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LEARN ABOUT THIS AMAZING ARTIST AT THE BOTTOM!!

THE NECKLACE:

Literally taking months to make, this piece showcases Mary’s incredible eye and talent for mosaic art! It’s a one‑of‑a‑kind necklace and with the amount of meticulous cutting, shaping, and slicing involved, you can’t simply produce a necklace like this in a week or two. It was carefully made with patience, skill, and love, which are just some of Mary’s strongest traits.

Having a happy, ultra-colorful vibe throughout, this necklace is made with nearly every kind of stone and shell associated with Kewa Pueblo jewelry. It’s a lengthy 35" “slip over the head” BIRD Squash Blossom necklace, into which Mary poured an incredible amount of love for each of the 7 birds. Each bird is designed in her abstract, funky folk-art style, where some you know exactly what kind of bird they are, where as others are so abstract that it'll all be left up to your own eyes and imagination to decide what they are.

Ranking high within the Pueblo for her unmistakable ultra-colorful signature style, some may call Mary a "painter”, but rather than using paintbrushes and a canvas, Mary prefers to "paint" her subjects with a mosaic array of stones and shells.

This Folk Art squash blossom features an "Owl" whose large eyes are made from Cowrie shell & whose body is formed of warm brown Spiderweb Serpentine, and then outlined in white Alabaster.

Nearby sits a woodpecker with a richly colored mosaic interior, and a Thunderbird that spreads a dramatic wingspan — a stunning example of her work that incorporates her trademark Conus shell. By slicing the Conus, Mary shapes the pieces into flourished, artsy accents that define her aesthetic. The central motif is another Thunderbird, rendered in vivid blue Kingman turquoise & paired with vibrant orange Spiny Oyster shell. On the left side when worn, is one of her most beautifully executed doves: clearly intended as a particularly colorful piece, it features a multicolored outline and Mary’s signature Conus shell used to form an elaborate tail, with a floral-patterned interior that highlights her playful, detailed approach.

The smallest of the group is the New Mexico "Roadrunner," featuring a body of turquoise with finely cut channel mosaic inlay, sandwiched between horizontal strips of abalone and spiny oyster beneath. Finally, there is the abstract, artful "Duck," which, like the Dove, is remarkably designed and unmistakably carries Mary's signature look wherever the eye travels. She used a Conus shell for its body, then built the surrounding composition from that pivot point, filling the interior and perimeter with channel inlay made of a variety of colored stones and shells. Each of these exquisitely designed birds are set against a black jet backing.

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THE 2 STRAND TURQUOISE BEADED NECKLACE:

Completely cut by hand, the necklace is made with two super-long strands of bright blue Kingman turquoise beads where each bead is carefully shaped to showcase the stone’s vibrant color.. Because of Mary’s popularity and the occasional need for extra help to fulfill orders on time, the work has grown into a true family operation, with everyone taking part from start to finish. Mary will always lay out the materials and performs the mosaic inlay herself, while the bead cutting is sometimes shared with her award-winning husband, Lorenzo, whose a master cutter and skilled gold/silversmith. For these particular strands, Lorenzo cut & then hand-drilled every single bead. They are made in a graduating size where they get smaller toward the closure,

The strands are threaded through bales on the backside,(See last photos) and the design is completed with Mary’s handmade Kingman turquoise cones, finishing with a larger sterling hook-and-eye closure.

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A FINAL WORD:

Being a HUGE fan of Folk Art and a true ‘Die Hard’ colorist myself, I suppose those are just a few of the main reasons I fell head over heels for Mary’s work the very first time I laid eyes on her jewelry. The bolder and more vibrant the color, the more it speaks to me — and Mary’s pieces invite my gaze to settle in and appreciate all the colors without ever feeling cluttered or distracted.

More than many of Mary’s other necklaces, this one is decidedly a conversational piece and a true “stop-you-in-your-tracks” necklace. You’re guaranteed to hear the delighted “oohs” and “aahs” when someone sees it! Her designs are always funky, fun, whimsical, and joyful, which are qualities that naturally bring a smile to the wearer’s face whenever it’s proudly worn! This necklace is the epitome and nothing less than a piece of wearable art.. It’s truly a necklace to be treasured now and passed down for future generations.

One of the best things about owning Mary’s jewelry is how effortlessly her jewelry pairs together: even when they aren’t the same, the signature look ties them into a cohesive whole. Try mixing and matching her designs—not necessarily by matching colors—and watch them come to life against different shades in your wardrobe.

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Check out the PBS News Hour, where they were so impressed by this amazing artist at Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market that they did a whole hour show on her!

PLEASE COPY/PASTE:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/at-santa-fes-international-folk-art-market-culture-is-the-commodity

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ARTISAN: Mary Tafoya

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Kewa Pueblo Village-Santo Domingo Pueblo

WEARABLE LENGTH: 35" (Without Pendants)

BIRD PENDANT SIZE: See photos

BEADS: Kingman Turquoise

BEAD SIZE: From as big as 8 mm to as small as 2.7 mm

STRANDS: 2

STRUNG ON: Flex Wire for Strength

WEIGHT: 10 Ounces ( 286 Grams)

METAL: Sterling Silver Hook & Eye

MOSAIC INLAID ATOP OF: Black Jet

TECHNIQUES: Stone Mosaic, Mosaic Inlay, Hand Made Beads- Slicing/Shaping Stone & Shell from raw materials, Prepping the turquoise for drilling then drilling each hole, polishing, stringing, etc.

THEME: Mosaic Inlaid "BIRD" Squash Blossom Necklace

HALLMARKS: Each Bird Is Hallmarked- Mary Louise Tafoya (with Butterfly)

COMES GIFT BOXED

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:
Anything with this kind of price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement. If you're not home in the day & need it shipped where it can be signed for, please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label***I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine.

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:

I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color. Please understand also that each monitor varies and also plays an important role in how vibrant or less vibrant as something appears.*****

Close up photos tend to make the item look GIGANTIC & everything is more magnified than in actuality. .So to get an accurate idea of how big this is, please either check it out being worn to get a rough idea (photo) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements listed above.

A LITTLE ABOUT MARY:

Called the "Picasso" of Native American jewelry, this colorful Pueblo folk art artist has taken Kewa jewelry to a whole new level in design & has a style all her own! Many don't know, but when Mary began, she was of course influenced by her parents & stayed very traditional & creating pieces just like many others. Step forward to the 90's & it was then that her husband Lorenzo said "Let's try something different" & was during this time her "Abstract Folk Art' style grew to what it is today. The great thing with "Abstract Art" is that each person will see something different & it's all in how your mind & eyes see it....

Never planning the design before hand, her art takes shape as she starts to make the piece & her art can be so abstract to where she doesn't attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality, but instead Mary will use various cut shapes, different colors that then take their form to achieve the effect she wants. (for example, when she uses her Conus shell) Never knowing how a piece will turn out & how it turns out, can never be repeated, since her jewelry pieces are literally one of a kind-pieces of art!!

Her phenomenal colorful art can be found across the country & in Museums.