The attached photo is of an outstanding piece done by Gale Self.
This is a green turquoise Naja done from stone out of the Kingman mine in Arizona.
The Naja is actually a Navajo word meaning crescent-shaped pendant. Both the Naja and the Squash blossom were introduced to the Navajo by the Spanish. The Naja is similar to the crescent-shaped pendants that hung from the headstalls of Spanish silver bridles. The Spanish first borrowed the design element in earlier centuries from the Moors of North Africa.
Gale has enhanced this Naja by making the center piece removable allowing much for versatility. He has a unique way of taking a very traditional item and putting a more modern twist on it.
10 comments:
That is a truly amazing piece. Do you know what mine he gets his turquoise from or does he buy it from a supplier? He does great work!
Does Gale only work with turquoise and coral? I noticed that most of his pieces were one or the other or a combination of the two.
What else can you tell us about Gale?
The turquoise in the Naja piece is from the Kingman mine in Arizona. I know Gale and Saundra make buying trips out west several times a year to buy the turquoise they use in their pieces. Yes, his work is special.
Many of the Native American artists use just the turquoise and coral in their creations but, Gale uses a variety of stones.
I have a piece of his that is Cactus Amethyst, it's a stunning deep purple piece. I also have a cross done from Picasso marble, with rose quartz beads.
I think that is one of the attractions of his work, it's so unexpected.
Gale is a very interesting artist.
He is originally from Oklahoma and now resides in Texas. He started making jewelry at a very early age. I hope to have a bio page up very soon so you can all get a clearer idea of his heritage and style. Hang in there!!
Will you be doing bios on all of your artists? I find the background on the artists to be very interesting!
That's our goal. When you have the background on the artist it seems to give you an greater appreciation of the piece of jewelry. I also have found over the years gathering accurate information on some of the artists is difficult.
What are you favorite stones to see used or that you tend to prefer when buying jewelry?
One of my favorites is turquoise. Unfortunately it's not my birthstone. My Mother and Granddaughter are lucky enough to have this beautiful deep colored stone as their birthstone.
For me one of the draws of turquoise is the variety of colors that you find in different mines. You get anywhere from a perfect sky blue to the darker green full of matrix.
I am also pretty partial to spiny oyster, again it has a variety of colors but most are pretty vivid (could also be because I love the ocean).
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