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Old Santa Fe Trail

Posted on February 1, 2012January 31, 2016 by Katia Baizan

Collecting antique maps can take you to unusual places. A few days ago I took some time off to hike around a fabulous section of hills and mountains that surround Interstate 25 East of Santa Fe, close to the Old Santa Fe Trail.

Hiking from a major transportation route is not usually my favored destination, however this section is in proximity of much older routes. In the same pass where vehicles speed by on I-25 are the remnants of the old original Santa Fe trail which linked over a 100 years ago Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The trail was established to trade goods with Santa Fe which was a major outpost of Northern Mexico. The trail crossed Indian lands to link the US to Santa Fe through what is today’s Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. It started in 1821 after the independence of Mexico from Spanish colonial rule until the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s and was then still used by travelers on horseback.

My hike took me to a volcanic ridge over-looking the interstate and the old Santa Fe trail to the North. To the West opened up the Rio Grande valley with the 400 year old city of Santa Fe spreading ever further from its historical center at the feet of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, which themselves are the Southern most point of the Rockies.

Looking East the Rocky mountains taper down to some lower hills and plateaus. This flatter area is the very reason the Santa Fe trail followed where it did as the terrain North through the mountains is impracticable for travel. From my vantage point one could clearly see the obstacles that hindered travel and to this day vehicles follow the easiest path to the Great Plains to the East by hugging the Southern most reaches of the great mountains of the Rockies.

I have been familiar with the trail having sold hundreds of old maps depicting the Santa Fe trail when that trail was actually being used. This historical first hand knowledge brought much insight to my hike and led me to wander off in thoughts of US western expansion and of their fight with other colonial powers in claiming the West.

Truly a great hike in which the peaks of the Rockies, the city of Santa Fe and the great open expanses to the South and East can be seen.

Go visit our online gallery at www.MAPSandART.com and follow your heart’s desire.

Jim Ford’s Historical Realism

Posted on January 29, 2012January 31, 2016 by Katia Baizan

Last weekend during the visit of Natasha’s father from England we had the opportunity to visit the bronze foundry of Shidoni in Tesuque, NM just North of Santa Fe. A great deal of Santa Fe artists are present at this establishment producing casts of molten metal to create their exceptional bronze sculptures.

While viewing their sculptures I could not but help thinking of another artist whose capability to give motion and feeling to the inanimate out-shined many of the works we were viewing at Shidoni Foundry that day. I would say that his themes surround the concept of Historical Realism, so do not expect any abstract or modern art in his bronzes. His name is Jim Ford. He signs his work James Ford and can be seen at www.jamesaford.com

His works are a collection of America’s native past showing elements of American Indian culture and their early contacts with Europeans. As James Ford puts it:

“All of my work has its nascent beginnings in the pages of some book I have been reading, if not a specific person then a composite of many characters to give the sculpture an overall theme of the period I’ve been reading. Once I have determined the subject matter then each sculpture matures through a process that combines the love I have for the figure, pose and ethnic diversity.”

When you get a chance take a look at his works at JamesaFord.com

The new website is almost ready!

Posted on January 19, 2012January 31, 2016 by Katia Baizan

Natasha and I have spent a very long time working on getting a new website going. It has been quite a journey, but we are finally getting close to having a functioning website where you can actually buy an antique print, map or artwork.

It all started with the persistent requests of our loyal customers asking us to create a website with some items they could buy in between our shows. A great idea, but how do you make a website? Natasha had created a few webpages and a very nice site where one could follow our show schedule and see our happy faces.

Then we bought a book that promised to reduce our work load. It was a book about work efficiency called “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss in which it was suggested we outsource the website development. So we did and we were certainly going to spend more than 4 hours a week on this project…

We interviewed a great deal of web developers, some in Eastern Europe, a few in the Philippines and many in South Asia, mainly India and Pakistan. Ever so frugal we opted for a lad in Pakistan who promised us the world, his name was Shazad. Two months later Shazad gave us a website with an ugly presentation and a website full of bugs. We fired him.

It seemed that a bigger company was required so we tried our luck with another kind gentleman by the name of Puneet. With a twelve hour time difference we often found Puneet laying on his bed video conferencing with us about the in and outs of our future website. It was going to be a gem.

However, with every day, week and then months that passed we were very slowly coming to have a functioning website although full of bugs and a presentation that was prehistoric by web standards. Having spent a fairly large sum of money we were not ready to let Puneet and Co in India go and fire him. There was a small detail that did bring us to do just that: fire him. He could not program us a shopping cart!

We had no way to sell our products, all 2500 of them, which we took pictures of, uploaded and wrote descriptions of. We were back to square one and decided to go “local”. We hired Jim, another gentleman, this time from South Carolina. He promised us a quick fix, but disappeared with the deposit.

Never abandoning a project. Natasha and I went against all the recommendations of our famous 4-hour Workweek book and contracted a very local company: right here in Santa Fe. Within 2 months from the signature of the contract we have a new website and it works. Not a single bug. The cost was a third of our amigo in India, Puneet, and it looks professional.

Yes, it has been a long journey. A two year journey… We threw away the book and are BUYING LOCAL.

