Indian Artists

YOUNG HOPI ARTISANS EXCEL AT THE ANCIENT CRAFT OF REVEALING THE EWEL IN THE STONE

Renowned as a creator of massive gold and silver jewelry set with expensive stones, pearls, ivory, and ironwood, Charles Loloma purveyed exotic beauty around the world from his Hopi reservation studio for many years. After he retired, his art was perpetuated by his two nieces, sisters Verma Nequatewa, 42, and Sherian Honhongva, 30. Both skilled craftswomen, they learned the special techniques of forging metals, cutting and grinding stones, as well as "thinking ingeniously" from the master himself as each advanced from apprentice to assistant to coworker. "At first, I was just curious," Verma said. "But Charles had a way of exciting people. When he talked about anything, it made people want to jump in and take part." Verma jumped. She began helping with lost-wax casting and sand-casting of silver and gold, then learned to grind and polish stones. Sherian started working with Charles and Verma 15 years ago as a schoolgirl grinding stones for jewelry inlay. "Charles was an excellent teacher," Verma said. "We did our own designs, and he let us make our own mistakes. When we finished, he would comment . . . but never in a negative way. He would tell us how good it was and then suggest that perhaps next time we might try this or that, explaining why the design would be better." He always wanted them to try things on their own.

TEXT BY LOIS ESSARY JACKA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JERRY JACKA

(LEFT) Loloma tradition endures in Sonwai jewelry fashioned with such exotic materials as turquoise from the United States, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and sugilite from the Kalahari Desert of South Africa.

THE JEWEL IN THE STONE

Sherian said, “He became very upset with me when I'd plead, 'but I don't know how.” He always encouraged them, Verma acknowledged. “He would say, 'You are learning this for yourself. It's something no one can ever take away from you.” Probably one of the most important things he taught them, Sherian noted, was to respond to the color and texture of the stones. That led to knowing what color combinations went well together, and what shapes complemented the flow of lines in a piece.

“Natural beauty was important to Charles,” Verma continued. “He appreciated the unusual, and if he thought something was beautiful its monetary value was of no concern. That's why we use items like ironwood in the jewelry. It isn't a precious stone, but Charles taught us to see the beauty in it and take advantage of its shape and color.” The sisters also learned to notice subtle variations in the colors of a stone, to study a piece before cutting into it, to “walk the stone around” on a piece of jewelry to find the perfect placement for it and to apply Charles' “smile principle” when designing a pendant or earrings: wide at the top, narrow at the bottom to uplift the face. Later they came to understand how he designed his massive jewelry so it didn't appear top-heavy, and how he balanced large rings in such a way that the stones were kept upright by the natural motion of the fingers.

In 1989, when Loloma was forced to retire because of failing health, Sherian, the mother of three, and Verma, who has a grown son, forged ahead, determined to continue in his footsteps. A name was chosen for the talented duo with that tradition in mind. In Hopi, loloma is the masculine form of “beautiful,” sonwai is the feminine form. The beauty interwoven throughout the Loloma legend made Sonwai the obvious choice of names for their creations, the women believe.

They established a studio in Verma's home in Hotevilla, acquired their own tools, equipment, and raw materials and kept working. Having neither the time nor the desire to manufacture vast amounts of jewelry, Sonwai now limits exhibitions to four a year. Fulfilling these obligations as well as preparing custom orders keeps them working in their studio almost daily.

It is always “open house” at Sonwai's studio, just as it was at Loloma's, and the welcome is as gracious. The studio is bright and airy with skylights, white plastered walls decorated with Indian art and artifacts, and window walls that overlook a patio with a spectacular view of the sandstone cliffs that form the canyon walls of Oraibi Wash, the rippled patterns of the nearby sand dunes, and Second Mesa in the distance.

The sisters continue to heed Charles' advice and adhere to his principles as they design the exquisite jewelry for which he has long been noted. Speaking warmly of Charles and how much she missed working with him, Verma said one of her proudest moments was when he looked at a piece of her work and exclaimed, “This is more Loloma than Loloma.” But over the past months, Sonwai has been making the Loloma style its own. Changes have been subtle. The workmanship continues to be flawless and the design exquisite. But now there is a touch of femininity in Verma and Sherian's pieces in the arrangement of stones, the softer colors blended into many of their mosaics: pink and white corals, turquoise, creamy fossilized ivory which makes their jewelry distinctively their own.

Loloma's name always will be synonymous with his unique jewelry style. And through Sonwai the legend lives on. Loloma. Sonwai.

It means beauty, no matter how you say it.