cultures into a place, and different cooking techniques from all over the world to highlight that fire and coal and smoke can be used across a lot of different cuisines,” he says.

Connection is Key

While Suzanne topped up white wine, Marc passed around a platter of raw zucchini dotted with parmesan and thinly shaved porcini mushrooms. Trees provided dappled shade and the cool river waters brought relief from the summer sun.

It was a pinch-me moment. Everything they’d sketched out in pencil and dreamed up in their heads was real. Where many weddings and events can feel transactional, what Marc and Suzanne offer is something much deeper. “It just happened organically. I think we thought we would do some events, but we didn’t understand the need for it, and the desire for this kind of venue,” says Marc. What they’ve created is a place where everything is beautiful but nothing precious. Dogs and kids alike can run with abandon. Wedding guests can gather around the open fire as Marc shares cooking tips. It’s a gift from Marc and Suzanne and one they share in return. As Suzanne says, “It’s just the connection with the people we work with – our clients and their families. I mean, it is medicine, to be honest.

A woman in a hat pours rum into the middle of a rum cake.
A woman and a man eat from plates on a blue table with orange wine in front of them.
Seasonal Feast
Prepared by Marc
Rasic

What They Ate

  • The Camp Cooler
  • Grilled bread with radishes and butter
  • Pan con tomate
  • Charred padron peppers
  • Pan con cevapi with ajvar (a take on pan con chorizo)
  • Raw zucchini salad with Parmesan and shaved porcini mushrooms
  • Peka
  • Argentinian shrimp cooked in a clay pot
  • Grilled carrots with burnt mint
  • Renate’s rum cake

Who Was There

  • Suzanne and Marc Rasic
  • Jessie and Rye Baca
  • Kimmy Rohr and Peter Valente
  • Marijke Uleman
  • David Pecorari

Special thanks to Whiskey and Clay for the beautiful tableware and Mini Falls Farm for the flowers and to photographer (and mixologist) Ashley Lynn for creating the Camp Cooler cocktail.

Story by Julia Platt Leonard
Photography by Ashley Perry Lynn
Food by Marc Rasic

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Camp Cooler: A Strawberry and Cherry Tomato Cocktail

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A short glass with a reddish tint and mint in the cocktail with cherry tomatoes and strawberries.

A long day of noshing and napping at Field Trip on the banks of the Pecos River demands one thing and one thing only, and that’s a Strawberry and Cherry Tomato Cocktail. Photographer and mixologist extraordinaire Ashley Lynn came up with this beauty as an ode to both Field Trip and the lazy days of summer. There’s a bit of natural sweetness from the strawberry and cherry tomato juice made at home with brightening lemon, mint, spicy Ancho Verde, Fino sherry, as well as a healthy dose of mezcal.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
A short glass with a reddish tint and mint in the cocktail with cherry tomatoes and strawberries.

Camp Cooler: A Strawberry and Cherry Tomato Cocktail

  • Author: Ashley Lynn
Print Recipe

Description

Summer comes with a flavorful splash of strawberry and cherry tomato.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ oz mezcal
  • ½ oz Fino sherry
  • 1 oz strawberry/cherry tomato juice
  • ½ oz lemon juice
  • ½ tsp Ancho Verde*
  • 1 ½ oz sparking water
  • Mint leaves
  • Mint, cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced cucumber, garnish

For the strawberry/cherry tomato juice:

  • 1 oz strawberry/cherry tomato juice
  • ½ oz cane sugar

Instructions

  1. Dry shake with the mint and pour into a glass.
  2. Add ice and garnish.

For the strawberry/cherry tomato juice:

  1. Juice an equal amount of strawberries and cherry tomatoes.
  2. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any seeds and pips.
  3. Combine with the sugar.

Notes

Ancho Verde is a Mexican liqueur made from green poblano chiles. It adds a welcome herbaceous, spiciness to cocktails.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Recipe and Photography by Ashley Lynn

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Tin Artist Justin Gallegos Mayrant on the 100th Traditional Spanish Market

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A tin cross with small detail embellishments.

