Description
Jolene Eustace (Cochiti/Zuni) 18k/14k/sterling Carved Turquoise, coral, and<br>shell necklace. Jolene is an extremely talented artisan, the galleries that<br>carried her work seem to be mostly out of stock. I believe she has always been<br>quality over quantity, producing a very limited amount of jewelry as you can<br>tell she invests a lot more time/skill/money into her pieces than a large<br>percentage of todays Native American artisans'. Amazing piece as shown. Bottom<br>piece has 18k, 14k, and sterling(marked and tested), two side pieces 14k and<br>sterling. Approximately 17" total length, 144.6 grams total weight.<br><br>Jolene A. Eustace-Hanelt is respected as a master jeweler. She comes from a<br>family of jewelers and potters. She grew up helping her parents. In a cover<br>story for Indian Artist Magazine, Jolene shared: "I was eight when I made my<br>first piece. I got an order to do 100 tie tacks...That was over 100 bucks." She<br>bought a 10 speed bike with the money. She added, "Then I realized I could be<br>self-sufficient with my work as an artist...My work is my release. My work is my<br>meditation. It's a way of going back to Mother Earth." (Zuni/Cochiti, active<br>1985=-present: contemporary, gold, silver leaf, set stones jewelry, alabaster<br>sculptures)<br><br>(A note from Keishi Jewelers a retailer of her wearable art) Sharing our Keshi<br>"Jolene" story: Jolene is (obviously) quite a beautiful woman, and the staff of<br>Keshi commonly referred to her as "the jewelry dess." One day, someone fessed up<br>and told Jolene what she'd been nicknamed, and her reply was "I'm not the<br>jewelry dess, I MAKE jewelry FOR desses!" That response certainly endeared her<br>to us even more!<br><br>Jolene is a daughter of well-known artists Ben and Felicita Eustace. Ben, from<br>Zuni, was a jeweler who, in turn taught his Cochiti wife Felicita the art of<br>jewelry making. Felicita is also a potter, specializing in traditionally made<br>storytellers. The Eustaces passed their demand for quality on to their 13<br>children, including Jolene.<br><br>Jolene was educated at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She<br>learned jewelry making from her parents and Hopi jeweler Duane Maktima. She has<br>been fabricating jewelry since the mid-80s.<br><br>Always seeking challenges, Jolene relocated to Essen, Germany in the mid-1990s<br>with her German-born former husband and infant son. Several times a week, she<br>commuted by train between her home and Europe’s renowned art school, the<br>Künstakadamie, in Düsseldorf. There she studied frawing and painting. Jolene is<br>a recipient of a fellowship from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts<br>(SWAIA) and has worked with SWAIA’s mentor program, teaching jewelry techniques<br>to Native students.<br><br>Jolene’s jewelry is characterized by the quality of materials and its striking<br>individuality. She says, “Whoever said you have to play by the rules? I want my<br>jewelry to say something. It cannot be just jewelry. In my jewelry, design and<br>fabrication have to deal with personal experiences and traditional values<br>conflicting and collaborating with present society.”<br><br>Jolene’s parents once said to their children, “If you’re going to do jewelry at<br>tall, you have to do it our way, the right way.” It wasn’t the designs they were<br>talking about, it was the technical aspects of their work: setting stones,<br>welds, and engravings. From the time of their training, the Eustace kids learned<br>a respect for materials and techniques of their art.<br><br>Jolene’s hallmark is a stamped “JAE” and a trademark design which represents<br>sage that was designed by her Dad long ago.<br><br>Tribal Affiliation<br>Cochiti/Zuni<br><br>All precious metals are tested and guaranteed, any Native American jewelry<br>referred to as Silver or Sterling is guaranteed to be a minimum of 90% (coin)<br>silver and possibly higher content. Anything marked is guaranteed to be what<br>it's marked, most bracelets are photographed on a 6" wrist (non hairy), rings<br>photographed on the appropriate sized finger when possible. With bracelets if<br>the measurement is not given in the description then inside circumference is<br>shown where the metal meets the number on the the cloth tape measure.
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