 Not far from Santa Fe, on the road to Lower Colonias
in the conifer forests high in the mountains above Pecos, New Mexico
you might notice
one very different kind of metal gate of the type usually seen closing
a gap in the barbed wire fences of the ranches out west. This one has
its horizontal bars painted the colors of the spectrum. It is the rainbow
gate, and beyond it is the home and studios of the artists Allan Walter
and Jenny Lind. When they decided in 1994 to start a ceramic art business
in Santa Fe, it was an easy decision to name the new enterprise Rainbow
Gate, perfectly conveying the artists’ sensibility and passion
for COLOR.
New Mexico’s colors are the colors of the sun and the earth and
the sky. The colors of Spain. Literally. Look at the flags and you will
see the same colors. The golden yellow of the sun and the red of the
earth. And then, in Santa Fe, that sky behind the flag! A blue so chromatic
that its saturation penetrates through the eyes to the soul. We think
of places in colors of their artists. Goya, Picasso and Miro color Spain.
Perhaps more than any other, Georgia O’Keefe has colored New Mexico.
In New Mexico colors are revealed by an extraordinary light - light
so clear and intense it has always inspired artists – from Anasazi
masters to Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keefe to the not yet known
masters working in Santa Fe and Taos today. Illuminated by that extraordinary
light, New Mexico works its numinous way with artists. The light sculpts
as well as paints and in the art of ceramics, especially, a powerful
synthesis of beauty is possible. These things of elemental essences are
found in the ceramic art of Rainbow Gate.
ALLAN WALTER and JENNY LIND are the masters of Rainbow Gate. They have
together spent their lives collaboratively evolving a ceramic art that
embodies the visual delight and the spirit of New Mexico. Theirs is an
original and authentic ceramic art that captures the sense of place that
draws millions of visitors to Santa Fe.
From the fleeting intimacy of a hummingbird savoring summer nectar to
a quiet meditation of flowers and fruit, or perhaps suspended koi in
a liquid pool, or noble and magnificent steeds in a mountain pasture,
Jenny’s paintings on Rainbow Gate ceramics reveals her mastery
of drawing and composition. She has a signature gesture that, wedded
to her innate sensitivity to the light and color as a native of Santa
Fe, is always lively and fresh.
Allan is the form and glaze master who interprets and translates Jenny’s
vision to the lasting durability that emerges from the transforming heat
of the kiln. From the sculpted curve of a vase to the exquisite fit of
images of fruit to the tondo of dinner plates, Allan’s hand has
touched and his eye directed the happy resolution of form, function and
image. His original botanical designs are a hallmark icon of Rainbow
Gate dinner plates.
 We believe you will find owning RAINBOW GATE CERAMICS an esthetically
enriching experience. Rainbow Gate’s mission is to provide you
with beautiful, colorful ceramic dinnerware and related pottery, including
HANDMADE TILE, of heirloom quality. We are artists who value the meaning
and symbolism embodied in the useful objects we make.
Wherever you live, we hope the daily pleasure of a drink from a favorite
Rainbow Gate cup or sharing your mealtimes around a place setting of
Rainbow Gate dinnerware might also remind you of the beauty in the garden
outside your home or perhaps in the faraway mountains you may see from
your garden, or even how we share this life with all creatures of the
earth.
We invite you to visit us in Santa Fe where we are an easy stroll over
the river and off of the Turquoise Trail. If you have visited
us, we hope your Rainbow Gate ceramics will serve as a lasting invitation
to return to the beauty of Santa Fe and New Mexico.
A Note About Color By Jenny Lind
 My experience of growing up in New Mexico has influenced and inspired
me throughout my life. When I was a teenager my mother and I lived
on the east side of Santa Fe. In the evenings I would often ride
my horse Suzi into the foothills and watch the sunset. Western movies
have made a cliché of our sunsets, but the reality is that
in New Mexico the sunsets are so intense, so crisp and so color saturated
that they hypnotically invite you to ride west.
Many times I watched with Suzi as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turned
not the red of Christ’s blood, like the conquistadores thought,
but cobalt blue while the cloud filled sky became luminous pink, orange,
violet and yellow. One evening, after years of sunsets, the shadows around
me momentarily turned a glowing sage blue-green. I was spellbound. Time
froze. It was a rare and fugitive moment. They say that in the right
places on the sea, say between Key West and the Dry Tortugas, you can
see a green flash under just the right conditions at sunset. I relish
my blessing to have witnessed the rarest moment of color when the sea’s
green flash was for an instant with me in the high mountain desert of
northern New Mexico.
Fall colors are particularly glorious in New Mexico with brilliant turquoise
skies and billowing white clouds. Golden cottonwoods line small winding
rivers. The red hills are dotted with fluffy blue-green cedars, and purple
asters line the hillsides for miles, punctuated with the diverse complement
of yellow wildflowers. If an early frost times himself just right his
bite will tip the yellow aspen leaves in the mountains with pink and
bronze.
 When I was young I thought this cornucopian gift of color was a secret
trove only mine. As I grew into my art, I realized that all artists see
the world with a special eye, but I also learned that New Mexico offers
the artist’s eye a color feast unlike no other. At Rainbow Gate
our glazes reflect our love of our homeplace and its insistent and vibrant
influence on our palette.
