Turquoise jewelry, native american turquoise jewelry, turquoise beads, navajo jewelry, indian jewelry

Previous Topic of the Week Features - Page 2

This page continues previous "Topic of the Week" features from our What's New Page in case you missed them or would like to revisit the subjects. It begins on February 18, 2002 going forward in time as you scroll down the page. We add to it weekly on the bottom.

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Monday, February 18th
NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC

A song that asks the spirits of the earth and sky,
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness that we
may walk fittingly where the birds sing.
-anonymous*
Native music is pow wow, world beat/jazz, flute, guitar, new age, chanting, prayers, rock & roll, hip hop, heavy metal, drums and more; something for everyone. This music touches the heart, maybe that's because most of the lyrics are prayers and blessings for everything and everybody. (If you're a fan of "world music" you'll love Native music.) The recommendations below are just a starting point, most of the links have audio samples that let you listen before you buy. By no means is this a definitive review, it's just a reflection of our own personal tastes. There are many artists we don't mention here but it's just due to time and space restraints. The music can be found on Amazon, Canyon Records and Silver Wave Records (see links below), eBay and elsewhere. The first three recommendations below will expose you to a wide variety of styles and artists so you can take it from there. Have fun and venture into the world of talented Native artists making beautiful music today.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON, Music for the Native Americans In our opinion, the quintessential recording for every Native music collection, one of the ones to start with. He teamed with the Native group The Red Road Ensemble and other artists for this recording, a collection of songs composed for a television documentary series in 1994. Awesome!
Robbie Robertson's Bio page

SONGS OF THE SPIRIT Another to start off with. A compilation CD that introduces you to some of the best Native music around. Everyone will like this one. Available on Canyon Records.
TRIBAL VOICES Songs from Native Americans. Another to start off with. This is a beautifully done compilation of various Native artists, in the style of easy listening that introduces you to Primeaux & Mike, Sharon Burch, Joanne Shenandoah and more!
SPIRITLANDS and RETURN TO SPIRITLANDS
Beautiful melodies that blend the flute with sounds of nature. It's the one we listen to most when we're in Zuni-land. Both can be listened to for years and are for anybody's taste.
HOW THE WEST WAS LOST
Soundtrack for 1993 TV cocumentary series with Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai. Haunting beautiful melodies with flute, an emotional and passionate work that is exquisitely captivating. You can listen to all the tracks on Amazon. Highly recommended.

As a child I understood how to give, I have
forgotten this grace since I have become civilized.
-Chief Luther Standing Bear*
CANYON RECORDS Since 1951 Canyon Records has specialized in the production and distribution of traditional and contemporary Native American music. Their website is a great resource, and includes their new releases, upcoming concert dates, a complete CD and cassette catalog, music samples, ordering information, biographical information and information about them.
SILVER WAVE RECORDS A leader in contemporary Native American, world, and new age music for over 15 years, Silver Wave is an independent label with a variety of incredibly-talented artists such as R. Carlos Nakai, Peter Kater, Robert Mirabel, Robert Laughing and more. Another strong resource for quality Indian Music.
PRAYER FOR PEACE Fifteen songs from Silver Wave carefully selected to create an experience and message of hope, healing, and peace. Including songs by Joanne Shenandoah, R. Carlos Nakai & Peter Kater, Robert Mirabal, Mary Youngblood, Alice Gomez, Lawrence Laughing and Michel Cusson, this recording showcases some of the finest Native artists recording today. All the proceeds from this cd go to benefit the World Peace Prayer Society.
VOICES ACROSS THE CANYON A series of four individual recordings, these are compiled by Canyon Records and are another way to step into Native music. Includes Native American flute music, chicken scratch, pow-wow music, traditional songs from the Navajo and Lakota and contemporary songs in Navajo and English.
JOANNE SHENANDOAH Joanne Shenandoah - Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy - Oneida Nation. Her music has been featured on "Northern Exposure". She opened Woodstock '94 and has appeared with Jackson Browne, Rita Coolidge, and Willie Nelson and at the White House for Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore. These songs are very melodic and the language is so sweet that it's easy to feel the words and you'll find yourself singing along in her language. Wonderful! Our personal recommendation: Lifeblood

WALELA Walela, the Cherokee word for Hummingbird and the symbol of inspiration for this family of women singers. They are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Coolidge, and Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield. You can listen to them online, on Robbie's cd and on Songs of the Spirit. Great to sing along to.
SHARON BURCH Contemporary, New World category. From Canyon: "Sharon Burch's music for voice and guitar is the contemporary expression of traditional Navajo ways and living. Most of Sharon's songs are in the beautiful Navajo language and capture the sacredness of Mother Earth and Father Sun and the importance of family and place to the Diné. To listen to Sharon's music is to "walk in beauty." We just love Sharon's music. Available on Canyon Records. Our personal recommendation: Touch the Sweet Earth

When you find what's worth keeping
With a breath of kindness
Blow the rest away
-Robbie Robertson*
* Lyrics and liner notes from Robbie Robertson, Music for the Native Americans CD.

