Brian Yatsattie has been surrounded by art his whole life. His mother, Janta Yatsattie, was known for her fine petit-point jewelry. Brian began carving stone in high school and now teaches fetish carving to others. In addition to being very well-carved, his fetishes have a particularly animated quality to them, as in this delightful turquoise bear fetish necklace. He is able to create just about any animal form from varied types of stone, such as turquoise, jet, dolomite and Picasso marble.

After attending both the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and the Rhode Island School of Design, Shawn Bluejacket forged her own unique way in the world of jewelry. As she has said, "I don't want to follow anyone - I want to follow my own route." And what a beautiful, unusual route it is! Shawn uses distinctive stones, such as varied colors of moonstones, pearls, agates, opals and amber, as in this pair of earrings, often with both silver and gold. She pays special attention to the patina of the metals, using the time-consuming process of individually etching each piece. Bluejacket's jewelry is frequently asymmetrical and gives the wearer a chance to show the same sense of avant-garde style.

Colin Coonsis is the son of Harlan Coonsis and Rolanda Haloo, both fine jewelry artists. Colin feels he is carrying on a tradition that may not continue forever. As he says, "I am proud to be part of perhaps one of the last generations of Zuni Pueblo silversmiths." His work is finely detailed and very well crafted, as in this gorgeous turquoise inlay cuff. Colin is acutely aware of the need to be a part of the society as a whole, while maintaining the balance of creating jewelry in the traditional manner. As he says, "Even Native American artists must adapt to progression with an open mind." Colin will be one of the artists at the Spiegelberg Shop this Friday evening in Santa Fe.

Take a look at all our great online shops:

www.newmexicocreates.org
www.shopmuseum.com
www.worldfolkart.org