Art Inspiration: Carrizozo, New Mexico

The day after Christmas we took a mini-trip. We called it the Las Cruces Loop as we intended to head south, cut east on US 380 to Carrizozo and then head south on US 54 stopping at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site before heading through Tularosa and Almagordo. Then we would hit US 70 to White Sands National Park and spend the night in Las Cruces. The next day we would head home after checking out a few public pieces of art in Las Cruces. It was a way to get out of the house, spend a little time in nature and see some public art. 

The day was mild when we left Albuquerque, however, it quickly turned cloudy, windy, and rather cool as we headed south. Just before we hit Carrizozo, we stopped briefly at the Carrizozo Volcanic Field Scenic Area. It was only for a few minutes since we had previously visited the nearby Valley of Fires Recreation Area (You should definitely make time to visit this and walk the loop. The black lava is so cool!), plus the wind was whipping across the plains.

Then it was time to check out the art at Carrizozo! You might think there wouldn’t possibly be any art in this little town (population 996) in the middle of nowhere. You would be wrong!

In looking for public art in New Mexico on the internet, I found out that Carrizozo is home to Intersection Point Zero, a sculpture “intended to reset a person’s creativity.” I learned that the location selection had been deliberately chosen to be away from lots of people. Of course, I had to see this! 

We easily found the sculpture and were delighted to discover that it was the center of small sculpture garden.

I enjoyed Intersection Point Zero. I did take time to stand under the arches and look up through the void, but I didn’t feel any change in my creativity. Mostly I felt the cold wind on my ears! But I have to admit that I was more intrigued by the group of posts nearby.

Each post was decorated differently. One had medals that listed dates and places that seemed to be where families originated from. Another post was decorated as a leprechaun. I have to admit to being a wee bit partial to that one! 

Another piece of sculpture in the garden was this donkey.  Apparently there is something about donkeys in Carrizozo. We spotted several in different places around town.