Ranch News

2024/25

This past year was full of rewards and trials. From January on, we underwent a six-month process of revisiting our vision for the future and future sustainability of Rancho Linda Vista. The brainchild of Maggie Rush Miller and her son Cougar, weeks of meetings and discussions culminated in our 3-Gen Labor Day Weekend, which brought residents and family together for what proved to be a joyous exercise in reconnection. At the same time—and very much in line with our consideration of legacy and renewal—we also suffered the loss of a number of longtime Ranch members, each of whom contributed to our community in unique and vital ways. View our In Memoriam page to learn more.

On a lighter note, we are excited to kick off our first-ever Art Music Residency Award, as well as to send out a new call for our Summer Visual Artist Residency Award. Both residencies are aimed at providing the time, space and means often needed by serious artists to pursue their work. These initiatives, too, are borne of the idea that the young and gifted today face a harsher economic reality than the preceding postwar generations.

Otherwise, everyone has been buckled down into their lives and creative endeavors. Judith Stewart is currently exhibiting two figurative bronzes in the Tucson Sculpture Festival and Tina Bolt recently displayed her evocative color-field quilts at the Oracle Center for the Arts. Andrea Koester had a recent show of black-and-white photography in her home state of Kentucky, and a publication is now promised. A performance by Nicole Paco, Francis Bartolomeo and Alex Tighe met with a glowing response from crowds at the Baila el Pueblo Desert Music Festival in Tucson. Meanwhile, there have been lots of exciting concerts down the road at the Wilson Barn, as well as an ever-changing roster of exhibits in the Gallery. Speaking of the Gallery, Andrea is now giving Imo Baird a hand with outreach and hanging shows. On top of that, she and Nicole have just released a delightful in-house quarterly Newsletter.

Maggie is proving an innovative leader at The Drawing Studio, the school founded by her father Andrew Rush. Her youngest, Cougar, is now living at the ranch full time, cooking, drumming and painting, while her middle child Zeke has a toddler. Nic Littler continues to astonish us by juggling his PhD commitments in genetics with his art-and-performance actions as a key member of IQeco. Meanwhile, Lyra Rahner is pursuing research in dendrology and Cezanne Rahner is taking on library sciences. Our youngest member is growing by leaps and bounds while charming all, while a number of us are thinking about or crossing the line into retirement—from our paying jobs that is. Beyond the ranch, a number of us, too, are currently helping with the effort to protect the nearby San Pedro River from industrial destruction.

On a last sweet note, we were thrilled to have Stroud and Cynthia Watson visit in March. Stroud, an architect and the urban planner behind downtown Chattanooga’s revitalization, numbers among one of the Ranch originals and Cynthia, an artist, is a longtime friend.

2023/2024

The Arts

We’ve finally caught up on ourselves, after a few unprecedented years. From our 50th Anniversary and a major land purchase to the Bighorn wildfire, Covid and beyond, we experienced many twists and turns in the road. The good news is RLV Gallery is open, with a full spate of exhibitions. We have also reinitiated our Artist Residency Program, and are delighted to have the Mesa-based artist Talia Dudley join us this summer.

Over the past few years, an inspired line up of concerts have been popping up down at the Wilson Barn, under the umbrella of partners Oracle Art. Genres range from Cumbia, Folk, and Roots to Experimental Chamber and Electronic Music, with performers coming from as far away as Mexico City. The Lodge also now hosts numerous regional bands. Full credit is due to Austin Owen, who created the Oracle Recording Studio in the Lodge’s west wing. The Studio gives young musicians the chance to focus, collaborate, and record their music on vinyl. These efforts are lending new vibrancy (and fresh faces) to our community, while helping us to fulfill our vision.

We also recently hosted the return of Portguese filmmaker, actress and poet Mia Tomé. Mia’s 2023 documentary The Magnificent Women, which was screened at the Wilson Barn last year, highlights women of the American Southwest, as personified by the ranch’s own Judith Stewart and Raquel Denis.

Loss & Renewal

Some of our news over the past few years has been deeply sad. Among those we have recently lost are Matthew van Guilder Howell, Peggy Bailey Doogan, and Edward Doogan. We extend our deepest condolences to their families. Read more about their lives here.

In acknowledging those whom we’ve lost, we are very mindful of the future might hold—and how their legacy is best served by keeping the spirit of invention and cooperation alive that has defined us since the beginning. One question we have been asking ourselves is, How do we sustain RLV into the future? To this end, a few members came together to create a solar-panel field that is now generating electricity for three houses, the Lodge, and the swimming pool. Desert Water Harvesters were also invited out to guide us in building terraces that better redirect rainwater flow. More ideas in the works revolve around building inclusivity and diversity, as well as fostering creative innovation and open conversation.

We have also welcomed a number of new residents, who bring fresh energy and ideas. The latest to join our fold are singer-songwriters Raquel Denis and Nico Paco, and photographer/ceramicist Andrea Koesters. Others to find their way here include textile artist Tina Bolt, musician and editor Francis Bartolomeo, and musician/yoga devotee Alex Tighe. We also wish the very best to Eli Potter, a talented wood worker who, after living here for nearly 2 years, is now setting up shop in Tucson. And lastly we would be remiss not to celebrate our youngest member, the effervescent and inimitable Phaedra Bolt-Owen, who turns two in August!