Although his full-time job is at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Don Sandoval is also a fifth-generation weaver. Prior to attending graduate school, Sandoval did not have a complete understanding of his family’s artistic background. “These were the days before the internet, so I went to the library and started researching New Mexico,” Sandoval says. “It was during this research that I discovered the involvement of my family in the arts.” Sandoval learned that his grandfather had been Herman Mayor for the Truchas Penitente Morada, that his grandmother had been a weaver, and that his father had experience building weaving looms. This knowledge led Sandoval to spend his summers in graduate school learning how to weave on the loom, dye his own wool, and even paint retablos. Today, Sandoval is known for his tapestries with bold colors and design elements grounded in tradition. His pieces are in museums spanning from El Rancho de las Golondrinas to England.

Sandoval’s piece for La Luz de Taos features a “Vallero Star” design, which originates from the Trampas/El Valle area of northern New Mexico, along the High Road to Taos. Sandoval reimaged this traditional pattern with a modern sensibility by working in nine shades of hand-dyed indigo. By blending three indigo tones with one another and with white, Sandoval created a woven gradient that brings depth and movement to the design.

“I created this weaving in memory of my dear friend Debra DuBois—a fellow weaver, Taos resident, and passionate pilot. ‘Blue Skies and Tailwinds’ was the motto she shared with her husband, and this piece was woven in her honor and with her spirit in mind,” Sandoval says.