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Dennis Edaakie was born on January 24, 1931 in Zuni, New Mexico of the Parrot clan. Nancy was born
on February 4, 1937 in Zuni, New Mexico of the Frog clan. They are among the "Old Masters"
of the Fine Art of stone-to-stone inlay. Their exquisite workmanship with not only precious
gemstones but with gold and silver as well is among the best of all time.

At the age of 14 in 1945, Dennis used to help his sister glue stones to pieces of LP record
albums for Bernard Vanderwagon Trading Post. There were no silver plates around in1945, so
stone setting was the only income they had.
Dennis and Nancy were married on October 28, 1954. Their career started by accident when the
truck stop in Gallup, New Mexico, where Dennis was working for $1.10 per hour, was by-passed
by I-40. It was devastating at the time for Dennis, so he returned home to Zuni, and "just
sat down and tried it" at the silversmithing bench. "I used to watch my dad," he said, "but
otherwise, it just came naturally. No one ever taught me or trained me in how to use a torch
or how to cut shell." In 1962 Dennis made his first inlay thunderbird bola, in the shape of
a shield all in sterling silver.

In 1964, Leon and Ruth Ingraham, who were in business with the Edaakies by purchasing all of
their traditional inlay work, wanted something new and innovative. That is when the
Ingrahams changed the family's life forever. They asked Dennis to make a cardinal on a pin
pendant. He drew the cardinal freehand and used a piece of red coral for the inlay. Once it
was finished the Ingrahams were flabbergasted. It was entered in the 1964 ceremonial and won
first prize. Leon asked Dennis, "Do you think you can make other birds like this one?" So
they started making Blue Jays, Hummingbirds, Roadrunners, Eagles, and Quails just to name a
few. In 1965 Leon and Ruth once again asked them to make something original. They had an
idea about a two-sided pendant, like maybe a hummingbird on one side and an apple blossom on
the other. Dennis and Nancy came up with a pendant that swiveled. It was called the
reversible pendant.

It was Leon and Ruth Ingraham who made "The Birdman and Ladybird", Dennis and Nancy Edaakie
famous.
Once and awhile resident artists will remind Dennis that he is making copies of his
uncles work, Jacob Haloo. Although Dennis and Jacob both make birds, they had there own
distinct styles. Jacob's was geared towards a more traditional style, cut outs of
Traditional Pottery Bird Designs, The Knifewing Man, The Sunface, and The Rainbow Man.
Dennis's birds are more like illustrations from a book, a more detailed style.
There is a gallery called Kashari (the Hopi clown) in Scottsdale where the Edaakies had a
show. The owner asked Dennis if he could make a Kashari bola and a pin pendant, like the one
on the gallery logo. He wasn't sure he could make one, but he tried it and it came out
rather nice. They are the originators of the Hopi clown on silver and gold

"In the silver or gold, I do the inlay and underlay. I cut out the bird design in the top
piece of metal, then inlay the stone or shell and use a solid sheet of metal for the back of
a nonreversible pin, pendant, bola, or whatever.
My wife, Nancy does the branches, leaves, and flowers in the designs; I do the birds. Our
daughters help their mother set her stones; our three sons help me on the sanding and
buffing machines. Sometimes I look in bird books to make sure a design is right; mostly,
though, ideas come from personal observation…you know, just bird-watching."

Jimmy Calabaza

Jimmy Calabaza of Santo Domingo Pueblo is known for his big and bold designs. As he says,
"They aren't for the faint of heart." All his jewelry is totally handmade, including the
cutting and shaping of his raw stones-a step many other jewelers forgo. He first began
jewelry work in 1974, making traditional nugget necklaces that he would trade for blankets
and other goods on the Navajo reservation. "It was like a hobby at first," he explains.
Several years later he decided to focus on it as a career and has since then he has not
looked back, mastering lapidary work, bead and heishi production, and silver- and
goldsmithing along the way. His work can be found in the gift shops of the National Museum
of the American Indian (as well as its permanent collection) in New York, the Southwest
Museum in Los Angeles and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, among other
venues, yet he is, as he notes, "still a well-kept secret."

 

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