In 1964, when he was in his fifties, Archuleta found himself without work, money, or hope. He prayed for God to give him a skill to help change his life. His answer was a call to carve animals. He began making small images of creatures he saw near his New Mexico home, and then turned to children's books and popular magazines for pictures of exotic animals. The wary glance and casual stride of Tiger show how deftly Archuleta transformed photographs into expressive three-dimensional forms.