In a bright studio space in midtown Santa Fe, tin artist Justin Gallegos Mayrant is hard at work on a commission from the Museum of International Folk Art prior to his booth at the Traditional Spanish Market, this year on July 24 and 25. A reinterpretation of a work from the museum’s collection, it features intricately painted pieces of coral red and deep green tin that are reminiscent of the petals on a squash blossom necklace.

It’s the kind of work people know Mayrant – work that combines the traditional Spanish art form of tinwork with a contemporary aesthetic. He’s been participating in the Traditional Spanish Market since he started working in tin when he was just eight years old.

Justin Gallegos Mayrant shows off a tin mirror while talking about it.

Justin Gallegos Myrant Brings His Tin Art Back to the 100th Traditional Spanish Market

“Spanish Market is focused on supporting traditional arts under the umbrella of Spanish colonial arts,” Mayrant says. “These are types of work that were developed starting from the 1700s through the 1920s,” he adds. These Spanish arts come from local materials, creating a new kind of artwork that exists only here in New Mexico.

The process for artists to show at Traditional Spanish Market is rigorous. They have to submit a piece to the jury of experts in the field. The process is anonymous, and even after they accept an artist into the market, they still have to resubmit work to the jury once every five years. “It’s the top level for this kind of work,” Mayrant says.

Mayrant is at a point in his career where he works primarily on commissions, like the one for the Museum of International Folk Art. Traditional Spanish Market gives him an opportunity to be creative as well as make pieces he’s been dreaming up. “With market, I get room to create the work I want to do,” he says, “all the original ideas that have been building up over the year.”

A bird carved on a piece of tin.

A Chance to Speak Face-to-Face at the Market

Meeting his collectors in person and also speaking about his art-form make Traditional Spanish Market an event Mayrant returns to year after year. “Getting the in-person experience at Spanish Market, people are able to get a much deeper understanding of the work, which I think is incredibly important.”

This year marks the 100th year of the market’s existence, which has had only a few brief hiatuses during World War II and COVID. “We want to keep our artists happy, and we find ways to enhance and improve the market for both our artists and attendees,” says Janette Salazar, cultural services manager at the Atrisco Companies, which has overseen the market for five years. “Some of our artists have been participating for 50 years.” Expect to see the work of 140 artists as well as around 20 youth artists at this year’s show.

Story by Maria Manuela
Photography by Gabriella Marks

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.

Candice Hopkins Opens ‘Indian Theater: Native Art, Performance and Self Determination’ at SITE Santa Fe

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
Candice Hopkins stands against a blue background with Indigenous style earrings hanging down with feathers and turquoise.

Candice Hopkins (citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation), is a curator and executive director and chief curator at Forge, an organization and cultural space dedicated to Indigenous storytelling. This ethos continues in Hopkins’ other curatorial projects, like Indian Theater: Native Art, Performance and Self-Determination, which runs at SITE Santa Fe through September 7.

Indian Theater: Native Art, Performance and Self Determination Comes Home to SITE Santa Fe

After traveling to Canada and the northeastern United States, the exhibit will have a homecoming at SITE. “Indian Theater is about Santa Fe,” says Hopkins. “People are going to be able to witness a history that their community has been at the heart of shaping.”

The idea for the show began in 2014, when Hopkins was a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art and saw a document called Indian Theater. Written by the founding president of Institute of American Indian Art, Lloyd Kiva New, and students, it represented a flashpoint in Indigenous performance. “It was really profound and foundational,” Hopkins explains. “They were just starting to create the idea of what they were terming ‘new Native theater.’”

“It’s not simply an exhibition,” Hopkins explains. “It’s activated by performance. There are all kinds of ways this can be experienced differently because performance is at the heart of it.”

What is Indian Theater All About?

Throughout its run, Indian Theater will house both one-time and ongoing performances from Indigenous artists, in works created from the 1960s to the present day. “So many Native artists are also performers,” says Hopkins, whose partner is the Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Raven Chacon (Diné). “I think it’s one of the characteristics of Native artists; they are interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.”

Among the singular performances, attendees will see renowned Indigenous creatives like Eric-Paul Riege (Diné), a fiber artist who creates sculpture, wearable works, as well as installations. Icons like Bad Bunny wear his work, and he’s going to show a series of jewelry pieces. “They are made at the scale so they could adorn the Navajo gods,” Hopkins says. “He does these amazing durational performances where he transforms himself, and you can really see these sculptures come alive. It’s really special.”

