The Hipi movement greatly influenced Cuchama's desire to reuse, refuse, restore and remake. "Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without," was the mantra. She saw over-consumption as the beast which was rapidly devouring the environment. As a reaction to this very real ecological dilemma, Cuchama began to fish from the "waste stream," collecting art supplies from garbage and castoffs. The highest ethic was to "sanctify" this stuff by making art -- religious art -- out of it! Thus the birth of the re-tablo. (A retablo is a votive icon, usually three dimensional, native to the Hispanic culture and popular in New Mexico.)

St. Francis & the Magpie

Next came the idea of covering eggs, emptied of their contents by blowing, dipped in the wax mixture and then decorated with yarn and beads. At some point, Cuchama sent such a beaded egg to her friends in the Huichol community where she had first observed yarn painting. In a very short while, beaded Huichol eggs began to appear in the international market. Good ideas catch on fast!

Soon Cuchama was creating true re-tablos of sardine cans. Tiny original yarn paintings were then replaced by tiny prints of her original work to make the price accessible to all. Finally, the escudo, or processional shield, was added to the mix using cast away broken drum pieces -- saving them from the fire. Late in the process, Cuchama began to buy yarn and beads, all of the early work having been made entirely of recycled goods. Today, she continues to use recycled materials. The "Steak Plate Series" clearly demonstrates that ethic and proudly shows the beauty of a cleverly devised strategy that places her work in heavy pewter "frames."