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

Previous Topic of the Week Features - Page 5

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 July 1st, 2002 going forward in time as you scroll down the page. We add to it weekly on the bottom.
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Monday, July 1st, 2002

PHILIP CHAMBLESS - Master Jeweler and Inlayer
Philip Chambless was born in Georgia, lived for over twenty years in the Zuni Mountains and currently resides with his wife in Alabama while making frequent trips back to his beloved Oso Ridge cabin in the Zuni Mtns. He is a self-taught jeweler, with over thirty years of experience. He has been kind enough to share with the rest of us the labor and material-intensive process that goes into making one of his bracelets. Philip has taken photos of the steps -- from rough beginning to the exquisite end result for the sole purpose of sharing and educating you to what he does. When we asked him "aren't you afraid of giving the whole process away?" he answered with a smile, "many I've taught have tried over the years, none have been able to get it the way I do it." That's the way he is. :-)
The photos below can't reveal his attention to detail, and the high standard for aesthetics that shows up in his pieces: they are so smooth and comfortable you don't know you have them on and when feeling the top you can't tell where the stones end and the sterling begins. Of note: he only works with Natural stones.
Making an inlay bracelet not only requires much skill and is a laborious process, but it is also material-intensive. The loss of original inlay material (turquoise, lapis, etc.) is up to 90%! Of fascinating note: you can weigh the rough bracelet before it's inlaid and the total weight will be less AFTER it is inlaid, grinded and polished (you lose that much stone and silver in the finish-work)!
While Philip is one of our old bro's from way back and is Anglo, his work is so high-quality and exciting that even his Zuni friends love to wear his work. He owns the mining claims to ten turquoise mines in Nevada and New Mexico and has been writing a book on Turquoise for four years. He also was the one who showed Ricky Laahty and Fred Bowannie travertine deposits in the Zuni Mtns as well as securing the mineral claim to the "Old Zuni Azurite Mine" (as written about and pictured in the Cushing books from 1900) in Ricky and Fred's name to ensure it stays accessible to the Zuni and in Zuni control.
No one in the business does inlay like Philip, not with the high-domed inlay and soft, gentle corners that distinguish his silverwork. He says his work is "feminine complementary" but that extends to men loving the feel of his bracelets also. Below is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of what goes into creating the finished pieces on the Contemporary Jewelry Page that are a delight to look at and a treasure to call your own.

Very Beginning: 1) Philip starts with his hand-fabricated, hand-forged sterling silver bracelet prototype with rubber mold ready for casting. 2) Finished wax cast with rubber mold. 3) Silver prototype and wax mold with extended "sprue" where the wax was poured into the mold. 4) Finished silver cast bracelet next to wax prototype. 5) Casted ring components before soldering, inlaying and polishing. 6) Rough Castledome Turquoise (Arizona) nuggets, this is how it all starts. Next to the nuggets is Julia's wrist with her two Philip bracelets: her everyday (3-yr old) Castledome and the narrower Lone Mtn Nevada Turquoise bracelet.

Midstage: 1) After the nuggets are chosen, "tiles" are cut for inlay. Here are two containers of turquoise showing a "before and after". The larger (front) container weighed 1000 grams, the second "preformed"down to inlay-size weighed 600 grams: a loss of 40% from the git-go. He's already encountered a 20-25% loss cutting from nuggets down to the first preform tile as shown in the larger container above. 2 & 3) Beginning and mid-stage of inlaying. 4) Mid-stage inlay closeup. 5) getting close to the wheel for the grinding process.

At any stage in this grinding-down, shaping and polishing process, "gaps" in the inlay reveal themselves if any of the stones were not precisely cut and set in perfect symmetry with each other all the way down to the silver. Also, this is when cracks in the stone can appear that weren't seen before. 1 & 2) How it looks at the beginning of the grinding process 3) midstage through the grinding and shaping 4) closeup after finishing the grinding. 6) Bracelet after grinding but before final sanding and polishing. 7) Finished 'wave bracelet' inlaid with natural Castleome Arizona Turquoise. 8) New narrow bracelets inlaid with Lone Mountain Turquoise (Nevada) & Castledome Turquoise.

Philip in Santa Fe in late 2001. The shot on the right was taken this Spring in the Royston Hills of Nevada. It's Philip doing what he was born to do: mining for Turquoise in a drift in a mine he owns called the "Carmelita Mine" named after his lovely wife Carmen.