5 Tips for Selecting Art

Posted on September 1, 2011February 7, 2016 by Katia Baizan

Here are 5 easy tips to help you when you are selecting art:

1. Don’t think too much, don’t process and dissect your choices. Try to relax, it’s easy to choose art really.

2. Follow your first impulse, it is usually the right one.

3. Don’t worry what others may think. The piece of art you choose is speaking to you personally, not to others. Others will have their own experience, it is their own. Art transcends.

4. Let your heart decide for you. Are you feeling excited about a certain piece of art? That is a good sign, you are in love with a piece of art!

5. Go ahead follow your heart and get that piece of artwork.

To get started and use your new found skill try a look at our web store at MAPSandART.com for hundreds of unique art pieces from around the world, all originals no reproductions and great prices.

Watercolor Seascape - Sailing-main- 10163M

How to Pick Art

Posted on September 1, 2011February 7, 2016 by Katia Baizan

How to pick art? – This is either the most complicated question or the easiest in the world. It is our opinion that you can hire a contingent of designers, decorators and architects to give you an incredible home with no equal anywhere in your neighborhood, however the art is your own to pick and we will make it easy for you.

Professional designers and decorators are very useful in helping you pick the right color of an antique butterfly print, size and tint of an old map or that landscape engraving for the office, however when it comes to art it is you that must decide. Art is a product of the soul and it is there that you must find your inspiration.

A very broad statement indeed, so let us define it more clearly. When defining a work of art we are not talking about the antique print or map that we have on offer on our website at www.MAPSandART.com, those originally had the intent of transferring information to an audience whereas original art work on paper has the intent of sharing emotion through a quasi-spiritual visual experience. You are the one that is having that experience and are most qualified for the job.

This is the reason that we have divided our extensive collection at www.MAPSandART.com into three distinct sections: Antique Prints, Old Maps and finally Original Artwork on Paper, also known as Works on Paper. Each section creates a different experience and put together they offer a unique touch to your home that cannot be replicated in any of the big retail stores. People that shop with us are happy since they have themselves acted in the universe of artistic creation. Their choices are unique.

With this is mind let us answer the question of how to pick artwork and specifically art work on paper. Don’t think too much, don’t process and dissect your choices. Try to relax, it’s easy to pick art really. You should follow your first impulse, it is usually the right one.

You might be overly conscious of what friends and family will think of your choices. Don’t worry what others may think. The piece of art you pick is speaking to you personally, not to others as much. Others will have their own experience, it is their own. Art transcends.

The solution is to let your heart decide for you. Use your brain for picking antique prints or old maps. Relax and feel inspired when you are picking art.

You are looking at a piece of art now, do you like it? Is it beautiful to you? Does it speak to you? Are you feeling excited about a certain piece of art? All of these are good signs. You are in love with this piece of art and when you are in love you should go with it. Get that piece of art.

That is how to pick artwork!

Go visit our web store at MAPSandART.com and follow your heart’s desire.

Legal information

Posted on December 8, 2009December 28, 2015 by Katia Baizan

Atmosphere Antiques LLC is now Antique Maps and Works on Paper Ltd, a New Mexico corporation.

Update December 26th 2015.

Antique Maps and Works on Paper Ltd is now Antique Maps and Works on Paper Ltd Inc, a Florida corporation.

How to Clean Plexiglass Frames

Posted on October 11, 2009December 28, 2015 by Katia Baizan

Plexiglass is a wonderful framing material, it is light and does not shatter. The downside to using this material is that it can become scratched if it is not cared for properly. When your plexiglass frame needs to be cleaned please follow these instructions to avoid any of those dreaded scratches!

1. Lay an old towel on your work counter.
2. Take the frame off the wall and lay it on the towel picture side up.
3. Blow off any dust and then wipe with a soft damp (not wet) cloth. For fingerprints use a weak solution of dish detergent and water.
4. Gently dry the plexiglass with a clean soft cloth to avoid water marks.
5. When scratches are present, use a plastic cleaner such as Novus or Brillianize to remove scuffs. Always spray the product on the soft clean cloth and not directly on the frame to avoid getting any cleaner inside the frame and damaging your artwork.
6. Never use Windex, any product containing ammonia, or directly touch the Plexiglass with your fingers, as this may scratch it.

European Buying Trip

Posted on October 10, 2009December 28, 2015 by Katia Baizan

Natasha and David have just had another great show at their two locations at Round Top, Texas. It was rainy, it was full of bugs, we were deep in mud, we were busy, we were selling and we are happy.
For the Spring Round Top we will have a slot in the new book for Round Top: Parisian Cowboy’s Guide to the Round Top Experience.
Book on Round Top

The Parisian Cowboy’s Guide is recommended by the Marburger Farm Antique show:
Marburger Farm

Now it is time to go replenish our stock for the next shows. David and Natasha will be spending the next 4 weeks on their European Buying Trip looking for extraordinary art work on paper and antiquarian maps. Natasha will be in England part of the time while David will be in France.

After a short sojourn in Portugal, David and Natasha will be back in Santa Fe. You can find them now on yellowpages.com
Antique Maps and Works on Paper in Santa Fe

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