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| Earrings from Kewa Pueblo Photo by Venaya Yazzie ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
These earrings are so beautiful!
I was able to purchase these earrings directly from the maker on a visit to the winter feast days at Ohkay Owingeh, which is the Tewa expression for San Juan Pueblo reservation.
The earrings were made by a young man from Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) which is located in northern New Mexico halfway between Albquerque and Santa Fe. During this time I was able to talk with the artist and ask about the earrings. He explained that they are made in the tradition of Kewa jewerly makers using on authentic earth elements.
These earring are made in the Indigenous jewelry way of mosaic inlay. For this particular pair of earrings the Pueblo maker used materials including: clam shell, mother of pearl shell, onyx, turquoise and silver.
As you can see the entire earring is made using the halved clam shell as the main foundation of the piece. They then inlaid atop the shell using symbolic geometric designs as they applied the various elements.
These earrings are among my treasures in my jewelry collection. I ADORN myself and wear them in times of celebration and during gallery openings. Truly, many of the the Kewa Pueblo people have a spectacular Indigenous designs to ADORN the People!
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