A PERSONAL WORD ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Living in a modern world has never let Kewa Puebloan artist Warren Nieto lose sight of all the traditions of the past..He is one who lives & breathes his ancestral upbringing & it's the 'stories' that are passed down with each generation that are incorporated into everything he makes in today's modern world...Warren's Anasazi ancestry lived in the cliff dwellings of Chaco Canyon & it's their history that is passed on orally, with the rest being learned from the ancient walls inside the dwellings that were chiseled on the rocks.. It's these stories that are told of Pueblo life through a mosaic painting done in stones & shells is what I believe separates him from other artists, with these earrings being a good example.

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THE EARRINGS:

One thing these earrings have going for them, are their WOW factor!!!

Elegantly long & traditionally made, these are executed with gorgeous earthy tones of turquoise that come from the #8 mine..The tops & dangles are both equally impressive, where you have a mosaic inlaid top where the light colored Spiny Oyster center represents the "Chaco Window" & if you zoom in on photo 5, you'll see 4 triangular cuts outside the center of the window that represent the '4 Sacred Mountains".In each direction (North,west,south,east-in that order) there were the mountains of Chuska, Fajada,San Pedro & the San Juan's that were Sacred..

While the mosaic inlaid tops tell a story, it's those 5 lengthy dangles of small tubular cuts of #8 that really make these earrings real eye catchers! What I personally love is all the wonderful contrast each tube has,that go from teals,to different tones of browns & then all the warm golden hues that have hints of orange which by the way, make the hand cut beaded stoppers on the bottom,the perfect color to finish off the earring design!!

Paying homage to his Anasazi ancestry, the dangles are anchored to the tops by way of waxed string which gives these a very ancient Anasazi feel & if you zoom in on the photos, you will see what I'm referring to. The string is then knotted on the backside & the wax string is burnt to secure the dangle. This style was used by the Anasazi in the Chaco Canyon/Mesa Verde region before modern day sterling jump rings were used & which come from the time period around 900-1300 AD!!

These was only one pair made of these & were made EXCLUSIVELY for my store & can only be found at Plata de Santa Fe Jewelry!