Monday, February 25th, 2002
RICKY LAAHTY, ZUNI FETISH CARVER, First Artistic Endeavors, Part 1

Ricky Laahty is one of the most respected (and collected) artists carving Zuni fetishes today. He started to carve over 19 years ago and now, 22 years later has received notable recognition for his work. This week we're showing a rare collection of the first artistic projects that Ricky tried when he was just a teenager.
Since Ricky's parents and all of his sisters and brothers were jewelers, he initially tried inlaying but that didn't feel right either so his father Morris taught him how to carve frogs and other animals. Ricky's carvings have always had heart and a sweetness to them.
All the pieces shown below were beginning attempts at carvings that were never finished. Next week we'll have a continuation of this subject but with finished frogs and bears from 18 years ago. To find out more about Ricky, visit his Biography Page.

Some early bears and other animals from 1981-1982 before he started carving frogs exclusively.

A fossil ivory bird, shell corn maiden, alabaster bear and a green snail shell wolf. From 1982-1983. On the right is a natural turquoise bear and a wonderful old serpentine frog with coral eyes.

Lastly, there are some (mostly turquoise) mini frogs and two adorable natural baltic amber mini frogs, ca. 1984

Monday, March 4th
RICKY LAAHTY, ZUNI FETISH CARVER, First Artistic Endeavors, Part 2
This week we're continuing last week's topic showing a rare collection of finished pieces made during Ricky's early years of carving.
Ricky's father Morris was known for carving frogs and was the one to teach Ricky how to carve them. Ricky felt an affinity for frogs from the beginning, and has artistically explored carving every kind of frog imaginable. He still challenges himself and is changing continually; he is a pure artist. The one thing all his frogs have always had in common is a sweetness and whimsy that brightens our days and makes us smile.
Below are groupings of frogs (and a bear) from Ricky's personal collection. Most were carved from 1983-1991. To find out more about Ricky, visit his Biography Page.

A 3"-high serpertine "Bubba" frog with turquoise eyes and a natural chrysocolla frog with red coral eyes. Early on he put the eyes on the sides with a solid stone inlay and no pupil. He has always been open to carving new stones and combining different gemstones together in new and never-before-seen combinations.

Some very early mini frogs from 1983 carved from black marble, azurite, serpentine, turquoise, malachite and travertine (with purple sugilite inlaid eyes). Also Variscite (coral eyes), Ricolite (lapis eyes) and serpentine (turquoise eyes).

Two very large Bubbas on the left, both carved from Serpentine. They are very smooth and polished. Love the oval domed black jet inlaid eyes on the ivory frog, that catch the light and seem to watch over everything. Also pictured is the sweet large bubba (seen above) with an early serpentine bear.

Above is the first "double" that Ricky ever carved from Green Snail Shell. At right is a wonderful Red Abalone shell frog with a hopping raised body showing the first "Live Eyes" that Ricky is now famous for. At the bottom are some early experiments with wild concretiony forms.

Some more angles of this incredible bear from 1983. He's almost four inches long, has red coral inlaid eyes and an open mouth. Classic, old style fetish with the feet flat out and reminiscent of his most famous grand uncle Leekya Deyuse.

Monday, March 11th
Twin Rain Dancer Manas & Remembrance
These two tall, swaying Rain Dancer Manas were carved by Colvin Peina, Zuni, the week of September 11th, 2001. We had asked him to carve one tall Rain Dancer the week before, and when we showed up on Thursday, Sept. 14th, these two were what we found.
The Rain Dancer Kachinas are also known as "Long Hairs" for the long hair that flows from their face and down their backs. These are the "manas," the female counterpart to the male Rain Dancer. You can tell by the "Hopi maiden bundles" on the sides of their heads. They come out in Hopi and in Zuni. In Zuni, they only dance during the six Spring Night Dances, which are held from early February sometimes up until April. Their dancing and singing are prayers for rain, prosperity, abundance and fertility for Mother Earth and all living things upon her.
These were carved from deer antler and are mostly white with distinct dark faces. The tallest is over 9" high and though Colvin said the eyes were inlaid matte black jet, they glow green and gold when turned in the light as though they were a type of shell; Colvin couldn't explain that. Hauntingly beautiful, ethereal imagery.

Tuesday, March 26th
Rare and Historic BLUE GEM TURQUOISE

The Blue Gem Mine was located in the Copper Basin area southwest of Battle Mountain, Nevada, USA. Production of the mine started about 1934 and continued until the 1970's. Blue Gem Turquoise is still some of the finest turquoise ever found, and unlike most turquoise mines, (in which the majority mined is chalky and only usable if stablized) most of the turquoise found there was of gem-quality. There is a distinctive aqua color that some people associate with Blue Gem turquoise, although it produced a great variety of colors, especially when intense blue was combined with deep green in one stone (see picture below).
The mine no longer exists due to the extensive copper (and gold) mining operations of the Copper Canyon Mining Company (all of the copper was extracted by 1968). Doc Wilson, owner of the Lone Mountain Mine, owned the Blue Gem Mine from 1938-1981 when he leased it to Lee Hand. Lee Hand owned and operated the mine until 1970 when he sold his interest to the Elquist family of Battle Mountain. Lee Hand knew the Patania Family in Arizona and C.G.Wallace in Zuni and regularly supplied those traders with turquoise for Navajo and Zuni carvings and jewelry. While the Blue Gem mine was very prolific at one time, today it is considered extremely rare, valuable and collectible turquoise. Most of the "finished" Blue Gem turquoise today is in private collections and museums, rarely offered for sale. (The cabochons below were acquired from Jim Elquist about seven years ago. The stones in the bracelets below were acquired from Frand Patania Jr. in 2002.)

