Photos by Tom Hartsock

A new contribution to a Gallup tradition

Artist Nani Chacon of Albuquerque was commissioned by COPE to paint a mural beside their office at 210 E. Aztec Ave., and she completed the project on Feb. 23. Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment, is a nonprofit organization which focuses on increasing health across Navajo Nation through clinical and preventative care. The mural is an illustration of their logo, featuring a hogan, birds, mountains, and corn. “I worked with COPE on coming up with the design. It’s a reflection of what they do,” Chacon said.

Chacon has been drawing since age 15 and painting murals for five years, including one at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window...

It was a little chilly outside for a Holiday Stroll during Arts Crawl on Dec. 12, but the music, dancing, good, art and special gifts made for a lot of warm moments inside the downtown buildings.

The pictures show what it looked like, in case you weren’t there, but even the best image cannot impart the warmth that spread through the area and delighted several hundred spectators with different choices. Despite the cold in the air – cold that could not be dissipated even with propane heaters – the crowds at the venues spread over a 2-3 block area were enjoying themselves and didn’t seem in the least anxious to leave.

Gallup is filled with many talented artisans who showcase their talent by means of silversmith, rug weaving and painting. As this area is an unique diversity of culture and art, many artisans come out of this spectrum making their mark in the art world, one of those is, Ric Sarracino, talented painter.

Sarracino first discovered his talent at a very young age.

“I started to paint and found my niche, oh about when I was a small child in my kindergarten class.,” he said.

Throughout his school days, he discovered that painting was his outlet.

“In elementary school I was recognized as a great artist,” he said. “I was so disruptive. I lacked discipline and this...