Artizona Native American Crafts

Welcome to our journey through the world of Native American crafts. The artist gallery is a co-op of different artists who are able to sell their art through the gallery. A volunteer tells us how the art has evolved in the last 25 years. We each work, we pay rent to be here for each space that we're in. The art has evolved, I think in the early years it was more original paintings and now of course there's a lot of variation with the pottery and the jewelry. One of those artists who is involved with the artist gallery is meldersmith Tom Yassie. We visited him at his home and workshop in Flagstaff. I'm a member of that co-op so in that way I'm allowed to to display and sell my jewelry there. Tom wants to make more than just jewelry, it must have a special meaning. I try to make art, wearable art. Some people just make a piece of ring but I want jewelry that will stand on its own, like a piece of art. And I make all kinds of jewelry, I polish a lot of stones, I cut them and polish them all myself. Do all the metal work in here from polishing to finishing to soldering to melting. Then you get your rollers and all the equipment that I have set up. Tom Yassie has discovered a special way to know if a stone is of good quality. Lick it, clean it off and then you look at it and say okay look look that's nice. Then you lick it and then they'll show you what it's going to look like when you polish it. Jewelry making runs in the family. Not only Tom is involved in this process, his son Steve and Yassie is also a metalsmith. But they have different styles, even though they still help and collaborate with each other. I think one of the most iconic things that are between me and my dad is our shared bow guards that we have. He made me a bow guard and I made him one and you can see directly how our styles are very much different but how much they influence each other from our works and how much input we put into each other. Sometimes you'll look at and say yeah that's not gonna work or sometimes like oh yeah that'll work try this or try this instead of this or you know that's how we usually shoot ideas off each other and get each other's opinion on certain pieces. Native American jewelry is also sold next to the road towards Sedona. Velma Wilson tells us more about her motivation to sell a variety of pots, jewelry and sculptures. I rely on a lot of these artisans and I know they do very good work and a lot of it's trust too. You know we have a trust basis and their family, neighbors, you know people. I've known a lot of them maybe like 20 years. She says that she has several reasons for why she sells her merchandise on the side of the road. Right now it's a way it's survival like if I don't make anything I don't make money but years before that it was just kind of fun you know way to hang out with my grandma you know for me to be close to her and my grandma was a rebel so but now it's like I have to keep busy and just it's a way of survival I guess that you have to go to work and you don't you don't get paid so that's basically how it is now. We hope that you enjoyed our journey through the world of Native American crafts. For Artesona, I'm Naomi.