Mark Ian Saxe

Northern New Mexico’s constellation of artists has lost a bright light with the passing of sculptor and stone carver Mark Ian Saxe, who died peacefully at his home in Ojo Sarco on August 14, 2025.

Mark Saxe established Southwest Stoneworks in 1979, specializing in architectural stonework and historic stone restoration. Over the decades, he earned a lasting reputation for exceptional work among architects, building contractors, and northern New Mexico’s rich mix of residents.

In 2001, Mark realized a long-held dream in founding Sax Stone Carving Workshops (from the Latin root sax- “stone”), inviting world-class instructors to teach intensive classes at Southwest Stoneworks. He built Rift Gallery adjacent to the workshop in 2005. The workshop and gallery together have since become a hub of art and learning in northern New Mexico — a destination for accomplished sculptors, beginning students, artists, and art collectors alike. Always generous in sharing his knowledge and love of stone, Mark deepened and expanded the reach of his chosen field and attracted a devoted family of stone carvers. As a sculptor, he found in stone a world where stories and emotions could unfold, a realm where the known and the mysterious could converge, and his pieces, from the small to the monolithic, contain a quiet grandeur. In 2023, he received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, recognizing his profound impact on the community both as a sculptor and a teacher.

According to writer and friend, Bob Shacochis, he was “the greatest teacher I’ve ever known, and with every stroke of his hammer and chisel, he lived a life of meaning and beauty, purpose itself set forever in stone, and whatever he knew to be true, he passed it on to his students.”

Born on October 30, 1946, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Mark was the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Odessa, Ukraine. He was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was honorably discharged in 1968. As a soldier, he had written poetry, but as a veteran he felt that words failed him. Wandering around Europe, it was the carved stone of cathedrals and monuments that seemed to him a kind of medicine, calming and focusing his energy and imagination away from war and toward the miracle of creation. He went on to receive his MFA on the GI Bill from the Instituto Allende in Mexico followed by a three-year apprenticeship with a stonemason in Massachusetts, before setting up shop in Dixon.

Mark proudly served his community as a volunteer firefighter for twenty years, including as fire chief in Dixon 1988–1990 and in Ojo Sarco 1990–1998.

Mark is survived by his wife, Betsy Williams; two nieces, Lindsay Saxe Silvestri and Jaime Saxe; grandniece and grandnephew, Brooke and Ethan Silvestri; cousin Bobby Stahler; sister-in-law, Sandy Saxe, and many true friends near and far. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Beatrice and Milton Saxe, and his big brother, Steve Saxe.

In recent writing, Mark reflected, “It’s said that there is no one who is not better off for having spent time in the presence of stone. With that as our guiding belief, we keep chipping away. Working with stone is never time wasted.” Donations in Mark’s memory may be made to American College of the Building Arts, Attention: Stone Carving Department, 649 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403, or online https://acba.edu/institutional-advancement (please select the area of support ‘unrestricted’ and note Mark Saxe Memorial Fund / Stone Carving Department).

The family of Mark Saxe has entrusted the care of their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the beautiful Espanola Valley.   505-747-7477