A metal design artist, singer-songwriter, musician, mother, educator in earth sciences and a true renaissance woman!
Living in canyon country where the ancient ones once walked has been a desire of hers for decades and in 2016 with her move from Lyons, CO to Abiquiu, NM, her dream became a reality. Her studio and home sit nestled near the cliffs in the Chama River valley surrounded by red rock mesas, archaeological sites and the
amazing geology at the edge of the Colorado plateau.
Her gallery has found a home in her unique Abiquiu Dome adobe on HWY 84.
Just a few miles away is Ghost Ranch, where she began her adventures in the art of burning metal during an Art Welding workshop she took. Ghost Ranch offered Connie a space to indulge in this art form as well as ‘excavate’ her love of music, songwriting and hunting for fossils.
She is an instructor at the ranch sharing her metal art and love of the high desert.
One unique fact about Connie is that she grew up in the Hollywood scene, appearing on several shows including American Bandstand. Her close friendship with Marie Osmond allowed her to have many experiences of unbelievable measure. However, when Connie went on her first archaeology field trip in college, her life changed drastically as she watched the sun setting over the slick rock canyon country for the first time.
The wilderness became her inspiration for living life to it’s fullest, writing songs from the heart, digging in the earth for ancient treasures and creating designs that are grounded in her soul.
With all the good things life sent her way there has also been tragedy.
Regarding love she states, "Loss has been a part of my journey, but with it came a love for which I can only be grateful". Her passion and determination to recognize heartache and celebrate life's gifts translates into every aspect of her life. She and her four children share the love of the arts, their best times being spent together around a campfire with guitars and the clear New Mexico night sky.
Connie's love of the Southwest flows through all of her work including the images she produces with metal, the lyrics of her songs and the stories she tells of hunting dinosaur bones. Her ability to celebrate her love of art and science blends her varied interests to her businesses - a metal arts division, performance/CD division and the paleontology/earth science education division, where she is known as The Dinosaur Lady.
She is also the owner of ‘Copper Canyon Casita’ a vacation rental in Abiquiu, available through Airbnb. Her daughter Becca is the designer and host of this unique tiny home space in the Chama River Valley.
For Connie, creative inspiration comes from many things, whether it be finding a treasure in a pile of scrap metal, exploring the land, watching the sunset as it washes the land in warm light or finding
a sunflower that grows in the sand.
Enjoy updates and news regarding Connie Burkhart's gallery, workshops, performances and metal designs here!
Contact Info: 505.484.9887 ~ RDRCKWMN@MSN.COM
PO BOX 1459 Abiquiu, NM 87510