Monday, July 9th, 2002

Great News! 11th White Buffalo Born
Below is an email received from Steven McFadden, author of Legends of the Rainbow Warrior, passed along with permission:
Dear Friends,
News has just come that a male White Buffalo has been born on Spirit Mountain Ranch, just north of Flagstaff, Arizona. The ranch, owned by Jim and Dena Riley, is already the home of three female White Buffalo, so this marks the fourth White one in this herd.
Below I have pasted the news, as it came from A. S. Barry, who has been a helper to the Rileys and their buffalo herd:
Blessings to each and every one of you.
I was on vacation this week, out of town, and I heard the joyous news that we had a White Buffalo Baby Boy born on Monday July 1st at 10:35 am. This is Arizona's first ever white buffalo calf and we are so happy and proud that the Creator would bless us with such abundance. That day when he was born, outside of Flagstaff, they had their first rain in a long time and then the next day it poured in Sedona. Thank you Great Spirit. Please send more and more to our dry lands.
I would have written sooner but I just got back and wanted to send this out to all of our relatives so we could all celebrate this weekend over this miracle birth.
Thank you for all your prayers and love. It is working.
Love, A.S. Barry
For more information, and to learn about the prophecy of the white buffalo, visit Spirit Mountain Ranchąs web site: http://www.sacredwhitebuffalo.org

Monday, July 22nd, 2002
Ricky, Ron and Fred up at the Old Zuni Azurite Mine
High up in the Zuni Mountains of western New Mexico is a sacred source for a blue stone called Azurite. The mine is located about thirty miles east of the Zuni reservation line and is called the "Old Zuni Azurite Mine" and was documented in Cushing's "My Adventures in Zuni" published in the late 1800's. Down through time, the mineral has been a source of azure pigment for various cultures around the world. The pictures below were taken by Philip Chambless (an old friend of all of ours). They show Zuni fetish carvers Ricky Laahty, his nephew Ron Laahty, and Fred Bowannie mining for Azurite up at the mine.
Nothing is taken from the mountain without first making prayers and offerings. A paint company had the mineral rights to the mine in the 1920's, excavated a pit and left the area. Over the last eighty years, the Zunis lost track of the mine and didn't even go up there anymore until Philip did some research and found the mineral rights were unclaimed and an exact location of the mine. The guys don't "mine" with picks and shovels in mine pits so much as "gather" stones from the surface after eighty-plus years of natural erosion from rain and snow melt. On this particular day it started to rain for them (a blessing), which cleaned off all the dust and dirt to reveal the precious blue and green gems amidst all the common brown-gray rock formations. Today, Ricky and Fred own the mineral rights to the "Old Zuni Azurite Mine" so the area is assured of staying under Zuni control.
Azurite gets its name from its azure-blue color. It is a secondary copper mineral that develops in all types of hydrothermal replacement deposits, often occurring with Malachite in or around copper deposits. Deposits have been found in Australia, Chile, France, and Russia, and in Arizona and Pennsylvania in the U.S.
Some of the specimens that Ricky and the guys are finding are solid copper ore, heavy and metallic. Some are small nodular jewels no larger than 1/2" in diameter, while others can be larger, colorful stones with small layers of green or blue showing. Ricky, Ron and Fred are making "All Zuni material" fetishes. Lately, they're incorporating this precious blue stone into the travertine and jasper fetishes carved from historic Zuni stones they've mined at other areas in Zuni land. In fact, Ricky invented this design concept in 2000 and his first two pieces were Nutria Travertine Turtles with inlaid Zuni Malachite backs (one of which is pictured below) and has given his blessing to Ron and Fred to use his inlay idea in their carvings.
Going up to the mine, (or mining for any of the Zuni stones for their carvings) is an all-day expedition and hard work. The carvings they are making using this pure Zuni material that came from their efforts are even more special when you think of the time, effort and blessings offered to make them happen. While it's hard to put a monetary value on the original carving materials, there is an inherent value in these pieces that collectors appreciate, and that can't be compared (in value) to stones that a carver can pick up for a few dollars at a trading company or rock shop. Due to the origination of the stones and purity of intent, these pieces are very distinctive, collectible and should only increase in value over time.
Ricky, Ron and Fred are exceptional carvers in their own right, but they're also purists who love to carve the stones native to Zuni, as it creates a bridge to the old days, their ancestors and what Zuni Fetishes are all about: their uniqueness, charm and character, as well as their symbolism and the unexplainable emotions that they evoke in us, the collector. Presently, all three are experimenting with inlaying, accenting and adding azurite and malachite to their carvings. They are constantly challenging themselves to improve their technique, and to come up with original pieces while opening themselves to even higher levels of inspiration. The images below paint only a small picture of what goes into creating an all-Zuni-stone fetish by Ricky Laahty, Fred Bowannie and Ron Laahty.