Indian Theater is just one of the ways Hopkins is working towards reshaping and informing the dialogue surrounding Native art, and what it means and feels like to be an Indigenous artist making work in 2026. She says, “It’s a way of Indigenous world-building.”

Story by Maria Manuela
Photo Courtesy of Art Basel

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition

Shop New Mexico Artisan Fashion, Jewelry, and Home in Vibrant Orange

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A red striped New Mexico textile cloth hangs over a wood frame in the desert.
A banner for Ricky Allen and Tara Earley Real Estate Group.
Sponsored

As New Mexico’s summer sunshine brightens our days, it’s natural to seek out fashion, artisan jewelry, and home decor with a pop of orange. It’s one small way to bring brightness into your life this season.

Shop New Mexico Artisan Fashion, Jewelry, and Home in Vibrant Orange

An orange shirt with a long flowing scarf life center.
Photo From TOko

TOko

Situated in a renovated church studio in Glastonbury, England, Terry Macey and his family design team are known for creating expressive linen and wool clothing in both classic and Asian-inspired designs, like this joyous orange striped linen pullover top. Wear it alone or pair it with Lisbon-based design studio Traces of Me silk print stole Camellias – a fluid, sophisticated, and utterly timeless piece. 

An orange gem necklace sits around a woman's neck in gold.
Photo From Golden Eye

Golden Eye

Topaz is highly prized and thought to enhance not only wealth but also health and love. Imperial topaz is especially rare and treasured with its enchanting hues of gold, orange, and pinky-red. This stunning pendant features a 2.41 ct. pear-shaped Imperial topaz, set in 18k gold, and adorned with a .16 ct. brilliant round diamond. 

A red striped New Mexico textile cloth hangs over a wood frame in the desert.
Photo From Pandora’s

Pandora’s

The Saltillo blanket is a masterwork of Mexican weaving, handcrafted by descendants of the Tlaxcalan people in Saltillo, Coahuila. This piece features a symmetrical pattern with a central diamond shape (Ojo de Dios) with horizontal bands and detailed borders. From fine wool and silk, it is a piece to treasure for generations.  

Two orange and silver and green earrings with small heart charms.
Photo From Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops

Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops

Up your color quotient with these beaded earrings handmade by artisans in Mexico. They’re bright and bouncy and will happily go from casual daytime to more dressy nighttime wear. They have a stud backing with a secure clip closure. 

A ring that looks like a flower with green petals and an orange center.
Photo From MoMo Taos

MoMo Taos

There is a joyful exuberance to the Dolores ring by Moriah Stanton. An orange garnet is encircled by peridots with tiny diamond accents on sides of solid 14k gold. Largely self-taught, Stanton learned the basics from friend and Taos artist Rick Montano. She creates her jewelry in her Taos studio using silver, gold, and semi-precious gemstones. 

Story by Julia Platt Leonard
Featured Photography From Pandora’s
Sponsored by Ricky Allen – Tara Earley Real Estate Group

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art

By
Star Laliberte
-
0
A child playing with wooden figurines on on wooden structure at the Santa Fe Museum of International Folk Art

The Museum of International Folk Art is home to the world’s largest collection of folk art. Spanning more than 135,000 objects from more than 100 countries, the collection offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to engage with the crafts and traditions from the global community. 

Explore Folk Art from Around the World at Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art

For more than 70 years, the museum has served as a dynamic, multidimensional learning environment where visitors of all ages can learn about traditions of the world, cultural identity, and community. Colorful exhibitions, public programs, events, and renowned artists all contribute to the museum’s unique offering. 

A vibrant colored piece of art make from yarn of figures around the sun.

The museum’s colorful and awe-inspiring exhibitions are a key draw. Rotating exhibitions showcase traditions from every continent, each devoting space to exploring different crafts and artforms. The museum’s permanent exhibition, Multiple Visions: A Common Bond is the museum’s crown jewel. Millions of visitors are drawn to this curated collection of more than 10,000 objects donated by Alexander Girard. The exhibition features a seemingly endless array of miniatures, masks, puppets, dolls, and so much more. Due to its sheer size and vastness, no two viewing experiences are the same. Visitors can peer into tiny scenes and become enchanted by their creativity and culture.  

