Silver Sun Silversmiths

Vivian Barbone
     Vivian Barbone is from the Smith Lake area and been smithing for over 15 years. She has two sons.

Darryl Becenti
    Darryl Becenti was born in 1957 in Gallup, NM.  He was taught silverwork by his brothers-in-law, David
and Leroy Reeves in 1980.  Darryl is also a sand painter.

Harold Becenti
     Harold Becenti is from the southeastern part of the Navajo reservation, near Crownpoint, New Mexico.  He has been silver smithing for 10 years,  He has three children and is married.   Harold has worked alongside Emma Bighand, who is also a Navajo silversmith.   He specializes in traditional antique styles using heavy gauges and stamping, and prefers to work with silver and turquoise.  His favorite pieces of art to craft are bracelets,rings, pendants and pins.  When not working he enjoys listening to music.

Harry H. Begay
     Harry Begay lives in the Gallup, NM area and has been silversmithing for over 35 years.  He has always worked in the "old style" manner; creating  his own stamps and buying  scrap silver to melt and pound into ingots.  Harry is known for heavy gauge jewelry with a soft, lovely patina.   His work has always been in demand, but he has not been able to produce as much after a recent heart attack. 

John B. Begay Jr.
     John B. Begay is a very shy and private person.  Adhering to traditional Navajo values, he has little desire for recognition or fame.  He does not sign his jewelry work and is satisfied in using only 550 Silver & Supply's Monsterslayer shop hallmark stamp.  John is a master smith and his real trademark is his painstaking design and exacting solder work.  He specializes in classic old Navajo style and the very contemporary, sometimes blending the two styles together.  He lives with his wife, Lulu, and his son, Brian, near Shiprock, New Mexico.

Ruth Ann Begay,  Navajo
     Ruth Ann Begay was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She learned how to silver smith by watching her mother and her sister. Ruth began silversmithing professionally after high school. She is now 53 years old, married and has one daughter, Desbah. Ruth and her husband live in Prewitt, New Mexico. She says that New Mexico is her favorite place to be. Ruth uses modern tools to make her jewelry. She taught herself how to finish silver jewelry. Ruth says that when she signs her name to a piece, it is important that the quality of her work be something that she can be proud of. Ruth thinks that teaching silver smithing sounds interesting. She says that the value of being an artist is that she can find jobs that allow her to be creative.

Jimison Ben, Navajo
     Jimison Ben smiths during the summer when he is on vacation from teaching welding at the University of New Mexico's Gallup branch.

Emma Bighand
     Emma Bighand is from the southeastern part of the Navajo reservation, near Crownpoint, New Mexico.  Her older brothers and sisters, who are also silversmiths, influenced her decision to take up jewelry making at an early age.   Emma learned her art primarily from her parents, who are also accomplished silversmiths.  She has been working at her art since 1984.
     Working with the basic elements of silver  and stone, Emma crafts exquisite pieces of jewelry that anyone would be pleased to wear and enjoy.   Her favorite creations are pendants and brooches.  Emma loves working with the one-of-a-kind stones, designing around their unique colors and shapes.
     When she is not busy silversmithing, Emma enjoys horseback riding on the reservation, working with her sheep, and collecting antiques.

Andy Cadman, Navajo
     Andy Cadman was born in Gallup, New Mexico in 1966.   He began his career in silversmithing at the age of 23.  He is a brother of Darrell Cadman and half-brother to Gary, David, and Sunshine Reeves, well-known silversmiths.  He signs his work A. Cadman.

Darrell Cadman, Navajo
     Darrell Cadman was born in Gallup, New Mexico in 1969.   He began his career in silversmithing in 1992.  He is a brother of Andy Cadman and half-brother to Gary, David, and Sunshine Reeves, well-known silversmiths.  He signs his work D. Cadman.

