Description
Allenroy Paquin (Jicarilla Apache/Zuni) Multi-stone channel inlay lizards beaded<br>Sterling necklace approx 22" long, 79.7 grams with no issues.<br><br>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjw_iOVUyhM<br>above is a link to a video of the Artisan who made this piece being interviewed<br>15 years ago.<br><br>Allenroy Paquin is a jeweler who is known for his wonderful depictions of<br>lizards, frogs and sea turtles in silver and gold, often with beautiful inlay<br>work. He likes to incorporate humor into his work, as can be seen in his<br>wonderful lizard pins that are designed to perch on the wearer's shoulder, one<br>of his unique designs.<br><br>Growing up in Albuquerque, away from his father's Zuni Pueblo and his mother's<br>Jicarilla Apache Reservation, Allenroy was not always interested in his native<br>heritage, much less in making jewelry. In high school, he became interested in<br>fancy dancing, one of his favorite activities through today. At this same time,<br>his father took up jewelry making to support their family after being disabled<br>in an accident, but it still did not interest Allenroy. Instead, he earned a<br>degree in technical engineering. It was not until his father died several years<br>later, when his mother gave him his father's tools, that Allenroy realized this<br>was his inheritance and heritage. Today he considers his father to be his<br>strongest inspiration.<br><br>This feeling was reinforced one time when he was having a creative block. He<br>found a lizard in a shed he was cleaning, and was captivated by its colors and<br>shapes. "It was like someone told me, 'make inlay lizard jewelry.' I felt it was<br>my dad telling me to do that." It seemed logical after that to move on to<br>turtles and frogs.<br><br>Allenroy is interested in educating as well. His sons, Ignacio and Kyle, have<br>already started making jewelry, and have won awards for their work. Allenroy<br>also teaches school children about native heritage, trying to break down the<br>image of the "stereotypical Hollywood Indian." He performs a solo show that<br>incorporates storytelling, dancing and flute playing at schools. He would also<br>like to "be an inspiration to native urban Indians who have lost their<br>connection with their reservation or their native ties -- to help them find<br>there is something to connect them to that world."