Children viewing an exhibit on a bright orange platform in a room with hot pink and vibrant green walls at the Santa Fe Museum of International Folk Art

The museum is also a family favorite for year-round events and programs. Each event is a mix of informational and hands-on experiences that connect directly to the exhibitions on view. Every fall, the museum also hosts a free community day, each with its own theme. This year, Route 66 Community Day celebrates 100 years of the iconic Route 66. The event will include educational events, art activities, music, food vendors, and a car show and car crawl from downtown Santa Fe to Museum Hill. Each year, this annual event brings thousands of visitors to Museum Hill. 

Two young boys walking down a museum corridor pointing at colorful art on the walls of the Museum of International Folk Art

Visit Museum of International Folk Art to experience the world’s living folk art traditions. The museum is a space for anyone who wants to connect with the communities and cultures of the world.

A folk art statue with an orange face and a large crown over top.
A folk art statue of a woman in ceremonial red clothing.
Four marching band members statues on a green table.
Six folk masks in various colors and expressions.
An art figure of Frida Khalo in a red dress and a red flower on her head.
A wooden mermaid statue with a red tail and red bead necklace.
Gallery Photography by Keith Recker

Article Sponsored by The State of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
Photography by Tira Howard

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

How the International Folk Art Market Is Preserving Indigenous Textile Traditions

By
Kylie Thomas
-
0
A container of salad with tomatoes on top sits on a dark blue pattern textile.

For three days, thousands of visitors descend upon the International Folk Art Market to shop for jewelry, basketry, ceramics, carpets, textiles, and other handcrafted folk art. For the artists it’s a chance not only to sell their wares but also to meet the people buying them. And while the market is a whirlwind for both artists and organizers, there are often moments to connect before the artists head home. One such occasion was a post-market dinner at Suzanne Sugg’s Santa Fe home. Sugg chairs the IFAM Artist Placement Committee and sits on the Board of Directors, and while she’s passionate about all folk art, textiles have a special place in her heart.

A woman in a long textile dress talks to another woman.
A chef in a white jacket explains the dishes on the table.
Three women talk at a party with champagne in hand.

Exploring Indigenous Textiles at the International Folk Art Market

Dinner was a chance for IFAM textile artists, market supporters and volunteers, and board members to catch their breath, reconnect, and enjoy a relaxed meal created by Dhiru Paulraj, chef and owner of Marigold Kitchen. Pieces from Sugg’s own textile collection decorated the table, with bright colors mirroring vibrant dishes like a saag burrata made with a kale and spinach sauce, and then spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cumin. Sugg’s granddaughters were on hand as well, having finished a weekend of volunteering at the market.

“Finding not only textiles but all types of creative traditions in the world is what makes IFAM so special,” Sugg says. She points to the work of dinner guest Gunjan Jain from Odisha, eastern India. Jain heads up Vriksh Designs, which supports the cultural heritage of people working in textiles across India, such as hand-reeling tussor silk – a so-called wild silk valued for its rich texture and golden color. She focuses on saris, dupattas, and scarves, made with a variety of techniques and patterns.

A chef pushes out a dish to serve at a buffet style dinner.

Jaipur-based Hemangini Rathore, a descendant of the royal family of Bikaner, India, was also present. Her organization, Sudarshan Textile Arts, supports heritage textiles and seeks to preserve traditions from ikat and shibori to dabu – a mud-resist method of block printing. Her work adapts traditional techniques within an elegantly restrained color palette dominated by natural indigo blues. It carries a sense of lightness as well as refinement within it.

A garden fountain sits between large green bushes.
Folk art decor sits on a stand under a painting.
A man with a champagne glass talks to others.

Bringing the World to Santa Fe

As guests enjoyed Paulraj’s grilled halibut in moilee sauce – redolent of coconut milk, turmeric, and green chile, and also dotted with crispy fried curry leaves – talk turned to the market and the role it plays in nurturing artists and folk art around the world. It’s the world’s largest folk art market and is integral in preserving traditions and in providing artists with a platform for sharing their work and their stories. “They’re [the artists] going to die out if they don’t find places to show and sell their works of art. And it would be a big loss to the different cultures of the world to see the disappearance of these traditions,” Sugg says.