Bernyce Chavez, Navajo
     Bernyce is a Navajo artist from Canoncito, New Mexico.   She has been silversmithing since 1988 after a disastrous try at shepherding.   She says that her first time out with the sheep, she lost ten or fifteen of them and her father fired her that night.  She began helping her older sister in her silversmithing work by making bezels (the thin silver band that holds the stone in place).   Later she went to work for a jewelry production company in  Albuquerque and there honed her skills.  By the time that job ended, she was doing design work for them.  Now she works on her own.  Bernyce signs her work "BC" or "B Chavez."

Julian & Kelly Coriz,  Santo Domingo Pueblo
     Julian and Kelly Coriz have been together for about 18 years, living in Santo Domingo Pueblo with their three daughters, Sand, Danielle, and Desiree. Their work is unique and every piece is a family effort. Julian analyzes the stones; he picks, slices and arranges pieces until he reaches an initial idea of the design. Then, Kelly and the older girls string and polish while Nayda, the youngest sister, watches and learns.
     Julian Coriz started at the early age of ten, when his uncle, the famous artist Martin Lovato, taught him the secrets of this wonderful craft. Julian says that the best part of his job is being able to continue the tradition of heishe and working at his own pace. He likes to see positive responses from people because he wants people to be happy while wearing his jewelry. His favorite pieces to make are inlay earrings. He learned his craft from watching his grandparents and parents who also made jewelry. Kelly obtained a degree in early child development last year at the Southwestern Indian Polytech Institute and plans to start working soon. Julian says that their biggest challenge so far was getting into the Santa Fe Indian Market Show.

Ann Curley, Laguna Pueblo
     Ann Curley has been working for eight years as a silversmith.  She enjoys setting stones and embellishing with twist wire work.   She is in her 40's, married, and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jeanette Dale, Navajo
     Jeanette learned silversmithing from her mother, Juanita Begay.  She loves to work around a beautiful stone to create unique one-of-a-kind jewelry.  She prefers the traditional Navajo style with heavy, deep stamping and high polishes.

Jereme Delgarito, Navajo
     Jereme Delgarito is in his early twenties and has been working in the silversmithing business since age 16 when he began as a janitor.   By watching others in the shop, he gradually advanced in his skills to learn buffing and actual smithing.  He is very flexible in his abilities, being able to master many techniques well, from stamp work to repousse to silver overlay.
     He lives life enthusiastically, has four children, and resides in Smith Lake on the Navajo Reservation.

Etta and Randy Endito, Navajo
     Etta Endito grew up in Crownpoint, New Mexico.   She gradually learned how to work with silver by assisting her mother after school.   By the time she was 15, she was smithing part-time on her own as well.  At age 18, she inaugurated her career as a full-time silversmith.  After graduating from the Technical and Vocational Institute in Albuquerque in 1986, she began creating her own designs.
     Now she and her husband, Randy, and her sons work as a tam to create elegant, contemporary, well-crafted designs.  Randy helps her with heavy design stamping, shaping, and buffing.  Her two older boys, although young, are contributing their artistic talents in design.
     Etta uses her total environment to stimulate design ideas for her jewelry.  "I just go to town and look around.  If I see something - a building, signs, or even things in my son's toy box - I get ideas from that.  I look for things that will look good in a contemporary design.  Then I work on paper to change things around."  Eventually, her family team produces a finished piece of unique jewelry.  "That's what I like about being a designer," says Etta, "how it comes out."
     In 1998 Etta's work was featured in the I*Indian Craft Shop, Department of Interior, in Washington, DC.  She was one of eight Native American artists chosen from throughout the United States for this honor.  Her work was also shown in the 1998 Spring Indian Market in Washington, DC.

Derrick Gordon, Navajo
     Derrick Gordon was born in 1955 in Houck, Arizona. He began silversmithing in 1976 and was taught by his aunt. He is considered an expert in old style jewelry and makes all his own stamps.    

