MEET THE ARTIST:

Tawney was blessed to born into a large family of well known & highly reputable Navajo silversmiths, who have all seemed to have made a name in the jewelry industry..And she's double blessed to have "Lonnie Willie" for a father.(Who is now retired) Lonnie happens to be the brother to Ronnie, Juan & Rudy Willie and for those that know & follow the industry, Ronnie is probably one of the most well known out of the brothers. It was Lonnie however that taught Ronnie all he knows, including everybody in his immediate family,like Tawney's brother Cooper Willie AND he also taught his own mother & father what there is to know in regards to making jewelry!! You might say Lonnie is the "Maestro" of the family & what a blessing it is for Tawney to have someone that's so highly skilled as Lonnie,to have mentored her!

Lonnie gave Tawney her start by having Tawney work with copper since it's a less expensive metal,so if there were mistakes(Which there always is!) it wouldn't be so costly, as well as having her work with nickel silver so she could learn the art of stamp work.

It's her leaning on Lonnie's wealth of knowledge & her repetitious work that has helped her to become the artist she is today & continually gets artistically inspired from her surroundings, where she'll then turn those ideas into pieces of art.Her work will always be traditional Navajo, but with a really artsy type vibe that leans toward being on the contemporary side of Navajo jewelry.I hope you find her workmanship & her art to be as impressive & as beautiful as I do!!

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THE EARRINGS:

Made exclusively for my store, Tawny applied some outstanding workmanship with these. They're traditionally made, but at the same time,having a very contemporary-modern day edginess!

Designed in a very elegant triangular form, these are made with super clean-precise lines that contribute to their uniform appearance. The triangular double base is heavily oxidized in all the right places in order to accentuate the twisted wire overlays, as well as the fine natural cuts of old mined Morenci turquoise.

They're simply beautiful & will go with a lot of todays oxidized Native American jewelry! They would also bring any grey wardrobe come to life & can be worn to your day gig, but are elegant enough for a evening out! They are on the longer side but have a wearable weight! (see weights below for you to decide)