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Yes, friends, it's coming upon August, the month
of Indian Market mayhem in Santa Fe. The
excitement is building here at the Museum of New
Mexico Foundation Shops as well.
As part of
New Mexico Creates program, we are proud to
carry the work of some of the finest Native American
jewelers in the business. This week we feature three
unique talents; one harkens to Pueblo styles tradition,
one to classic Navajo designs and the third is
creating his own style entirely. We're Sold!
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Mike Bird-Romero, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
Mike Bird-Romero has been creating silverwork
inspired by ancient motifs since the 1980's. Mike has
interpreted the incredible design elements from
petroglyphs near his home in San Juan (Ohkay
Owingeh) Pueblo and other images from the natural
world into his work. Over the years, his jewelry has
evolved from very contemporary style to a much
more classically inspired Pueblo style.
His wife, Allison Bird-Romero, did extensive research
into early styles of Pueblo jewelry writing a definitive
book about Pueblo cross necklaces called Heart
of the Dragonfly, (now out of print.) Mike
has led the way into the
revival of the form, as in this elegant version of a Pueblo cross
necklace,
which incorporates antique cobalt trade beads with
silver ingot crosses.
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Calvin Martinez, Gallup
Navajo artist Calvin Martinez, a resident of Gallup,
has been making
jewelry since he was 14 years old. Now, decades
later, he creates some of today's finest jewelry,
inspired by beautiful antique Navajo silverwork. He
often uses
rare turquoise stones from mines such as Royston,
Blue Gem and the #8 Spiderweb, which is used in
this bracelet. #8
Spiderweb turquoise is no longer
available newly mined, so it is a treat to find a piece
set with such a large, beautiful stone.
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Pat Pruitt, Laguna Pueblo
The jewelry of Pat Pruitt is truly unique; it has echoes
of traditional Native American design yet also has
cool contemporary lines and distinctly non-traditional
materials, notably stainless steel. As Pat says, one
of his goals is, "To pull artistic elements from various
cultures (both native and non-native) across decades
of industrial and traditional design."
Pruitt studied mechanical engineering at Southern
Methodist University, and jewelry making with Greg
Lewis and Charlie Bird of Laguna Pueblo. These
studies all gave him a firm foundation for the
fabrication and design work he would eventually do
with stainless steel. He melded the two worlds to
create his own distinctive line of jewelry, such as
these stainless steel
earrings with
commercial
rubies.
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19th Annual Benefit Navajo Rug Auction |
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Upon their arrival in the southwest in the 1870's,
traders sought to establish a "market" for the
incredible handicrafts that they found here. First they
traded the Navajo staples such as flour and other
foodstuffs, for blankets and jewelry to sell at the
trading posts to other locals and tourists.
Some, such as C. N. Cotton and J.L. Hubbell even
created mail order catalogs featuring Navajo blankets
and rugs.
One of the traditions begun by southwestern traders
in recent years is the Rug Auction. These help
establish "market values" for rugs as weavers would
bring their finest weavings to the events in order to
fetch good prices.
Nineteen years ago, the Museum of New Mexico
Foundation shops began the Benefit Navajo Rug
Auction in Santa Fe, and this year is no exception. We
caught up with Tannis Eberts, Native American and
Traditional Arts Buyer for the Museum Foundation
Shops as she was busy tagging the 150 rugs that will
be at tomorrow's auction. "Navajo rugs," she
says, "Are one of the last true indigenous arts of the
region. It really is a great opportunity for people to buy
an authentic Native American artwork at a great price."
An interesting side note to this year's auction is the
number of male weavers represented. This year the
auction will be featuring weavings by Larry Nathaniel,
Herbert Gilmore, Dennis Long and Nathan Harry. In
addition, Eberts says that the variety of rugs is
exciting, "We have some wonderful Pictorial rugs,
Storm patterns, Revival Chief's blankets, Wide Ruins,
samplers, and other Four Corners styles. There is
just an incredible range of weavings at this year's
auction."
The MNMFoundation Rug Auction has a two-pronged
benefit. As Eberts says, "Purchases are important as
they help support the weavers and the profits
go to support the Museums of New Mexico through
the Foundation."
See Details on the Rug Auction Here
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