John Maldonado a native Santa Fean and Stacey Sullivan, a local Santa Fe artist, met on one February 14th, and as the storybooks say,..."it was Amor at first sight".

When the two first met, John was a pilot and metal worker. John was a decendant of a long line of men in his family that had all been very skilled in the art of metal work and blacksmithing.  John became the first generation within his proud Maldonado heritage to pursue the mastery of tin work.  Stacey was a newly graduated art major, and in her final stages of an art internship through her college, with Santa Fe's local and world renowned artist, Joel Nakamura.  Before long, as destiny would have it, John and Stacey were joined as husband and wife.  Little did they know, that their union would bring them together in more ways then they ever could have imagined!

One night during their very first year together, John had a dream...

He dreamt of himself hand forging an exquisitely designed tin frame.  This frame however was different from any other frame, he had ever made.  Within his dream his tin work was accompanied by a beautiful, whimsical dance of characters and color, within it's center.  Heeding his dream's impatient urgings, John got to work on it the very next day.  Stacey, meanwhile was finishing up a painting for a show consisting of half flesh, half skeleton characters, when John called her over to see his finished creation.

Upon viewing eachother's work, John spoke of his dream, and Stacey responded with urgings she had been having of her own, to attempt a painting with 'souly' skeleton characters.  From that moment on, as destiny would have it again, their two art forms merged together as though they were made for eachother, and both were stronger for eachother's compliment.

Today, John and Stacey continue to create piece after piece of completely engenuitive artwork together.  They continue to be inspired by the power and beauty of 'Dia de los Muertos', their love for eachother, their family and Santa fe, their home.