What’s exciting for both artists and IFAM-goers is that many of these textile artists continue to evolve both in design as well as in the materials they use. Take Remigio Mestas. At the age of seven, he started working in a handicrafts school – what he calls “my school of folk art.” At 15, he began weaving on the backstrap loom, just as his mother, grandmother, and great-great-grandmother did in Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, a Zapotec town in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico. Today, his work is inspired by the color he sees as he travels the world (the black and white or “yin and yang” of China, or the blues of Thailand, for example) but is always grounded in the traditions of home. “My inspiration? My mother, my genes, women in their struggle to express themselves through time and against the current,” he says.

Two women and a man in long textile coverings talk to each other.
Two women in long dresses stand under a chandelier.
A man scoops rice onto a blue plate.

The Real Meaning: Connection

Visitors to Oaxaca City flock to Maestas’s downtown shop, Los Baules de Juana Cata. There, they find a stunning assortment of folk textile techniques infused with Maestas’s beautiful sense of taste as well as innovation. Much like attending IFAM, each visit to his store is an education in treasured craft techniques, each with its own history delivered in symbols rich with meaning.

As the night drew to a close and goodbyes were said, it was clear that what we call textiles encompasses a huge range of work and practices. But as great as the diversity is, the points of connection are just as strong – if not stronger.

A big bowl piled full with yellow rice.
A brown bowl full of pasta on a brown table surrounded by empty champagne glasses.

What They Ate From Marigold Kitchen

  • Grilled Halibut with Moilee Sauce
  • Bhel Puri
  • Saag Burrata
  • Watermelon Sprout Salad
  • Rosewater Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries
  • Cherry Shrub & Ginger Mocktail
Four plates full of rice, salad, chicken, and more sit on a dark blue pattern textile.

Story by Julia Platt Leonard
Photography by Ashley Perry Lynn
Food by Dhiru Paulraj & Marigold Kitchen

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Your June 2026 Horoscope for the Full Moon in Capricorn

By
Samuel
-
0
A full moon in a summer blue and pink sky with palm trees below the full moon.

The June 29, 2026 Full Moon falls at 8° Capricorn, influencing your monthly horoscope and guidance. Capricorn is a sign with a long association with industry – with making something from raw materials, with work that reveals its quality over time rather than immediately. Manilius, the Roman poet-astronomer, placed Capricorn before the shrine of Vesta, the tended hearth. The fire this earth sign has some themes of maintenance to it, kept going because letting it die is costlier than feeding it.

This Full Moon arrives with Saturn squaring both the Sun and Moon from Aries. The emotional side of that – the Moon’s relationship with Saturn – is somewhat easier than the rational one; there is more capacity at this Full Moon for accepting that an obstacle exists than for seeing clearly past it. But the Full Moon is an invitation to work with the raw material in front of you. Take what’s there and make something.

Deborah Houlding’s overview of Capricorn’s history and symbolism covers the mythological and philosophical roots of the sign that a column this size can only gesture toward – including the older goat-fish association with wisdom and the transmutation of base material into something lasting.

Mars Sextile Jupiter: From In-Progress to Done

Mars is at the opening degree of Gemini and Jupiter is finishing its time in Cancer at the final degree. They are one degree apart in a separating sextile – which means this configuration is passing, and the window for making the most of it’s sooner rather than later.

A sextile between these two planets is cooperative: it responds to effort already in motion. If you’ve been building toward something – a project gaining traction, an opportunity that needs a push, a question you’ve been calculating whether you can afford to ask – this is a favorable stretch to press it. The door you’ve been pushing up against might be ready to open now, so that the move you’ve been preparing for can finally be made.

This isn’t an aspect that creates momentum, mind you. You’ve got to get the momentum going yourself, or better yet, build on momentum already in motion. The practical version is often simple: do the thing you’ve been hesitating over. Extend yourself toward something that matters while the window is open.

Mars also carries tension elsewhere this month – squaring Saturn alongside the Sun and Moon. The sextile doesn’t dissolve that friction. But between the two, there is a stretch of forward movement available to those already in gear.

