Kat insisted we visit a tiny southern Arizona town called Bisbee, and reader Nan endorsed her view.  It is home to what once was a Phelps Dodge open pit copper mine, closed for the last forty or so years because the costs of refining low grade ore rule out any profit on the finished product.  When the mine played out and the workers moved on, the hippies moved in.  As always, artists follow hippies.  Today Bisbee is an artsy place with a few good cafes, and a decidedly mellow vibe.

We bought take-out chow from Tacho’s Tacos, and while not blown away, we weren’t disappointed either.    We ordered sandwiches from the Bisbee Breakfast Club, and they were pretty dang good as well.   Kat enjoyed a green chile cheeseburger while I gnawed through a Reuben sammidge.  (Who goes to southern Arizona to order a Jewish lunch?  Answer:  Only a dope.)

We took a look down into the chasm that was once a mine.  There’s not much to see, or to write about.  But Kat caught a picture or two.

We visited three art galleries, and one actually permitted photographs.  55 Main Gallery forbids photography, and it featured a bunch of good painters, but they are even less internet savvy than I.  They have no websites, so I can’t show you any of their work.  And then there is the fabulous Vixen Gallery.  This gal does wonderful things with stainless steel, that incredibly hard, hard to paint on metal.  We strolled in to the sound of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the cut where that soprano scat sings mind bent images of death and transformation.  That music fits her art the way Armani suits once fit Walt “Clyde” Frazier.

Then out came Brenna Curry, the artist.  Could she be a distant relative?  My grandmother was a Currie, and in the old days nobody who worked Ellis Island could spell.   Brenna welcomed us, and we responded “Your stuff is really good.  Damn good!”  She responded with a gloved high five, and proceeded to show us all her favorites.  She put a spotlight on some, and wow, those colors really lit up.  After a while she admitted to recently winning a contest and was rather proud of cashing the $10,000 check that came with it.  I’m posting a link to her gallery, but WordPress may hide it.  If they do, Google ‘Brenna Curry’, and you will be rewarded with some fine pictures of her art.

http://www.sonoranartsnetwork.net/brenna-curry.html