Leroy Archuleta

1949 - 2002

Leroy Ramon Archuleta, born in 1949 in Tesque, New Mexico, was an outstanding representative of the second generation of Hispanic carvers following in the footsteps of his father, master carver, Felipe Archuleta.   After several different jobs, he returned to the family home in 1975 to help his father.  Soon he began making his own carvings and quickly developed his own recognizable style and gained an enthusiastic following.  “You can always tell (my carvings) from my Dad’s” he said.  “I use sandpaper, for instance; he wouldn’t take the time.  Dad made animals his way and I make them mine.”  Leroy Archuleta used a chainsaw to roughly shape the cottonwood, and then finished the animals with hatchets, chisels, and other hand tools.  He added glass eyes, bottle caps, hemp, wool, leather, or other materials.  Where there were cracks in the wood, he filled that in with a mixture of glue and sawdust. ²