We have been in the tiny town of Dixon recently
and a building that stands out from the rest in this mostly adobe town
is currently home to the Metier Weaving Gallery and Studio.
Dixon is on the Embudo River only a couple of miles from it's confluence
with the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico.
This building started life as a general store, gas station,
and non-alcoholic pool room close to one hundred years ago,
and is still owned by the same family.
The stone was applied over the original adobe building
by the kids in the family.
They hauled the stone from the close-by Embudo River by hand.
Irene and her husband renovated the building for her Metier gallery...
...adding the distinctive shutters among other improvements.
One of the drawbacks to the stone is that the mortar
the kids used was made from sand from the arroyo.
The arroyo sand is very alkaline and rounded,
and the photo above shows an area that has been patched.
The moral of the story is always use good material,
in this case good washed sand made for mortar.
This distinctive buttress with the larger stone adds a nice touch.
I appreciate buildings that show the changes that have been made
over the years creating a timeline of rejuvenation.
From this angle check out the window on the left.
A beautiful detail that honors the whims of the owner builder.
Next time we will go inside and look at the looms and weavings.
