About Raymond ◊ Raymond's Work ◊ About Colina
Raised in a family of silversmiths, Ray became intrigued with the art of making jewelry at the age of ten. He helped his older brother, Lee Yazzie, by clearing the glue off the sticks upon which Lee mounted turquoise for making cabochons. For ten years, Ray worked and watched his brother cut and inlay stones.
At the age of fourteen, Ray was a part of a collaboration which won Best of Show at the 1973 Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, for a concha belt he inlayed. His brother's influence can be seen in Ray's jewelry, such as the domed tops that both use, which stand out when a lot of artists are making inlays that are flat top. Ray's pieces can often be distinguished by the smaller, finer cut stonework.
These days, Ray's reputation as a top silversmith and inlay artist stands on its own. He has since won numerous awards for his artwork, the most recent of which was his fifth appearance at the 2002 Santa Fe Indian Market in 2002. where he won First and Third place in two categories. He brings a certain life to his pieces, often using his favorite corals in graduating hues and an increasingly rare natural blue turquoise. His designs may also include opals, blue lapis and purple sugilite. He allows the quality and configuration of the stone to inspire the design, but the stone decides its form, which takes shape as he works it. The use of sacred symbols used in healing ceremonies is discouraged by Medicine Men and Ray honors that. If he uses a face or Yei figure, it is changed in some way.
He is inspired to do his best and most creative work on large pieces and loves to get commissions to do so. He works compatibly with clients to both harmonize their desires, and his artistic vision. He first sketches and colors the proposed design on paper, and in collaboration with his clients, work out pieces that leaves both satisfied.
"I owe a debt of gratitude to Lee for his demanding and excellent instruction. I'm glad I stuck with it! I'm glad for the competition of other artists in my field, whose work drives me to explore new techniques and challenges in my own work. I get my inspiration especially from my family. My mother was incredibly supportive, and always emphasized quality in my work. My wife, Colina, who is also an artist, is now my greatest inspiration and often contributes creative ideas to my designs, as I do to her weaving. I draw my strength from her."
Work by Raymond
For larger views of pictures, click on the photo.
NOTE: All items shown on this page are NOT FOR SALE! The items below are just examples of the work that Raymond has completed and has been sold.
Photos of Raymond's work by
Colina Yazzie is a Navajo weaver who specializes in the geometric designs that are traditional to her regions of Arizona and New Mexico. She grew up in Ganado, Arizona, and as a child she watched at the knee of her grandmother and mother as they created works of art on their looms. Colina is especially attracted to the vibrant reds outlined in rich black, with white and gray, the colors of the Ganado pattern she associates with those childhood memories. She did not realize until she was older that these women were weaving in every spare moment to provide for the family through the sale of their work. She delighted in the walks to the Trading Post, where the sale of her mother's rug brought food to the table and a rare treat of candy.
At the age of twenty, she decided she would like to weave and make beautiful rugs like the weavers' work she saw at the Historic Hubbell Trading Post. Over the years, she became Assistant Manager at the Hubbell Trading Post and while there she met many weavers and gave presentations on weavings that were traveling to shows around the country. After fourteen years there, she moved to Gallup, New Mexico and in 1994 opened, with her silversmith husband, Raymond C. Yazzie, Yazzie's Indian Art Gallery. In addition to her work at the store, she lectures on Navajo rugs and gives weaving demonstrations. It became a new way of living; setting up shows and sending out orders for both her and her husband.
Colina is coming into her own with her pieces. She is also especially drawn to the more difficult soft earth tones and pattern of Burntwater. These are more difficult to balance and weave because of interlocking the connecting colors on the vertical warp and needing to maintain a certain tension throughout the whole rug. The banded rugs on the horizontal with no interlocking are easier to weave. People often like the more intricate designs, but she alternates doing those with, say, the set color combination of the Two Gray Hills pattern in the natural wool colors of black, brown, white and gray.
Colina accepts commissioned work, and is kept busy with the more common 2-3 x 3-4 size weavings. She always has a rug in progress on the loom, weaving the way her ancestors, grandmother, and mother did before her. Now, in every spare moment, she can be found at her loom, with her eight-year-old son and twelve-year-old daughter around the shop and learning from her.
