ABOUT ZUNI ARTISAN: JESSE JOHNSON

Zuni Puebloan artist "Jess Johnson" is a master lapidarian (Stone Cutter) and jeweler & was born & presently resides in the Zuni Pueblo.. This AMAZING artist ranks high in the industry for his Zuni petit point technique, which personally is the most tedious to do of all techniques & takes a patient person to do this type of work & especially when your cutting & setting as tiny of stones as he does!! It was his Grandparents however who taught him how to be "Patient" & this strong trait has definitely paid off for him. Jess comes from a family of jewelers and is at least the third generation to continue in this the tradition. A true Zuni favorite whose highly sought after, Jess was the first among a large group of artists to sell out his entire collection during the 2016 Zuni Show. His pieces can usually be identified by his super duper tiny stones that are laid inside a teardrop shaped wire setting.

The multi-step undertaking of creating petit point inlaid jewelry is a serious labor of love, as well as a loving testament to culture, tradition, skill & creativity that is passed on from generation to generation. Jess has said at one time " The color, texture and patterns within the turquoise has a sort of language that speaks to me on what design it would like to be. Turquoise has been a sign of strength for me as a Zuni artist.

I personally believe that Jess is a gifted artist that you never can go wrong with!

***As with all Zuni work, you are paying for the artists time, rather than the amount of materials***