John Yazzie

John moved to the Bluff area in 1986. As a young man, he watched friends create jewelry and fell in love with the process. He was making silver jewelry on his own when he went to work for the Navajo Arts and Crafts Cooperative. He was mentored by Howard Begay, Tom Hosteen and Richard Livingston. Howard showed him how to deal with heavier silver, both wire and sheets. He taught him to use proper dimension as a weapon in creating good structure.

John spends six to eight hours each day working on his jewelry. He prefers complete silence when working. Often he is so intent on the process, that he can't really see the entire piece. When he is finished and the overall composition works, he finds it really pleasing.

John's creations are a combination of wonderful old styles inspired by pre-1950's designs as well as contemporary interpretations. You may see the tremendous amount of effort and individual steps which go into John's jewelry in our Museum section under Exhibits

View artwork by John Yazzie

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