Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts 2009

Las Cruces papier-maché sculptor Stephen Hansen, creates humorous cartoon-like characters through a unique medium and ironic perspective. Inspirations for Hansen’s work often emerge from a play-on-words, a common phrase, or a bit of conversation.

Through his meticulous papier-maché, Hansen has created artworks and characters that are known all over the world and spice up museum and corporate collections including the Capitol Art Foundation Collection in Santa Fe, the Jyukano Research Institute in Tokyo, United States Embassies in Italy and Venezuela, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

Hansen grew up in Seattle, lived most of his life in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has lived in the Las Cruces area since 1989.

Master Blacksmith Tom Joyce is honored for his contributions and accomplishments related to his work in this traditional art form. A MacArthur Foundation Fellowship winner, Joyce is a globally recognized artist and local mentor.

Joyce is credited with revitalizing the tradition of blacksmithing in New Mexico and beyond. He has forged iron for public art projects in New Mexico and around the world, with commissions including the baptismal font at Santa Maria del la Paz Church in Santa Fe as well as installations at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Applied Arts in Moscow, Russia, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France.

In a commission project for the sculpture garden entrance at the Albuquerque Museum of Art, Joyce led a clean-up effort along the banks of the Rio Grande, where young people gathered pieces of discarded metal that he later melted down and forged into gates.

Joyce opens his studio to young artists and teaches them about iron and art. For over 30 years, he has shared his design concepts and blacksmithing knowledge with students through college-level internships, formal apprenticeships, and free youth classes. He has presented lectures on his craft in Ireland, England, Belgium, Italy, Finland, South Africa, Estonia, and venues in the United States and Canada.

A native of Oklahoma, Joyce moved to El Rito, New Mexico when he was 12. He has been a resident of New Mexico for 38 years and has practiced his craft for 35 years.

Santa Clara Pueblo potter Joseph Lonewolf learned pottery from his mother, Agapita Silva, and his father, Camilio Sunflower Tafoya, but he is widely credited with advancing the art of modern pottery beyond traditional boundaries.

In the 1970s, he introduced intricate etched designs onto the stone polished surfaces of his pottery, and his designs have been noted for their delicacy, flawless detail, and fragile cameo-like appearance. Among Lonewolf’s innovations in pottery are highly detailed sgraffito, new and unique natural clay color slip, and bas-relief.

Santa Fe native Carmella Padilla is an award-winning author and editor who has written extensively about the Hispano art, culture, and history of New Mexico.

Padilla’s popular books produced by the Museum of New Mexico Press include The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest, that received the 1999 Historical Society of New Mexico’s Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award for a significant contribution to the field of history, and Low ‘n Slow: Lowriding in New Mexico, a journey through northern New Mexico’s cherished car culture in which she collaborated with photographer Jack Parsons, a past recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Padilla has curated museum exhibits including the 2002 Eliseo Rodriguez: El Sexto Pintor exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art, worked in public relations, and volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations including the Spanish Colonial Art Society and the Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza project. She worked closely with the group that established the annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

Padilla has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico, and has earned numerous writing awards from the New Mexico Press Association. In 1999, she received the City of Santa Fe Mayor’s Recognition Award for Excellence in Literary Arts.

Padilla’s husband, Luis Tapia, received the Governor’s Award for visual arts in 1996.

Edward Vega of Albuquerque is an artist recognized for his monumental sculptures and his set designs for major motion pictures.

Born and raised in Deming, New Mexico, Vega earned fine arts degrees from both New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico before he began teaching sculpture and printmaking at NMSU in the early 1970s. He served as head of the art department at the now-defunct University of Albuquerque from 1976 until the school closed in 1986.

For his large-scale sculptures, Vega works with Corten steel that takes on a rust-like appearance when exposed to the elements for several years. One sculpture, Dawn Light, is located at an Albuquerque park on the corner of San Mateo and Indian School NE.

Vega’s pieces have been shown in exhibitions and public art installations throughout the country, including the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History and the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. In 1998, he was appointed by Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin to serve on the Dollar Coin Advisory Committee that established the theme and look of the Sacagawea dollar. He was the only member of the committee from west of the Mississippi River.

Vega’s work with the film industry began in 1985 on the film Animal Behavior, shot in Albuquerque. Vega performed the design work and painted the scenic backdrop for the film. He went on to work on 20 movies from 1985 and 1995, including Buffalo Girls and Spy Kids I. In 1996, while at work on Selena in San Antonio, Texas, Vega was promoted to art director and served in that capacity for 11 films.

Elaine Wiggins Howe has long been known as an arts advocate for young people in Roswell.

Primarily an arts educator, Howe retired from her position as Elementary Arts Coordinator for the Roswell Independent School District in 2007 after a varied 25-year career teaching special needs, gifted, and high school students enrolled in studio art.

In 2008, Howe worked with Roswell Museum and Art Center director Laurie Rufe to secure funding to design a program called Second Saturday: Eyes on Art. The visual arts series links gallery experiences with hands-on activities for students in ceramics, painting, animation, and photography. Eyes on Art sessions are held in Roswell Museum classrooms and are free to students. The sessions are taught by professional community artists, many from the Anderson Museum Artist-in-Residence program.

In 2001, Howe was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award, presented by Eastern New Mexico University. The following year she received the Laureate Award for Teaching Excellence from the Roswell Educational Achievement Foundation. In 2003, Howe co-wrote a proposal for new arts funding through the Fine Arts Education Act to bring arts education to all children in New Mexico.

William A. Miller of Santa Fe is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, financial advisor, and renowned collector of contemporary and Native American art.

Miller and his wife Alicia moved to Santa Fe from Chagrin Falls, Ohio in 1994 and became active in support of the arts in northern New Mexico. Although the Millers have assisted numerous arts organizations like Santa Fe Art Institute and Santa Fe Opera, their principal focus has been SITE Santa Fe. William Miller joined SITE’s Board of Trustees in 1997, and has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Executive Committee. Miller currently serves on the Investment and Facilities Committees. His finance expertise and donated volunteer hours have been an important asset to the organization.

Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has served on the boards of the Cleveland Health Museum, Robert O. Anderson School at the University of New Mexico, and St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe. He is the president of Miller Strategic Consulting, LLC in Santa Fe, a consulting practice that specializes in entrepreneurial activities through investments as well as the management and development of start-up companies and nonprofit organizations.

Pasatiempo, Santa Fe’s arts and entertainment weekly magazine, has covered northern New Mexico’s arts industry for nearly three decades.

Pasatiempo is published by the Santa Fe New Mexican, the city’s locally owned, independent daily newspaper since 1849. The New Mexican has supported Santa Fe’s many arts organizations and cultural events from its beginning, most especially under publisher Robert McKinney and now through the leadership of his daughter, publisher Robin Martin.

Pasatiempo is locally produced and uses no syndication or wire services for its editorial content that each week includes a mix of stories and reviews for music, dance, theater, books, films, architecture, restaurants, galleries, and museum exhibitions.

Pasatiempo covers arts events with feature stories and reviews. It also serves as an advocate and important watchdog to ensure that organizations live up to the promises they make. The magazine’s writers and editors are not afraid to point out when promises are not met, and the result is a healthier arts industry and more appreciative audience.