When Your Whole Life Is One Artistic Creation

An interview with Jaye Buros.

​By Jessica Rath

On the patio, having lunch with Jaye. Image credit: Jessica Rath

​One thing I particularly like about interviewing people is the fact that I learn so much about individuals I’ve known for a long time. Jaye Buros is a case in point; I first met her shortly after I moved to Abiquiú in 2000 and have run into her countless times thereafter. I knew she was a painter, that she was married to Bill Page, and that the two of them were running the Rising Moon Gallery for several years. But I had no idea that she was a TWA flight attendant for a while, or better: a stewardess, as they were called then.
 
“Then” – in the early 1970s, a cabin crew job was way more prestigious than it is now. Even so, while it was fun to see foreign countries, Jaye felt like she was “a glorified waitress”, she told me. After two years she had enough.

A lovely reading space. Image credit: Jessica Rath

But let’s start at the beginning: Jaye grew up in a big house with a barn, like a farm,  on Long Island, together with her four sisters. Three of them were older, and one was younger; when I listened to Jaye talking about how she grew up, I was reminded of Little Women. There always  was a lot of work around the house, and the girls had to help, but it didn’t really feel like work because it was fun.
 
“We had a wonderful childhood”, Jaye told me. “It was a bit like the way  I live here:  every room is a work area. Everyone did everything. My Dad rebuilt the house,  and he built a garage. We girls laid the concrete and  made the driveway. He taught us how to fix the toilet, how to fix the sink, how to unclog a drain. We had a basement and an attic, and the house had two stories. It was full of treasures.”

The resident cat. Image credit: Jessica Rath

Jaye’s father taught at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, a specialized school that offers tuition-free, advanced classes in math, science, and technology. Besides that, he was a potter – there was a potter’s wheel in the basement, and everybody could spend time there throwing pots, or doing mosaics, or any other craft around the kitchen table.

“Our house was like a kindergarten. I think  that’s why I ended up teaching kindergarten. It was like my house is now: different rooms are used for different things. It was a ‘working house’ ”. Jaye’s words painted a picture in my mind: an old, comfortably lived-in space with many rooms of various sizes, filled with a variety of different activities plus plenty of joy and laughter. A happy childhood.
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Jaye elaborated: “We all had jobs, everyone had to do work. This sounds hard, but it was always fun. My parents always made it fun. For me work is always a kind of play. That's how I was raised. Mom would sew, do cross stitching, and make quilts and things like that. She loved to celebrate everything.  My Dad could do anything. If he didn't know how to do it, he'd figure it out”.

Beautiful art everywhere. Image credit: Jessica Rath

And then, out of the blue, it all came to an end:
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“When we were 16 my Dad had a heart attack. They took us to my grandmother's house in Tucson and left us with my older sister Max who was 21. She continued to raise us.  It was hard; we didn't have a car and very little money. We had to go grocery shopping with one of those ‘old woman carts’ and do the laundry the same way. I was 16, my younger sister was 15 –  we were  embarrassed to be pulling that cart,  so we all went together, along  with the dog, Nea”.

That must have been quite the spectacle, I figured!

A collage by Bill Page. Image credit: Jessica Rath

​Jaye went to Tucson High and then to Flagstaff for her undergraduate years.

“In those days, it was a great small college where you knew everyone. And I loved the snow! Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have been able to learn how to ski because of the expense. But they offered it as a class, for $55 a semester, to ski.  On weekends, we'd wake up at five in the morning, and I'd go up with my best friend and pack snow on my skis. They didn't have snow machines then. In the morning Iwould pack the snow off the lift, and you would be on your skis all day long. I'm sure that's how I got really strong muscles!”
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“In the afternoon we could ski for free, amazing!”, Jaye continued.  “I majored in child education, and minored in art. After I graduated, I went to California with my best friend and I taught kindergarten in a Hispanic community. I had 33 children in the morning and 33 children in the afternoon, all speaking Spanish;  it was quite hard. I continued teaching kids and adults for 40 years!”

A special statue. Image credit: Jessica Rath

Over the next twenty-something years, Jaye lived first in Massachusetts, then in New Hampshire, got a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at Antioch University New England, lived  at Mount Monadnock, hiked in the White Mountains, and went to Europe to do some painting and hiking with friends. She became a consultant, integrating her counseling career and working with teachers. In this capacity she traveled all over the United States, working with reading, writing, and creativity in the classroom. That’s how she met her future husband Bill Page, who was a former superintendent.

