Jerry Hopkins-Velarde

Jerry Hopkins Velarde (born 1946, Embudo, New Mexico) was raised until age five by her parents and maternal grandmother, Adelaida, on her family's apple farm in Velarde, New Mexico. Starting age six she lived with her family on their 5-acre farm in the north valley of Albuquerque, where she attended public schools and the University of New Mexico. Beginning in 1971 Jerry apprenticed to a master clay artist and developed her style of carving on clay. She comes from a history of storytelling and her artwork reflects her childhood as well as her experiences as a special education teacher and traveler. In Summer 2020 Jerry closed her clay studio and is now turning her attention to colcha embroidery, which she first learned in a 2011 class taught by Annette Gutiérrez Turk at Los Volcanos Senior Center. Colcha embroidery has become another vehicle for Jerry to tell her stories using her unique drawings and adding color. Jerry uses Glenna Dean's natural dyed yarns to add texture to woven cloth. One of her favorite pieces, "Sacred Heart... Never Ending," is made on a woven linen dish towel that was long-used by her mother, Esther, in the family home. In this piece, Jerry has mended the worn fabric while also creating a personal narrative and a tribute to those she loves. Jerry has exhibited and won honors at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, the Bond House Museum in Española, and the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Center in Alcalde. Her work includes self-portraits and is deeply tied to her life and loves.