The Artists and Creators
The artists and creators of Rainbow Gate are the husband and wife team
of Allan Walter and Jenny Lind. They opened Rainbow Gate in the Fall of 1994, now located one block from the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe.
They have always made their living from making art and their studio business
before Rainbow Gate was Animals Inc. which operated from 1983 to 1992.
Its wares were sold in venues like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf-Goodman, and
Isetan (Japan). Their daughter, Anna Masterson, has joined them as a
partner in recent years at Rainbow Gate.
Jenny has lived all her life in Santa Fe except when she studied at
the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and a year studying painting
at the University of California in Berkeley. Her art is imbued with her
surroundings in Santa Fe. A horsewoman all her life, Jenny rides her
horse, Sazi, as often as she can. Her love of these magnificent animals
is evident in the persistent, lyrical, presence of their images in her
drawings and paintings. Closely following her love of horses is her love
of birds. For many years she and Allan have incorporated an aviary into
their home. Bella, her African Grey parrot, is her daily companion. Also
an avid gardener, Jenny surrounds their adobe home high in the mountains
above Pecos, NM each summer with a flowery fiesta of color where wild
birds find happy sanctuary.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Allan met Jenny at the world-renowned
arts center, Anderson Ranch in Aspen, Colorado. Allan was working at
the center as the apprentice director and Jenny was a visiting artist
teaching a summer workshop. Soon Allan joined Jenny in Santa Fe where
they began their life-long collaboration in ceramic art. Allan studied
with the American master ceramist, Paul Soldner at the Claremont Graduate
School in California. A master of the potter’s wheel, Allan for
many years practiced as a studio potter. At one point in his career he
also taught at the university level. He, like most potters, by necessity
developed many refined skills as an inventive problem solver. The pottery
of Rainbow Gate enjoys an exceptional level of technical quality supporting
its beauty thanks to Allan’s ability to seamlessly wed technique,
artistic vision and his own design sensibilities. Notwithstanding his
dedication to the success of Rainbow Gate, he still finds time to keep
up his tennis game. An avid reader, Allan especially enjoys mysteries.
 While most of the artistic content of Rainbow Gate is inspired by the
immediate surroundings of Santa Fe and New Mexico, travel abroad has
inspired some aspects of Rainbow Gate Designs. Shared interests in art
and spirituality have led Jenny and Allan to spend a few months in India.
One trip to Europe included an epiphanic visit to the famous ice age
cave art in southern France. Experiences like these wind their subtle
way into the art of Rainbow Gate.
Allan and Jenny’s daughter, Anna Masterson is the oldest of three
children. Her sister, Jessie, also an artist, lives in Albuquerque, NM, with
her scientist husband and children. Their brother, Joshua, an architect,
lives with his wife, also an architect, and their child in Seattle, Washington.
All of the children have contributed at one time to Rainbow Gate, but
it was Anna who became a full partner in Rainbow gate in 1999. She studied
art at the University of New Mexico and for a while lived and studied
in Portland, Oregon. Her young son Orion adds his sumptuous energy to
her life. Now, Anna contributes to Rainbow Gate with her painting, her
creative designs and her responsibility as the production manager.
Rainbow Gate Ceramics
Allan Walter and Jenny Lind established Rainbow Gate in 1994. After
years of being studio potters and having had three other small ceramic
businesses they knew it was time to step to the next level. Adding employees
as the business grew they welcomed their daughter, Anna Masterson, as
a full partner in 1999.
Today there are twelve employees including Anna, Jenny and Allan. Anna
runs the production, paints and also contributes ideas for the designs.
Allan and Jenny are responsible for the designs and ideas that drive
the ever-evolving patterns and forms of the dinnerware. Simple shapes
are deliberately chosen to better show the color and motifs that are
painted on them.
 Rainbow Gate employees, many of whom are artists themselves, are a dedicated,
multitalented group. Rainbow Gate counts itself privileged to have such
employees. All the work is made, painted, glazed and fired in our kilns
at Rainbow Gate in Santa Fe. The colored clay slips that are used to
paint with are made exclusively in house. Every piece is handmade and
painted with multiple layers of color to develop a rich color field.
The ware is made from strong, chip-resistant, low temperature clay that
is not only functional, but also durable. It is painted with a safe,
non-toxic lead-free glaze.
At Rainbow Gate every piece is inspected at each stage of the creative
process. All the pieces can be washed in the dishwasher. Bowls and cups
can be used in the microwave, however we do not recommend the use of
our plates in the microwave because the flat shape can’t distribute
the heat rapidly enough which sometimes causes breakage.
 Small surface flaws are inherent in handmade clay objects so sometimes
the work will have slight irregularities. This is a hallmark of individually
made ceramics and contributes to their esthetic appreciation. We always
carefully scrutinize all work before it leaves our studio so we know
that the work has been completed to the highest standard of ceramic art
production. We stand behind our work. If for any reason you have a problem
with our work, please contact us.
If you are a new customer, we welcome you. If you are a returning customer,
we welcome you. We are grateful for your interest and support. Please
stop by our studio and showroom at 320 Sandoval Street when you are in Santa
Fe.
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