Pueblo Mosaic Inlay Jewelry

Pueblo Mosaic Inlay Jewelry
April 6-9, 1997

Native peoples of the Southwest have been making mosaic jewelry of turquoise, jet, and shell for at least a thousand years, with spectacular examples found at Ancestral Pueblo sites at Chaco Canyon, the Hohokam settlement at Snaketown, and the ancient Zuni village of Hawikuh, one of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola captured by Coronado in 1540. Modern manifestations of this jewelry tradition were the focus of the third annual artists' convocation, held at the IARC in the spring of 1997. Modeled on the School's advanced seminars, the convocations provide opportunities for round-table talks in an environment that facilitates understanding and leads to wide dissemination of the results through publications and other projects.
Eleven respected mosaic jewelry artists (including several husband-and-wife teams) from Santo Domingo and Zuni, the contemporary pueblos best known for this style of jewelry, gathered at the School in April to talk about their tradition and the materials, techniques, and designs they use. Mentoring, marketing, health hazards, and other issues also were discussed. The artists examined some of the older jewelry in the IARC collection and displayed pieces they had made for the convocation, eight of which were purchased by the IARC.

Standing (left to right):
Rudy Laconsello (Zuni), Lee Weebothee (Zuni), Fermin Aguilar (Santo Domingo), Andrew Dewa (Zuni), Charlie Bird (Santo Domingo/Laguna), Ronald Chavez (Santo Domingo), Nancy Laconsello (Zuni)

Seated (left to right):
Marylita Boone, Alex Boone (Zuni), Angie Reano Owen (Santo Domingo), Petra Chavez (Santo Domingo)