Mary Romero Cash, Cross of adoration, Natural pigment on gesso
and wood, 66 x 47.5 x 13 cm ■
Growing up in the 1950s in a conservative Hispanic family, where the rosary was
recited every day before a home altar, Cash moved away from Santa Fe and her
Catholic upbringing, only to find faith, again, and a new artistic vocation,
when she returned home in the 1970s. In
her autobiography, Tortilla Chronicles, Cash writes: “I have come full circle,
embracing Catholicism and gaining a new devotion to the Holy Spirit. It has
been a journey to return and participate in my religion. These days, I rarely
begin the day without a short prayer asking that my work be infused with God’s
spirit.” Cash comes from a “dynasty” of saint-makers and artisans. Her father,
Emilio, and mother, Senaida, helped revive traditional hammered-tin art with
pieces they crafted at their kitchen table and were honored at the White House.
Seven members of her family circle are artists, working as sculptors,
tinsmiths, retablo painters, and colcha stitchers, including her son, Gregory
Lomayesva ■
