The Talpa Chapel Story

The Talpa Chapel near Taos was built in the early 1800s by the Martinez, Tafoya, and Duran families. Rising from sunbaked adobe, simple and enduring, its thick walls, rough-hewn beams, and modest bell tower mark generations of care and faith.

A Personal Connection

There’s something about the small chapels of New Mexico that speaks more directly than the grand missions. They were built by families, not by institutions. Every brick was laid by someone who would worship there. That personal quality is what I try to capture in the sculpture.

The Base Drawer

In the base, a small drawer holds a collage of Catholic devotional objects — rosaries, medals, and faded prayer cards — kept through centuries. PJ Cardinale assembled this collection from objects we’ve gathered over our years in New Mexico. Each item carries its own history of prayer and devotion.

Textures and Shadows

As a sculptor working in pine, I focus on the textures and shadows, trying to capture both the history and the steadfast devotion etched into every surface. The paint application is deliberately rough, mimicking the hand-plastered adobe walls that are renewed by community members year after year.

Working Drawing

A pencil and ink working drawing accompanies this sculpture in the Fechin Studio Exhibition, showing the architectural studies that preceded the three-dimensional work.