>L. Bruce Hidgins, Navajo
     L. Bruce Hodgins was born in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1959 to a full-blooded Navajo mother and an Anglo father.  His  mother is Mary Hunt Dodge Hodgins from the Toadlena/Crystal area of New Mexico related to the great Chee Dodge.  Bruce’s father is of Irish, English, Scottish decent and worked as an educator and school principal all his life on southwestern reservations, starting with the Walapai in the 1940’s and retiring in 1982 after twenty-five years at Hopi.
     At Hopi Bruce studied with Sidney Secakuku, Jr. and learned to make overlay jewelry in true Hopi tradition.  As his studies continued in jewelry making and biology at Northern Arizona University Bruce added traditional Navajo styles later working into contemporary pieces that incorporate both Hopi and Navajo characteristics.
     “My ideas come from many places”, states Bruce, “often I combine traditional with contemporary styles and mix techniques in a subtle way.  Our Mother Earth provides many colored stones to use and enjoy and I take advantage of those differences in much of my work.”
     Today Bruce has evolved into a master silversmith.  He is said to build, “a Cadillac” in Indian jewelry using heavy gauge silver and exotic stones.  Diverse in his abilities, with an attention to quality and detail, Bruce does all work from design to finish himself.  Each work is individually designed with a classic simplicity and each element of his work needs to be itself yet complement other elements.  Harmony, balance, color, texture, contrasts, repetition, shape, form, tradition and innovation are what Bruce works with.
     Bruce is an avid outdoorsman enjoying hunting, fishing, exploring back country and riding his mountain bike.  Bruce shares his home in Flagstaff with Rita Alexander-Hodgins, his wife, two dogs and two cats.

Ivan Howard, Navajo
    Mr. Howard learned silversmithing from a good friend who taught him during off-work hours.  During the week, Mr. Howard is a senior electrical technician working with simulation systems.  He used a bonus check to buy appropriate smithing tools, and his friend showed him the basic steps.  The first big concho belt he mad sold in five minutes in a gallery.  Since then, he has continued to develop his talent, with critiques from his friend/mentor.
     Silversmithing is "good therapy"  which Mr. Howard practices in the evenings and on a regular half-day off.  He has expanded the kind of work he does to include tufa casting and goldsmithing.  He sometimes makes his own tools, which he considers more efficient than commercial tools.  Mr. Howard says that selling his work at shows has helped him overcome his bashfulness and improve his communication skills.
     Ivan Howard attended high school in Richfield, Utah and served five years in the Navy.  He has two young children.

Albert Jake, Navajo
     Albert Jake was born in 1959 in the Zuni Pueblo south of Gallup, New Mexico.  He learned silversmithing from his parents.  He has been smithing since 1987.  He also creates sandpaintings and make pottery.  During the summers he works as a forest fire fighter.
     He lives with his wife and two daughters today in Rahmah, New Mexico, near the Zuni Pueblo.

Verdy Jake, Navajo
     Verdy Jake grew up in a family with thirteen children.   Her oldest brother began silverwork and then taught the rest of his siblings, including Verdy.  Her hallmark is a "V."  She lives at Smith Lake on the Navajo reservation.  She is in her thirties and has four children.

Mary John, Navajo
     Mary John is an outgoing person.  Two dimples appear on either side of her mouth when she smiles or laughs.  She lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  A local Indian jewelry company hired her in 1993 and taught her everything she knows about silversmithing.  Mary make earrings, pins, pendants, and bracelets.  She excels at silver stamp work, stone setting, and cut silver designs.  She signs her work with a single "M".  "I'm always interested in learning more about my craft," she says.  When she is not working, Mary enjoys cooking, going to movies, and playing Bingo.

Lester Johnson, Navajo
    Lester Johnson is a Navajo silversmith from Chinle, Arizona.  He is 68 years old and married.  Lester is known for his wonderful stampwork.

Nila Johnson, Navajo
     Nila (pronounced neela) Johnson is an experienced silversmith who specializes in old style cluster bracelets. She is known for the excellent quality of her work. She has three daughters, aged 8 to 20, and lives on the Navajo reservation.