Top left is a drawing of the Old Zuni Azurite Mine and "Zunis mining for turquoise" by Frank Cushing from his "My Adventures in Zuni" written around 1880. Cushing thought the azurite was turquoise. It's not uncommon to find turquoise near azurite but none has ever been found in this particular area as far as we know. the circular inset is a drawing of the topography of the ridge-line, to the right is what the mountain ridge looks like today from the same angle. A vein of blue Azurite in native host rock, a larger-sized rough specimen in the hand and some pretty Zuni Azurite-Malachite used as garden rocks.

Top left are pics of Ricky looking for a blue gem and showing off one he just found. Next is Ron looking for his own pieces. Typical (back-breaking) rock-hounding posture: heads down, butts up :-) and Fred inspecting a stone for quality. What the day is all about: mini "jewels in the rough" showing a couple high-grade specimens in addition to nodular little balls of blue and green.

Finished pieces. Two Nutria Travertine turtles by Ricky: one with a blue Zuni Azurite inlaid shell, the other with a green Zuni Malachite shell. Top right is an exceptional large specimen that shows the geology of the azurite stone fabulously. Next are two mini-frogs carved from two-toned Azurite-Malachite; and a very heavy solid metallic-copper frog with a deep green and blue face. Last is a grouping of three Old Zuni Azurite and Malachite frogs. All the fetishes shown are either in private collections or pieces put aside for Indian Market next month. We will have similar fetishes on the site in the future to offer to our visitors.

Ricky, Fred and Ron (left to right) walking down the mountain after a great day rock-hounding.

Monday, July 29th, 2002
First-Hand Account of a Visit to the White Buffalo in Arizona

We were blessed to receive an email from a website-visitor who was taking a road trip through Arizona and stopped to see the White Buffalo we spoke about in our past White Buffalo Topic. Her name is Ann and we've received permission from her to share her travelogue with our other visitors. It brightened our day and made us smile, (as well as want to go to Flagstaff as soon as possible). So here goes, from Ann to you:
"Just got home from Arizona and had to let you know that I went to see the White Buffalo! They are really there and are really white! They are gorgeous! It was very interesting to see. The owners let the Native Americans do ceremonies and care for the buffalo, There are all kinds of items hanging on the fence that are gifts to the buffalo, and an area set apart where the Native Americans have ceremonies and more items (gifts) are left there. They ask you Not to take pics of them so I didn't, but they are awesome!
I saw the white calf in addition to two other newborns. The adults were all in front of the baby white one so it was difficult to see her clearly. She was laying down, sleeping on her side and the adults/parents were all gathered in front of her. I wasn't able to see her face, but she was there, beautiful and white. To reach them you go into a little cabin where they have a tape of her birth and great pics of her family! Incredible tape!! The father is dark brown and huge, he was sitting front and center guarding the family, and he is unbelievable: a spectacular and enormous animal, just gorgeous! Another large male was also awesome. He was looking right at me, actually I was standing right in front of HIM ;-) it was very quiet and you could feel the specialness of just being there. I guess I was maybe 15 feet away from him. It was beautiful...
Some of the others were up and about and little hummingbirds were perched on the fence-wire looking at them with me. I didn't think hummingbirds perch out in the wide-open like that, don't really know for sure but it was wonderful. The white buffalo that are young sort-of look like calves, but I would love to see them as adults. The buffalo are in a large, fenced-in area that is protected from view of the street; you can't see them at all if you are not in the back area. I wish they had more room, I know the owners want to purchase more land, I hope they do.
It is very easy to get to...all paved roads. Driving straight north (towards the Grand Canyon) out of Flagstaff you'll pass the buffalo, can't miss the sign! The adults are shedding, which is mostly completed, but the large father had a full head, which is really something to see! When you go in the Fall it will certainly be cooler, maybe they will be moving around a little more. If I had gone early morning it probably would have been even better.
I hadn't planned on going to the Grand Canyon actually, but as I was already one-third of the way there what's another 40 miles? It was worth it for sure. I was there thirty years ago, but this time, or time of life, or something made it much more moving to me. Glad I made the trip. Take care, Ann"
For more information, and to learn about the prophecy of the white buffalo, visit Spirit Mountain Ranchąs web site: http://www.sacredwhitebuffalo.org

