Winter Stroll & Market at Box Studio Sculpture Garden: Make It a Holiday Road Trip!

Good news, holiday shoppers: we’re throwing open the doors one more time this season! The Box Studio Sculpture Garden gallery and gift shop will be open for two days only for our Winter Stroll and Market, Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Plan a special pre-holiday outing wandering among our monumental metal sculptures in the crisp New Mexico air (let’s hope for snow!). Duck inside the gallery and gift shop to warm up with something hot to sip while browsing for the perfect holiday presents. It’s hard to beat as far as things to do in New Mexico this December.

What’s waiting in the gift shop

We’ll have special holiday items and end-of-year pricing on merchandise. Here’s a peek at what you’ll find for everyone on your list:

• Origami kits for the crafty folks

• Small sculptures you’ll want to keep for yourself (no judgment)

• Ornaments galore

• Our signature tees, perfect for gifting (or for you)

Then make a day of it on the Turquoise Trail

Keep your sentimental holiday journey going by heading to the Christmas in Madrid Parade on Saturday, December 5. Just down the road from us, Madrid has been putting on a holiday show for generations. The little old mining town was once famous for its sparkling, electrified Christmas displays, which drew huge crowds and even caught the eye of TWA in the coal-mining heyday. Artists and craftspeople revived the tradition in the 1970s, and today the parade is a small-town delight that’s been featured on CBS Sunday Morning.

Here’s our suggested Saturday itinerary:

Morning: Stroll the sculpture garden and shop the market at Box Studio Sculpture Garden.

Midday: Grab lunch at Beer Creek or Blackbird Saloon in Cerillos, or head to Madrid to dine at the Mineshaft Tavern, Java Junction or Refinery 14 and browse the galleries, shops, and studios.

Afternoon: Enjoy the pre-parade activities with live performances, workshops, activities, and the Man in Red himself, Santa Claus! Stake out a spot for the parade, starting at 4 p.m.

Evening: Cheer for the town lighting at 4:30 p.m. and soak up the holiday glow!

It’s the perfect cozy road trip through Santa Fe County, with art, gifts, good food, and twinkle lights all in one day.

Can’t make it to the garden? No problem! Our online shop is open for holiday gifting anytime.

Happy holidays from Box Studio!

Image courtesy of Visit Madrid NM

ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN Has Arrived in Albuquerque!

Albuquerque, we’ve been looking forward to this one! ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN is officially open at the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, and it’s even better than we hoped. Our traveling exhibit of monumental, origami-inspired metal sculpture is settled in among the gardens through Sunday, March 28, 2027.

If you’ve never seen metal origami up close, this is your chance. Meet a bison standing tall among the plants, a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, and ponies galloping through the entry to the Japanese Garden. Then keep an eye out for the boats, the cranes, and the planes, each one starting as a single, uncut piece of paper translated to museum-quality metal sculpture. Exploring this garden and discovering the artwork is a perfect way to spend a day.

We also have to brag about the BioPark team. This is the first traveling exhibition they’ve ever hosted, and you’d never know it. They were organized, enthusiastic, and a delight to work with from our first conversation through the final installation details. We’re so grateful to them for welcoming us. For Kevin and Jennifer, it’s especially meaningful to show their work just down the road from their home and studio south of Santa Fe.

Here’s our insider tip: go soon! The BioPark’s holiday River of Lights is an Albuquerque favorite, and it brings big crowds. Visiting now means quieter paths, plenty of room to wander, and time to take in each sculpture at your own pace. (The exhibit will still be here during River of Lights, of course, but if you like a peaceful stroll, now is the time.)

Looking for things to do in Albuquerque this fall, or planning a New Mexico road trip? Add this exhibition to your list. If you’re driving the Turquoise Trail, make a day of it and stop by the Box Studio Sculpture Garden in Cerrillos before it closes for the season, then finish with the ABQ BioPark exhibit. It’s a great way to see our work in two very different settings.

Find tickets and hours at bioparksociety.org. Exhibit admission is included with garden admission and free for BioPark members. We can’t wait to see you there!

Up, Up, and Away! Balloon Fiesta Visitors Lifted Our Spirits

This year’s Balloon Fiesta was sensational, and we are so thankful to everyone who made the trip to Box Studio Sculpture Garden in Cerrillos! Throughout the event, we welcomed over 100 visitors a day, and on some days more than 200, many of whom ventured up the Turquoise Trail from the Fiesta grounds in Albuquerque. We chatted with so many folks who told us that spending the afternoon with our monumental metal sculptures was the perfect way to keep the excitement and beauty of the day going.

In addition to our regular weekday hours, the sculpture garden was open on Saturday, October 3 and Saturday, October 10 especially for Balloon Fiesta visitors. We are truly grateful to the intrepid travelers who added us to their list of things to do in New Mexico. Whether you came for the origami-inspired sculptures, the Turquoise Trail scenery, or a little of both, it was a joy to share our garden art with you.

We look forward to the Balloon Glow, Mass Ascension, Balloon Races, and all of the other festivities next year. Until then, we hope to see you back in Santa Fe County for another visit. Our sculpture garden, gallery, and gift shop welcome visitors May through October, so be sure to add us to your itinerary when you come back for next year’s Balloon Fiesta!

Turquoise Trail Studio Tour

We're feeling so grateful after two incredible weekends of opening our New Mexico garden and studio to the public for the Turquoise Trail Studio Tour. Over the four days, we welcomed more than 1,000 visitors, a record for the Tour!

Our working studio isn't usually open to visitors, so we were thrilled to invite guests behind the scenes. Artists Jennifer and Kevin Box shared how delicate paper becomes museum-quality metal sculpture, and it was a joy to see people light up as they learned about the process.

The Turquoise Trail Studio Tour is an all-volunteer, artist-managed annual event that winds through some of the most beautiful parts of New Mexico. This year marks five years under its current name, and we think it just keeps getting better! Nearly 30 artists opened their studios and shared their work with visitors all along Highway 14, the historic Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway. We're so proud to be part of such a welcoming, creative community, and share the day with our many talented neighbors.

Thank you to every visitor who stopped by over the two weekends. We loved having you! If you missed this year's tour, mark your calendar now: it returns September 18–19 and September 25–26, 2027.