Joe Mace, Navajo
     Mr. Mace began silversmithing when he was 23 years old and has been creating jewelry for 25 years. He learned to smith, he says, by watching his older brother, Ted Mace. He says he does not like to copy anyone else, so he gets his design ideas from the land features where he lives in rural northwestern New Mexico.  He attended Ojo Encino Elementary School, middle school in Crownpoint, and high school in Fort Wingate. He has six daughters, two sons, and nine grandchildren. He really doesn't like to socialize outside of the home, but enjoys the hubbub of his large family at home. He prefers living and working in the country, occasionally training horses as a hobby.

Rose Martin, Navajo
     Rose Martin has been making silver bead necklaces since she was eight years old. She learned from her "auntie," and received some of the stamps she uses on the necklace beads from her. Her husband's grandmother also gave her some stamps and others she had custom made.  For eight years during her 20's, Rose made jewelry, then stopped to become a security guard at the Uranium Mine in the Gallup area. In 1984 she started working with silver again and has been working full time making beautifully detailed silver bead necklaces and earrings. Rose, who also enlists the help of her husband, works out of her home in Gallup, New Mexico. She thoroughly enjoys silversmithing, and we are proud to offer her handmade creations to our customers.

Alvin Monte, Navajo
     Alvin Monte works in both gold and silver, often making his own stamping tools.  Although his parents were silversmiths, he is self-taught.   The inspiration for designs can come to him in dreams, he says, or from petroglyph or Pueblo designs.  Born in Socorro, Mr. Monte grew up in Canoncito, New Mexico.   He graduated from high school there.  He is married and is teaching his nine-year-old son, who shows silversmithing talent, the art.  This son is already making bracelets.  As pastimes, Alvin likes to draw, fish, and camp.

Barbara Monte, Navajo
     Barbie Monte was born in Soccoro, NM in 1970 and raised in Alamo.  She started to do silverwork in 1992.   Margie Monte, Barbie's mother, and her sisters taught her how to silversmith.

Jerry Nelson, Navajo
     Jerry Nelson was born in 1959 in Keam's Canyon, Arizona. Both he and his brother Gilbert now live in Tohajiilee (formerly known as Canoncito), New Mexico, on the reservation. Both brothers are known for their elegant, high quality work with heavier silver pieces such as concho belts and cuffs. Jerry learned how to silversmith from his uncle in 1989. His other creative interests include beadwork and woodcarving. He also works as a welder in construction.

Joe Pacheco, Navajo
     Joe began working with his mother using the hand drill and hand grinding turquoise heishi beads when he was around 10 years old. He also spent time helping his father work the farm as well as going to school.  Out of school, he worked as a fire fighter with the Santa Fe District for fifteen years, took a break in Phoenix to work in jewelry making for someone else, and then returned to 1980 to begin his own jewelry making business, this time using machines to create the beads. He also started working from his own designs at this time. At present, Joe uses stabilized Kingman from Arizona.  Joe has four children. The youngest, a daughter, is learning his craft.

Daniel (Sunshine) Reeves, Navajo
     Navajo artist Daniel Reeves, also known as "Sunshine Reeves" was born in 1966 in New Mexico. Sunshine Reeves' older brothers, Gray Reeves and David Reeves, taught him the craft of silversmithing. He is a world-renowned artist, taking several 'Best of Show' awards and 1st place ribbons at the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial held in New Mexico each year. His jewelry is also showcased at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, and the Heard Museum. He stamps his work D. Reeves or Sunshine Reeves.

Kathleen Sanchez, San Felipe
    Kathleen Sanchez is a beadwork designer and stringer as well as a designer of jewelry in silver and turquoise.  She has been employed by the Silver Sun for many years and is the retail director.
     She was born in the San Felipe Pueblo and grew up there.   Kathleen graduated from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque with a B.A. in American Studies and a minor in German.  In her early 40s, she has one child and lives in Santa Fe.

