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Communities come together for 44th Dixon Studio Tour
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The Dixon Studio Tour, New Mexico’s longest continuously running studio art tour, is returning for its 44th year on Saturday, Nov. 1, and Sunday, Nov. 2.
Judy Buffaloe, a multimedia artist, has been participating in the tour for 25 years and has seen how it not only helps artists but also the town.
“I think it brings a lot of introduction if people haven’t been here before,” Buffaloe said. “I think a lot of people discover Dixon through the tour.”
She said that she has noticed people visit for the tour and then end up moving to Dixon, adding to the community of artists.
“They found this beautiful place, they can take a breath, and then they hear about the tour, and they’re kind of latent artists,” Buffaloe said. “Qualities start kind of rising to the surface and they start doing things, and they do things beyond what they even imagine for themselves.”
The tour has 46 stops featuring artists of different mediums including ceramics, woodwork, multimedia and more.
Kate Raphael, tour coordinator and multimedia artist, has participated for the last few years and finds herself inspired by the scenery around her.
“The landscape is still super fascinating and intriguing and beautiful and catches my eye every time,” Raphael said. “I came from Portland, Oregon, where I always say we didn’t have shadows there because it rained so much. So I’m very into the shadows here.”
The tour is open to artists from five communities — Dixon, Embudo, Apodaca, Cañoncito and Questacitas, Raphael said.
“The tour has been really clear about trying to focus on economic development in this rural area,” Raphael said.
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“It really is trying to sustain a way of life here and a population here,” Raphael said, “and making it possible for people to live in rural areas and also have an income.”
She said the tour is one of the most interpersonal ways to share art, and many people return year after year.
Buffaloe has also had repeat customers over the decades, including some from her distant past.
“Somehow, either by accident or by intention, they show up at the tour and come to our stop and they say, ‘Judy, do you recognize me?’” Buffaloe said. “And you know, it’s part of the art, but it’s really part of the connection as well.”
Raphael said she has learned that art can be more than a hobby.
“I’ve done it my whole life as a secondary pursuit, but it’s so nice here to really understand that this is a way of life, like art and creativity is a way of life,” Raphael said. “And it’s possible to spend your whole life working on things and getting better at them and sharing them with people.”
