Lorrie Garcia

Lorrie Garcia is a santera from Penasco, New Mexico.  The seed for what would become her passion was planted early but would take years before bearing fruit

Lorrie grew up in rural Penasco, the place where her ancestors settled in 1798 on the Santa Barbara Land grant.  As other settlers moved into the Penasco valley, more communities sprung up, and with each little community, a mission church.  Ten mission churches can be found around the little communities that make up the greater Penasco area, nine are still active.  Most of these little missions have artwork or artifacts from the era of the great santeros from the 1800’s, including Jose Rafael Aragon, Fresquis, Jose de Gracia Gonzales, and unknown santeros who provided folk art for the moradas in each community.   Lorrie says she was influenced by this art all her life without realizing the import of that influence until she became a santera.  

Lorrie’s first career was teaching high school until she retired in 2001.  In 1999, she and her husband, Andrew Garcia, a famous woodworker, took a Spanish Colonial furniture making class together because they were both interested in learning to carve.  Lorrie was hooked on carving instantly.  She carried her carving tools and pieces of wood everywhere.  Carving became a passionate hobby.  At first, she was helping her husband Andrew carve furniture, but she soon realized that was not her calling and she started experimenting with relief carvings of animals and then of santos.  In the spring of 2000, Lorrie, Andrew, and their younger daughter, AnnaRose, took a santo-making class in El Rito, and Lorrie knew that was her calling.  In 2001, she submitted her first pieces to jury into Spanish Market and she was accepted.  She has been a santera ever since.