Pioneers in Punched Tin
Ted & Ginny Arellanes
Ted & Ginny Arellanes have been making punched
tinwork together since 1990. Since then, they have become known as pre-eminent
craftsmen in this traditional New Mexican art form. They have been teaching the
craft with Continuing Education for about 12 years. They began teaching in response to many requests and
intense interest from those intrigued by the craft and its popular appeal. Ted gazes with pride on a custom design, a punched tin book cover, above.
Ted & Ginny actually met while learning the art of stained glass in 1986. Their shared love for their new craft gave them a bond. They fell in love and married. Together, they spent their days waiting tables at the same restaurant in Old Town and making stained glass at night. The owner permitted them to hang some of their work in the restaurant, and soon it started to sell. This encouraged them as artists and entrepeneurs, and they were bold enough to open a small gallery at Central and 14th St., where they sold equipment as well as their finished pieces. One thing led to another. They started showing at arts & crafts shows, where they met the owner of a well-connected construction company, which led to their first commission from the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, for stained glass work and the re-creation of original punched tin fixtures. Although they had never worked in tin, they took the job and then set out to learn how to get the job done. Their pieces were so beautiful that the La Fonda became a repeat customer that they still retain today.
Ted and Ginny were very resourceful in their pursuit of mastering the craft of tinwork. They invented their own processes by researching
historic pieces and attempting to reproduce them. It was a labor of love to learn from
the past. They dedicated uncounted hours to learning together, in love with the beauty of the material. They spent the kind of time on their craft that people bestowed on handwork in centuries past; before the
telephone and the TV took away all of people’s time. Punched tin is very old
in New Mexico; one of its first crafts in fact. Punched tinwork stands on its own or accents other traditional crafts of Hispanic New Mexico, such as retablos and wood furniture.
Ted & Ginny’s punched tinwork at the La Fonda generated a lot of interest; all sorts of people asked for classes. Their creations even piqued the interest of the Spanish Market, a very select and particular organization to enter. They were voted in, and after a few years of participation, their entry won first prize!
Ted rented time at a machine shop to make tools
for punching tin. With their own tools ready for their students, they decided to
offer classes; one in Santa Fe, and one in
Old Town. Ted says they have taught one thousand or so
people; but Ginny says, “way more.”
Ted & Ginny’s shop promulgates the knowledge of the craft and has become the tool supplier for other tin artists throughout the state. Tinwork combines the use of basic hand tools with machinery. Tinsmiths were always clever and many of them have used machines to cut down on the manual labor of manufacturing. For instance, today the shop uses dies to punch out their tin and copper switchplates.
The Arellanes’ revival of an old New Mexico craft has created many opportunities for them to contribute to modern New Mexican culture, in special places such as the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, Garduño’s, the Hispanic Cultural Center, the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, and countless landmarks and facilities throughout the state. Their work is the highlight in many architectural spaces known for their New Mexico ambience.
To the left, a classroom becomes a busy punched tin workshop. It was a chance encounter with the former Dean of UNM Continuing Education, Rupert Trujillo, that led to more than twelve years of popular classes in Early New Mexico Punched Tin Work with the Personal Enrichment Program.
Ted & Ginny teach:
| Crafts & Hobbies |
| Early New Mexico Punched Tin Work |
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Contact
For information call 277-6320 or email ddel@unm.edu