Sun and Moon Both Square Saturn: We’re Under Examination

Saturn is in Aries and has been for some time. In Aries, it’s patient with weakness and isn’t inclined to soften its findings. The Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Capricorn are both in square to it at this Full Moon, which means the month’s central pressure falls on what you want to feel secure in and what Saturn is forcing to account for itself.

A square is friction. Something either strengthens under it or breaks. Saturn in Aries won’t wait for you to be ready, so it will press and press until something gives, or until it passes on (which, symbolically, happens as Saturn moves into Taurus in 2028).

In practice: commitments and ambitions that have coasted on good intentions are under scrutiny. Some will pass through it the sturdier, some won’t. Saturn isn’t sentimental, and it doesn’t distinguish between what you’d prefer to keep and what you’d prefer to lose.

The Moon, being in Saturn’s sign Capricorn, will find it somewhat easier to absorb the challenges than the Sun. You may find yourself accepting a difficulty before you can see how to resolve it. Don’t sweat it – this is an honest first step.

Mercury Retrograde: Check Before You Commit

Mercury is retrograde at this Full Moon, just stationing now and will continue for some weeks. Communication misfires will come more easily. What you hear may need verification before you act on it, and agreements that seem final may need another look.

The practical note is brief: double-check details, hold off on signing or finalizing anything that hasn’t been reviewed carefully. If you’re waiting for clarity before moving on something, the wait’s likely to be good for the end result. Mercury turns direct before month’s end.

The Moon on the Fixed Star, Facies

Facies is a nebula positioned in the face of the Archer, where the eyes are. The Moon is conjunct it at this Full Moon.

This star is of Sun and Mars nature, and the name traces to the Latin facere: to make, to do. Traditional sources associate Facies with those who carry their purpose forward regardless of the cost, raising before us the driven person who expects to sustain some damage along the way and presses on regardless.

Nebulae, being diffuse rather than sharply defined points of light in our sky, carry an ancient association with impaired or clouded sight. The Moon on such a nebula, in the face of the Archer no less, raises a particular question at this Full Moon: are you seeing what you think you’re seeing? The fiery nature of this fixed star removes any doubt as to your determination to act. Before you commit to the direction you’ve already decided on, get a second opinion. No matter how prepared you might be, the view from where you’re standing might not cover everything.

The Constellations of Words entry on Facies goes further into the star’s mythology and the historical record behind these qualities than this horoscope column can: constellationsofwords.com/facies.

Seasonal Guidance for Your Zodiac Sign – Summer is Finally Here!

As summer arrives, heat intensifies and moisture gives way to the drying quality that characterizes the season. Hot and dry together make up the year’s most extreme seasonal point, and constitutions respond differently: for those who run cold or wet, the correction is welcome; for those who already run warm, the additional heat is the season’s main challenge. Fresh produce is at its peak and suits the season broadly; lighter meals and movement in the early morning or evening work well as the heat deepens.

These suggestions are drawn from an ancient tradition of thinking about how the body’s constitution responds to seasonal change. They’re offered for consideration, not as rules to follow to the letter – take what applies to your circumstances and leave the rest. To learn more about the theory behind this guidance, see “Medieval Temperaments,” an article by astrologer Ryhan Butler at medievalastrologyguide.com/medieval-temperaments.

Fire Signs – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Cooling becomes the primary task as summer arrives for your constitution. Reduce exercise intensity; hard efforts in the heat are counterproductive when you’re already running warm. Meals should be lighter and smaller – vegetables, fish, cold foods. Dilute wine or switch to something lighter; heavy reds in summer heat are an inflammatory combination for a hot, dry constitution. Cool sleeping conditions shift from a preference to a need.

Earth Signs – Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

Entering summer, your constitution comes into one of its stronger seasons. External heat counters your native coldness, and physical capacity tends to be at or near its best; use it. Eat freely from the season’s fresh produce. Some caution with alcohol in the hottest weather – your constitution handles summer’s heat well, but moderation still applies. You tend to sleep well in summer; a well-ventilated room is all the adjustment you’ll likely need.

Air Signs – Libra, Aquarius, Gemini

Summer’s heat is familiar to your constitution, and the season’s drying quality works in your favor – moderating the native wetness that spring amplified. Appetite may moderate as the heat peaks; lighter, more frequent meals suit this well – salads, fruits, cold fish. Hydration should stay top of mind. Alcohol should be lighter and more dilute; heat compounds its effects.