Tuesday, August 6th, 2002
Introduction to "SILVER SUN"

THE ROMANCE OF TURQUOISE It is beautiful My pollen is of corn My pollen is of skystone My prayer falls from my hand The power flows to the wind to the earth that she would hold me. © 2002 Kathleen Sanchez, San Felipe

This week is not so much a 'topic' as usual, but a correspondence to both our long-time customers and new-found guests about a change taking place in our Zuni Fetish business. Skystone has really become two separate businesses with the jewelry and fetishes. It's grown to the extent that we're at the point where we either have to bring someone in to help us or let something out. After looking at all our options, we have decided to align ourselves with some very special people on the path to help us out in offering our Zuni Fetishes online as well as in their gallery on world-famous Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
We are excited to publicly announce that Silver Sun of Santa Fe will be representing the Skystone Collection of Zuni Fetishes to our online customers through a special page on our website. Silver Sun has been in business for over twenty years and is owned and operated by Deana Olson, past President and Board Member of the IACA, Indian Arts and Crafts Association; Cheryl Ingram, presently a Member of the Board of the IACA; and Kathleen Sanchez, San Felipe jeweler (pictured above). The fetishes are extremely important to us and who handles them was a serious decision to make. Silver Sun's business philosophy matches ours exactly and we feel their genuine love of the fetishes and stones, their friendliness and professionalism make them a perfect choice to both be representing these special pieces and to be dealing with you. We've known them and done business with them for three years so are sure that once you get to know them, you'll feel just as comfortable with them as you are with us.
For lack of a better term, what we refer to as the "Skystone Collection" are the distinctive pieces carved from stones that we've provided to carvers we work with directly in addition to pieces from other carvers that we've selectively chosen while visiting Zuni. We've always considered our website an "online gallery" (instead of a store), so this affiliation with Silver Sun is a natural blending of energies and purpose.
We'll still be listing fetishes online ourselves but on a much smaller scale (though we'll still list the majority of Ricky Frogs ourselves on the site). By working with Silver Sun, we'll be able to concentrate on what we do best and love the most: being together in Zuni while having one-of-a-kind fetishes carved, seeking out and acquiring new stones for carving and concentrating on the Turquoise jewelry side of our business, the 'skystone' which we love so much. This means the jewelry customers will benefit from our ability to now give more attention to that side of our business.
Starting in mid-September, Silver Sun will begin doing postings of their own on our site, which will look identical to our postings, except you'll be going through them to purchase. We believe this will give you, the online customer, access to way more (and better) carvings than we ever could have offered by ourselves. In addition, you'll be able to shop for our fetishes at a wonderful, all Native American gallery when you're visiting Santa Fe. (Ricky Frogs, Fred Bears & Ron Maidens are now exclusively available in Santa Fe at Silver Sun on Canyon Road.)

Our official Opening will be held at Silver Sun's Indian Market Reception to be held at their gallery Friday night, August 16th from 5-8pm, the kick off to Indian Market weekend. Zuni carvers Ricky and Ron Laahty (Ron is in Ricky's booth this year starting early Saturday morning when the Indian Market officially opens) as well as Fred Bowannie will be there to meet you. This fun reception has been an annual event for over twenty years that usually attracts over 350 people during the three hours it's held so come early for the best selection of Zuni fetishes. There will be four of Silver Sun's other artists there including Current IACA President George Willis, also IACA 2000 Artist of the Year. Plenty of food and drink will be provided with music provided by the "Silver Strings" quartet. (Lynn Quam, who also has a booth at the show and the Sheche family may be there as well but are not confirmed as of yet.) Silver Sun is not prepared to take phone calls or email inquiries about fetishes until Monday, August 19th. (They are conscientious and want to make a good first impression with you but know they will be too busy in the gallery the weekend of the show to give proper attention to your inquiries.)
We believe this is a very positive step for all of us, including the Zuni artists, the fetish and jewelry customer/collectors who follow the site, Silver Sun, and Skystone. Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing you to the new people you'll be dealing with directly, how we see this working and some of the other exciting plans we have for improving the website. We ask for your patience, understanding and trust as we go through this new evolution, we're pretty confident that by October most of the kinks will be worked out and we'll be operating smoothly.
Please know we're not in any way getting out of the online fetish business or will suddenly be unavailable by phone or email. Our vision is that by working together, Silver Sun and Skystone will be able to offer unique, high-quality, new Zuni fetishes online on a weekly basis. We welcome your comments and suggestions and as always, value your attention and business.

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