Bonnie Sandoval, Navajo
     Bonnie is a Navajo artist from Canoncito, New Mexico.  She lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She learned silversmithing from her mother in 1986.  Both her parents and a sister are silversmiths.  She makes rings and other jewelry for Silver Sun.  When asked what she likes to do when she isn't working, she gives a quizzical look and says "I just work, and not much else."  Bonnie signs her work with a single capital "S".

Dean Sandoval, Navajo
     Dean was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to parents who were silversmiths.  He grew up in Canoncito on the Navajo reservation, where he and his siblings learned the craft.  His mother Alta Sandoval, and his sister Bonnie Sandoval, are both currently working silversmiths.  Dean now has a wife and two young children.  He says he loves the outdoors, but has given up his pastime of participating in rodeo events as he says he is "getting too old."

Sharon Sandoval, San Felipe Pueblo
     Mrs. Sandoval learned silversmithing on her own in her early twenties. Although she is a trained nurse, she decided to work full time as a silversmith when the opportunity arose. She enjoys practicing her art and would be happy to teach others how to silversmith.  She is married with three children and lives at San Felipe Pueblo, which is located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Victor Trujillo, Creek
     Mr. Victor Trujillo is originally from Pine Springs, Arizona but went to high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is where he currently resides. One of his brothers also does silversmithing. Mr. Trujillo learned silversmithing in a class at West Mesa High School. He has been a silversmith for fifteen years. Mr. Trujillo's designs come from dreams and his studies of architecture and mixed media. Often, he wakes in the night to record his dreams so that he remembers them. He enjoys working on bracelets and rings and designs his own jewelry from a contemporary and abstract perspective. Mr. Victor Trujillo also creates his designs based on what styles he sees displayed around him. His love of live music gives him the opportunity to study the current trends in fashion. He recently made a bracelet on commission in gothic style with tribal designs.

Sam Werito  (Uncle Sam W), Navajo
     Sam Werito was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and is Navajo.  Sam's mother taught him and his siblings to do silversmithing.  Sam says, "My sisters would show me what to do when we were all helping mother with her work.  Then after that, I started working on my own stuff.   After a few years, my brother started to teach me how to stamp (designs in silver)."  Sam has now been silversmithing for a number of years.  He gets his ideas for designs on such items as ranger sets and buckles by "just looking at different things.  It doesn't matter what it is."  Then he combines elements from what he sees to make designs.  He says that he particularly enjoys his silversmithing occupation because he can plan his own work hours and be in charge of when he takes time off.  He is open to just about any activity that comes along in his spare time.


Juan Willie, Navajo
     Mr. Juan Willie learned silversmithing from his cousin. His parents and all four of his brothers are silversmiths. He practices his art as a silversmith five days a week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is where he lives.  He   is skilled at making all types of silver jewelry. However, he admits to favoring rings and one-of-a-kind pieces. He  would like to learn Spanish because he likes the language and is considering taking evening classes at the local community college in the near future.  Mr. Willie take pride in his work and advises young artists to make their designs original. He enjoys being able to support himself through his art.


Ronnie Willie, Navajo
     Mr. Ronnie Ray Willie learned silversmithing from his oldest brother, Lonnie, who is also a silversmith. In addition to jewelry, he makes kachinas and does sandpainting, sandcasting, rock sculpture, and wood-carving.  He also likes to draw and is happy to report that his youngest son, Dakota, shares his passion for drawing.   He has four children.
     Mr. Willie works as a silversmith five days a week in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He often makes his own tools and particularly enjoys working on antique bracelets and concho belts.  He enjoys creating new designs and practices his art is his free time. Someday, he would like to teach young people how to silversmith and sculpture. It is important to him to keep his culture's traditions alive.

Geraldine Yazzie, Navajo
     Geraldine Yazzie learned to silversmith from her mother.  She has been smithing for over 17 years, and is known for her beautiful concho belts with wonderful, deep stamping.  She is in her thirties and lives with her four children in Smith Lake on the Navajo reservation.

Silver Sun     656 Canyon Road      Santa Fe, New Mexico  87501       800/562-2036

Email: info@SilverSun-SF.com