Eventually, they both ended up in northern New Mexico. They first came here on a camping trip to Truchas;  the landscape appealed to them,  and they decided to relocate here. A realtor helped Jaye to find her house; it had apricot trees which she loved, but also: she could tell that it was a safe place, because she could get up on the roof. 
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“My Dad had taught me that you needed to be able to take care of everything. You don't want to go up on the roof  when it’s too steep. But the roof of this house was just right. The house was ugly –  it had little tiny windows and no French doors, and not much of a garden. But it was just right, and I dreamed of great possibilities”.

The Zen Garden. Image credit: Jessica Rath

In 1996, 28 years ago, Jaye and Bill got married here in the garden.

“Bill made all my dreams come true! We added a studio and a greenhouse. Laurie Faye Bock, Ann Lumaghi, and other neighbors  came over and helped me clean everything up so that we could get married! We had the reception in the new studio. In the morning, Bill waxed all the floors in the house so they were shiny shiny. A caterer provided us with delicious food, we had picnic tables all over the place, Judith Shotwell and Tom Fortsen played music during the ceremony. Cipriano Vigil came and played his music for the reception”. 

Another statue. Image credit: Jessica Rath

Next, I wanted to learn about the Rising Moon Gallery.

“We knew Ton Haak and his wife Ans, we knew they were moving and they wanted someone to take their gallery  over”, Jaye explained.  “The trailer wasn't really in great shape, but we worked with Bernadette Gallegos, and we added an old school room, a portable one. And I thought, I've never done a gallery, but it would be fun to try. Bill agreed”.

She continued: “It was the best job of my life, because I'm just good at it. And I love people. I knew all the artists already (because I was living here all that time), and we had something  like 80 artists from Abiquiú and the surrounding area. We had two events every  month, with music and poetry readings, art events, and things like  dances and solo performances”.
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“And we did that for seven years. It was very memorable to see our great community gather together”.

The studio, filled with Jaye’s and Bill’s work. Image credit: Jessica Rath

“I retired from working at the gallery when I was 70. After that, I became the teacher at the El Rito Library for their summer reading  program. Please support the libraries – they are a treasure for everyone! It is always amazing to work with children, but they take a ton of energy. I retired at 79”.

Artistic windbreaker. Image credit: Jessica Rath

Jaye continued: “After I left the gallery, I focused on my own work. Currently, I’m trying to push my own painting. I’m a pleinaire painter, and sometimes a studio painter. I love being outdoors. As a child we went camping every summer, and I saw all the National Parks when no one else was there. We were the only campers! I feel very lucky. Our Dad made the camper, and we would plan the summer vacation in the kitchen. A map of the U.S. covered the wall, so we always saw where our adventure would be, our route for the summer. I think that’s why I love painting the land. When you paint outside on the spot you have to pay attention, paint fast and intuitively – to catch the light. It’s all about light and shadows!”

“Bill is a continual inspiration to me. His poetry, colors, and his view of life make my life a rich tapestry.  I’m a very lucky woman! Our life together has been a rich adventure, and it still is. Two years ago he published a book of his wonderful flowers and poems, one to go with the other”.
“The people here are a part of our extended family and I feel lucky to know you”.

“I am having an Opening in a group show at the Karen Wray Gallery in Los Alamos on December 5 from 4 - 5. Please come and help me celebrate!”

Jaye had prepared a delicious lunch for me, and after we finished eating, she gave me a tour of the house and the property. Each room had a particular function: a space where one could read and rest, a sewing room, a big studio for lots of different artistic activities, and a kitchen, of course. The house looked like a treasure chest, filled with sculptures, paintings, and antiques. Outside we visited a zen garden, an enclosure for two watchful geese, and a few other buildings that served a variety of functions: a guest house, a small studio, a storage for artwork. I had the impression that every part of the property was a piece of art in its own right, a fitting expression of and metaphor for Jaye’s life. Maybe “mosaic” is the better word: lots of individual pieces all harmoniously  joined together to form one image. Thank you, Jaye, for sharing your beautiful life with me.