Water Signs – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

For a cold, wet constitution, entering summer is the year’s most directly corrective transition – heat and dryness both work against your native qualities. Appetite tends to be good and digestion more reliable than at most other times of year. Eat freely from fresh seasonal produce; raw and cold foods are better tolerated in summer than in any other season. Exercise vigorously. Alcohol in moderation – you have more latitude here than in cooler seasons, but the heat still warrants some care. Your constitution can be sensitive to heat even when it suits you; a comfortable sleeping environment matters more than usual.

Sabian Symbol for 8° Capricorn: An Angel Comes Carrying a Harp

An angel arrives carrying a harp. The image is one of attentiveness: present when needed, bringing what the moment calls for, whose arrival itself produces a settling effect.

The positive pole of this degree is care that acts: reading what is needed and offering it because you noticed. People around this degree can inspire confidence and ease in others in ways they may not fully notice themselves.

The shadow is the Pied Piper: soothing words that carry people somewhere they shouldn’t go, comfort that covers rather than addresses what’s wrong, a harmony that exists on the surface while something unresolved sits underneath it.

Saturn squaring this Full Moon makes the question sharper. Whether in what you offer to others or in what you accept from them: is the attentiveness real, or is it cover for something that hasn’t been honestly faced?

Linda Hill’s website is the most thorough resource available for the full interpretations across all 360 degrees – the place to go to see the various symbols in your own birth chart.

What Does the June 2026 Full Moon in Capricorn Mean for Your Horoscope?

The themes of this Full Moon will play out differently depending on where Capricorn falls in your chart. What follows offers sign-by-sign guidance for working with the weeks ahead. For a more detailed picture of how this lunation engages your own chart, a consultation with a professional astrologer can help clarify what is personal and what is simply passing through.

Aries

Saturn has settled into your sign, and you’re feeling it (or, perhaps others are seeing it all around you). The pressure lands on your stamina and your capacity to bear what’s being demanded – and Saturn in Aries isn’t patient with weakness. Finances are the active secondary story: income and material security need more attention than usual, and the drive around them can run productive or combative depending on what it’s aimed at. Home is where the relief is this period – turn there for a break!

Taurus

You’re running faster than usual – maybe that’s a nice change of pace for you, though Taurus does like a bit more routine and relaxation. Mars in your sign brings more initiative and competitive edge than your natural pace tends toward, and the mind is busy with local plans and conversations that multiply on contact. Home life is easy at this Full Moon; Venus there makes domestic comfort available and pleasant. Where to direct the surplus before it turns into restlessness? Pick the thing most worth pressing and move toward it.

Gemini

Mercury retrograding through your social life means group plans and what you thought was agreed may need a second look before they’re final. Don’t push things to conclusion yet. There’s also something operating below the surface – an unresolved matter or old tension that Mars in the 12th keeps alive. The other side of that coin is you may smell rats where none exist – so let things rise on their own. Besides, Venus in your 3rd house gives you a bit of luck this month with everyday matters, and it may resolve on its own.

Cancer

Close relationships are the main event at this Full Moon. The Moon in Capricorn falls in your partnership house, and what’s been developing in close relationships comes fully into view. Consider burdens and costs – both others place on you, and where you may have been such to others. A close relationship needs more clarity than you may currently have. You have the energy and presence this period to take on whatever comes, as the Sun and Mercury are both in your sign. 

Leo

Career ambition is high, and Mars in your 10th house gives you an edge worth using. This period can produce visible professional progress if you expect it to. Venus in your sign makes you personally engaging and socially smooth, which helps. The Sun in the 12th suggests something still developing quietly behind the scenes; not everything is ready to surface yet, and that’s fine. Follow the career thread. What’s forming in the background will become clearer when Mercury turns direct.

Virgo

The Full Moon lands in your creative and romantic life. Whatever has been developing there comes into clear view at this Full Moon, and the emotions around it run higher. Jupiter in the 11th keeps the field wide through friends and social connections – a supportive backdrop for what surfaces. Venus in the 12th is softer: something soothing or attractive operating just below the surface, not yet named. This is a period to pay close attention to what brings you pleasure.

