Leaders Who Shaped Me: Georgia O’Keeffe

In 2013, my husband Phil Archuletta and I co-wrote Women Marked for History, a book celebrating New Mexico’s remarkable women. Then in 2015, our book received the New Mexico Historic Preservation Award — the only authors recognized that year alongside architects preserving our state’s cultural landmarks. www.travelingnewmexico.com 

I’ll never forget that honor — not just for the award, but for what it represents: following a calling to write this book celebrating the phenomenal women of New Mexico and then winning this award!

The artist Georgia O'Keeffe was one of the 80 extraordinary women whose contributions we honored in Women Marked for History. She was a true leader in the art world and for free thinkers around the world.

-She chose everything with intention – The husband, her unique community, and the images and landscapes she chose to paint.

-She pursued the work that mattered most to her, not anyone else.

-She shaped her life, her way! She was not just concerned about the input of others.

I was first drawn to her in the early 1980s when I stood in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw her painting Red Poppy. I was captivated. The color. The scale. The boldness. I loved it so much that I hung a poster of it in my apartment — a daily reminder of creative courage. That moment sparked something in me. 

I began reading everything I could about her life. I was really intrigued by her decision to claim New Mexico as her creative home. What I never could have imagined then was that forty years later, I would be living in New Mexico myself — walking the same landscapes that inspired her and visiting her home after first seeing her work so long ago.

As much as I’m not a world-renowned artist, Georgia and I have quite a bit in common. She left the familiar, which was New York (for me, it was San Francisco), and embraced the vastness of the Southwest, and trusted her own vision — even when it didn’t fit anyone else’s expectations. We both made decisions to walk away from the familiar.

At The Dream Benefit™, I’ve built a structured way to help people and organizations move beyond dreaming and design a life that matters — on purpose — whether that’s through wellness goals, career growth, leadership development, community contribution, or legacy planning.

Dreams need a system and support to become real. Let me hear from you!

Let’s schedule a no-fee conversation:  rosanne@thedreambenefit.com

 Start living your Dream!