Betty Cleffman Hager

“The Spirit of Mogollon”,  2019, 6″ x 6″, stone, pottery shards, smalti gold

“Shiny copper flecks accent the earthy tones in this mosaic’s feature stone, acquired at Mogollon, a ghost mining town in the mountains of the Gila wilderness in New Mexico. Also nearby is the Santa Rita open-pit copper mine whose terracing displays the colors you see in this piece. This region is home to the ancient Gila cliff dwellings of the Mogollon culture, the incredible Mimbres pottery collection at Western NM State University, and other features and stories that conjure the spirits of the area’s rich past.”