Sara Sandstrom and Anne Scarffe, Nederland. Catherine Robles-Shaw is a Colorado native. She is a long-time resident of Nederland. She is an artist. Her work is historical, traditional, religious, soulful, natural, spiritual and stunning to look at. Catherine Robles-Shaw is a Santera. 

If your Spanish is a little rusty, a Santera is a Saint Maker. Catherine carves and paints Retablos (saints painted on wood), Bultos (carved saints) and Altar Screens. These are physical representations of holy images such as a Saint or Jesus or the Holy Family. 

This art came to North America with the Spanish when they conquered and settled in the New World. One of the most powerful and influential aspects of Spanish culture was Catholicism. Missionaries and priests used these images to tell stories to the Native people and settlers.

Catherine was born and raised in Denver into a family of artists. She remembers seeing Retablos as a child when she would visit family in the San Luis Valley. She has deep roots in Southern Colorado as her family were some of the first settlers in Conejos County, in the San Juan Valley in Colorado. She says, “Retablos are the storytellers of my ancestors. They are the natural extension of the beauty and simplicity of our Spanish lives. I hope to preserve some of the unique traditions of my Hispanic culture.” In 1858 the first church built in Colorado, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, was built in the Town of Antonito. Catherine grew up in this town.

Understanding and finding a spiritual connection to this Spanish Colonial art came to Catherine when she would travel to Chimayo, New Mexico, with her oldest daughter. Her daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of three, so they went to Chimayo to find a cure. Her daughter lived for several more years. When a child dies, every parent has a space that needs to be filled. Catherine found it, with her love for Santos (saints), which reminds me of a quote by Thomas Merton, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

Her husband Mike, their daughter Dusty and son-in-law Anthony Galindo built houses in the Nederland area   and they would bring home pieces of wood for her to paint. The first saint she painted was Santo Nino de Atocha (Holy Child) Patron Saint of illnesses and travelers. 

She found herself in Chimayo, New Mexico, again and met Ray Bal in 1991. Chimayo is a town known for the El Santuario de Chimayo chapel and for chile. Ray Bal owns the El Potrero Trading Post that sells folk art of the area and red and green chiles. Thousands and thousands of people are drawn to Chimayo on religious pilgrimages and to see the rich and unique cultural heritage. Catherine bought a book on 18th century art and Ray told her to follow the images. Ultimately, she will find her own vision. 

While Mike and Catherine researched family roots in the San Luis Valley, they met a cousin of Catherine’s, Rubel Jaramillo a Santero (Saint Maker). Cousin Rubel taught Catherine how to carve Bultos. These are statues made from cottonwood roots and Rubel made his carving tools by hand. He told Catherine to look around and you will find what you need. They made paints from dirt, flowers and tree bark. Gypsum is used for the foundation on the boards and pinon sap for the varnish. Rubel showed Catherine the land and traditions of their ancestors. He helped her see the vision of her work. 

Catherine spends time researching and studying saints. When she holds an unpainted board in her hand, she starts to see what will be on it. Retablos and Altar Screens start with a flat board of pine or aspen that is hand planed and adzed. She then cuts the board into the shape she wants and starts carving. The wood is sanded and then ready for coats of gesso. The only paints Catherine uses are ones she makes by hand. All the Retablos are signed on the back with a short explanation about the Saint and Feast Day. 

This all started for Catherine as a hobby 30 years ago when she only painted for friends and family. Now she is a master of Spanish Colonial art in the form of Retablos, Bultos and Alter Screens. Catherine entered her first juried show in 1995, the Spanish Colonial Art show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the oldest and largest juried Spanish Market in the United States. Since then, she has received over 40 awards, her art is shown in 15 books and eight permanent collection pieces in museums, churches and universities. Her art graces the walls of countless homes in the United States and in places as far away as Italy, Japan, Belgium and the Virgin Islands.  

She has even been awarded the Colorado Folk Art Award in 2002. This same award was presented to her cousin Rubel Jaramillo in 1991.

With all her achievements and accolades, she is quick to mention that her daughter Roxanne Shaw Galindo has been right next to her learning and painting since she was a teenager. They are a mother-daughter team of artists. 

It does not take long to see that Catherine does not just whittle for a little while and then slap some paint on. Each piece is one of a kind, done with heartfelt inspiration, and perhaps even divine intuition. She is a craftswoman and an artist that keeps the traditional Hispanic culture alive with wood and paint from the earth. Catherine Robles-Shaw is a Santera. 

The current situation with Covid means that most of her shows have been canceled. She does continue to sell her art on her website catherineroblesshaw.com and at shops in Chimayo, Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico, and Pueblo, Alamosa and Longmont, Colorado. 

You can visit her website at https://www.catherineroblesshaw.com for more detailed information or contact her through email metepec@aol.com or call 303-258-0544.

(Originally published in the January 7, 2021 edition of The Mountain-Ear.)