Slideshow - Sacred Feminine: Images of Women in Santero Art

Former Santa Fe resident Judith McLaughlin discusses and signs her award-winning book Sacred Feminine (LPD, $17.95).

From the time of the settlement and colonization of New Mexico in the late-1500s, the territory was Spanish Catholic in tradition, laws, art, and culture; therefore, the  role that The Blessed Mother and female saints played in New Mexican artwork was significant.  Their roles in art and liturgy gave women a model, or ideal, of the perfect woman and motherhood. The saints were, and are, admired and glorified in these roles, and Santero art beautifully portrays the feminine both in nature and spirit.

Sacred Feminine examines the roles that culture, religion, sociology, art and gender played in the development of the religious Santero art, and images of women in particular.  The book received the National Federation of Press Women 2010 Award, a 2009 New Mexico Book Award, and the New Mexico Press Women's Award in 2010.

"A fascinating look at this artistic tradition that both scholars and art fans will appreciate."-New Mexico Magazine

A former resident of the Santa Fe area, Judith McLaughlin has written extensively on women and family issues. She has participated in the development of local, state and national curricula related to women and children. She is an author of Creative Expressions for Healing, a workbook series that provides training for professionals in using the creative arts in the healing process. She is presently executive director of an educational family service organization and a former executive director of a non-profit women's center.  McLaughlin facilitates creative arts groups for women in community programs, presents at conferences and leads workshops on spirituality, healing, creativity and women's issues. Mclaughlin's travel and residence in New Mexoc sparked her interest in the religious folk art of Spanish Colonial New Mexico. Her appreciation for the region's unique culture and her background in folk art, women's history, Hispanic culture and sociology inspired the creation of Sacred Feminine, which acknowledges the profound, extraordinary influence of the Santero and Santos on a culture and way of life.