The mine was located deep underground, accessed by tunnels as deep as 800 feet. This is of interest because the Blue Gem Mine and the Bisbee Mine in Arizona are the only two mines (that we know of) that turquoise was found that deep in the earth. Pyrite-bearing quartz veins are closely associated with this turquoise although pyrite in Blue Gem is still unusual to see. Very little large material ever came out of Blue Gem, the majority found was small 1mm "bleeder" veins and tiny nuggets which was perfect for Zuni inlay and fine needlepoint, petit-point and snake-eyes jewelry.
There's just something about Blue Gem. It is a treasure: a rare, valuable and historic American turquoise. When we think of Blue Gem Turquoise, we think of translucence, depth, watery, what we mean by "non-opaque, silicated" jewels. This turquoise is hard and won't change color, takes a high polish and will be beautiful one hundred years from now. The character and beauty of these stones are impossible to fully capture in images, since this turquoise has a unique character that's hard to describe. It is like pools of glassy water captured in solid form, a gift from Mother Earth.

Above are pictured eight bracelets recently made by Joe Piaso Jr. from stones acquired from the Patania Collection in Arizona. These colorful blue, green and aqua bracelets will be offered on the site later this week, (with the exception of the fourth from the right). Cabochons ready for setting (from Jim Elquist) of different colors and sizes are also pictured above along with a blue-to-green set cabochon.

Top Left: Over one pound of fine Blue Gem veinlets. (We're going to have some jewelry made this year with this material!) Next to it are green and blue "gems" in the rough. Bottom left are a few pieces of the tiny "bleeder" vein material that was how most of the turquoise was found. Bottom right is a 1/4"-small nugget which would have been cut, inlaid and polished; a very labor-intensive process.

Four cabochons of Blue Gem from the Elquist Collection. The blue stone has pyrite matrix and the large aqua stone is green with pools of blue: exquisite specimens! The two bracelets are an outstanding example of the watery blue and green colors that Blue Gem is found in. These two bracelets are Julia's personal everyday bracelets.

Tuesday, April 2nd

Turquoise in Vogue - or is it More?
Pickup the March issue of People, Sports Illustrated (Swimsuit issue) or Bazaar and see what's hot and in fashion. Turquoise and coral are everywhere! The march issue of Town & Country features six pages of traditional Zuni and Navajo neckware emphasizing the materials and the western look.
"The look of the timeless gemstone (turquoise) is hotter than a rodeo seat in August." People Magazine, March 4, 2002, p 103.

March cover of Platinum magazine, featuring strands of turquoise heishe made by Marvin and Lillie Lovato of the Santo Domingo Pueblo and a turquoise necklace by Joe Piaso Jr., Navajo with other beautiful turquoise neckware for a glamorous choker. One thing about turquoise, you can pile it on! :-)
Turquoise: From Chokers to Clutches, Fashion's Favored Stone Gets a New Polish." Bazaar Magazine, March 2002.
To us, it's not a coincidence that "all of a sudden" turquoise is in vogue. It has been a sacred, revered stone since the beginning of time to ancient civilizations all over the world. The last time turquoise was "hot" was in the late 1960's to early 1970's during the Vietnam War. Ever since 9/11 we've been getting calls and emails from people who are drawn to turquoise for the first time in their lives, with no idea why. We're convinced they want something that is a bridge to Mother Earth, that connects them to their spirit, something with meaning that is more than just mere adornment. It is soothing and comforting in troubled times.
A fascinating fact about turquoise: that inside the lattice structure of the turquoise molecule is the presence of WATER, the basic element needed for life and what the Pueblo peoples dance and pray for.* Why do people want turquoise now? Is there a message that the stone is carrying we need to listen to?
Fashions come and fashions go, but quality always endures and never goes out of style. The type of NATURAL, Gem-Grade turquoise we show on this site is so rare, it's the top 1% of all the turquoise mined and will always stay beautiful to look at and be exciting to wear. The silver settings are classic and timeless as well, and will not be influenced by fashion trends, rather, fashion will return to them (as we're all seeing). (From all our sources, there is no such thing as "white turquoise". The closest turquoise comes to that is Burhnam's Dry Creek, or "Sacred Buffalo Turquoise".) Some people new to turquoise may start wearing turquoise because it's in fashion now, hopefully they will end up wearing it for themselves first because it just feels good to touch, wear and take in with the eyes. Turquoise touches the spirit and resonates inside you as a comforter, protector and healer. It is alive! Wear it in good health and high spirits.

* from Bob Jones, Senior Editor, Rock & Gem Magazine, "Turquoise, Blue Sky...Blue Stone"

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