Libra

Your career and public standing are prominent – the Sun in your professional house makes your work visible, and this is a period to lead and press forward on what you’ve been building. But close relationships are under more pressure: Saturn in your partnership house is testing what those bonds are built on, and the examination isn’t necessarily going to feel so gentle. Your ruling planet Venus in the 11th offers ease through friends and social life, which provides plenty of relief from the partnership scrutiny.

Scorpio

Professional life is moving well. Venus in your career house makes public-facing interactions smooth, and this period favors professional dealings and anything requiring you to be effective with people in authority. Partnerships are more charged: Mars in your relationship house brings energy to one-to-one connections that can run passionate and collaborative or combative, depending on whether the drive is pointed toward something shared. Watch for territorialism – from you, or ‘them.’ The Sun in the 9th draws your attention toward broader questions of direction, and it’s a good month for personal reflection.

Sagittarius

Daily work (especially chores and those kinds of things that need doing but are never appreciated) and health are under active pressure. Mars in the 6th drives hard on efficiency and effort, but pushing past your physical limits will cost more than it gains. Pace yourself. Jupiter is also expanding shared resources or a partner’s finances, and that story deserves close attention. Venus in the 9th makes travel and philosophical study appealing, and that direction offers pleasure worth taking if the work pressure allows for it.

Capricorn

The Full Moon is in your own sign, so that could mean the month’s focus is more personal for you than for the other signs. The Sun and Mercury in your partnership house light up close relationships and make conversations there carry more weight than usual. But Mercury retrograding through that same territory means what you communicate and what the other person hears may differ. Don’t assume clarity you don’t have! That can produce a multitude of problems that are easier sorted from the outset.

Aquarius

Home life is charged – Mars in the 4th brings friction to domestic matters, tension with family or pressure around your living situation that can no longer go unaddressed. (This includes roommates and tenants in your building.) Jupiter in the 6th is the more positive story: work is expanding and the effort you put into your routine is paying off. Venus in the 7th keeps partnerships easy and affectionate – if you’re seeking romance, get out there! Just be sure to attend to the home front, as the rest is in good shape.

Pisces

Social life and friendships are where the emotional weight of this Full Moon falls, which should give you ample opportunity to be there for those who are going through something major and could benefit from your wisdom. Jupiter in the 5th keeps creative life and romance in generous supply. This month, self-expression pays back in dividends. Venus in the 6th makes daily work more pleasant and working relationships more harmonious. There is quite a lot to draw on this period.

Want to see a professional astrologer? I offer birth chart consultations that explore dominant life themes through your present circumstances – whether you want to understand what’s ahead or build a clearer picture of your timing. Get a sense of what we can accomplish together.

Plus, discover your Summer Solstice Horoscope!

About the Author

Wade Caves is a Brooklyn-based astrological consultant, educator, and published author who has practiced astrology professionally since 2014. He was certified with honors from the Mayo School of Astrology in London and the School of Traditional Astrology (STA), where he now serves as faculty and as principal of the Astronomy and Mundane Astrology programs.

Wade wrote the quarterly World Reflections column for The Mountain Astrologer and currently serves as editor of In Mundo, Skyscript’s world astrology journal. He is the editor and annotator of the 300th anniversary edition of William Lilly’s History of his Life and Times (Rubedo Press, 2015) and hosts the World Astrology Summit, a conference dedicated to advancing astrological technique for diverse audiences.

A sought-after speaker, Wade has presented at the United Astrology Conference (UAC), the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), the Astrological Association, and the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), among others. He has taught intensive courses across the US, Europe, Australia, and Canada.

Before practicing astrology full-time, Wade held an executive advisory role with a data consulting firm specializing in large-scale infrastructure, bringing an analytical and research-driven approach to his astrological work. He specializes in horary, electional, and classical technique with an emphasis on cross-era literacy – connecting ancient methods to modern practice.

At TABLE Magazine, Wade writes monthly horoscopes, seasonal forecasts, and original lifestyle content that connects astrology to food, cocktails, and entertaining – a unique editorial approach that bridges astrology and the culinary world.

Website: wadecaves.com • skyscript.co.uk/inmundo Email: hello@wadecaves.com

Story by Wade Caves
Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Greene

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

1...567...80Page 6 of 80

Related News