Eveli

EVELI

A Jeweler’s Memoir

Eveli Sabatie

Contents R E A DER’ S GU IDELINES

To Wear the Jewelry of Eveli

iv

Foreword viii Introduction xi

I

Prologue xiii

This book is composed of splashes of color and word-clusters on bound printed pages. As a whole, I think of it as an impressionistic collage or a sculptural mobile. The word-clusters fall into three categories:

Jewelry & its Magic

xiv

THE JOURNEY

1

1. Information such as titles, descriptions of materials, and explanatory comments.

2. Messages emanating from the pieces themselves, which I have expressed as poems.

3. Stories which are windows inviting the reader to glimpse into my past, and sometimes meet the recipients of the work.

II Regarding the jewelry itself, I would like to point out that all metalwork, inlay, stone settings, carvings and finishings were done by me, unless indicated otherwise. The drawings, sketches, sculptures, and garments were done by me. Unless indicated otherwise, the poetry is by me.

HOPI LAND 2 SANTA FE 31 TUCSON 55

CLOUDS & RAIN

79

HONORING CLOUDS & RAIN

81

THE SIGNIFICANCE 105

III

BEING HOME

The photography, spanning over four and a half decades, was done by various people and a great number of pieces had been worn before being photographed. Please refer to the Photography Credits at the end of the book.

EARTHSCAPES 123

IV

MY BESTIARY 159

The ivory used in the work is mostly fossilized walrus ivory. “Fossilized” refers here to walrus tusks which were in the Alaskan earth for at least a hundred years and have undergone changes in color and hardness. In a few early pieces, elephant ivory was used at a time preceding the ban on the elephant ivory trade in 1975.

SEA NOSTALGIA 197

CONNECTED TO COSMOS

121

BEING HUMAN

235

WE HUMANS 237 ASSEMBLAGE 251 SOUND & MOVEMENT

273

THE MYTHICAL & THE MYSTICAL

281

147

THE GARDENS 213

BRANCHING OUT 303 IVORY CARVINGS 304 MIXED MEDIA 305 BRONZES 306 INSTALLATION 308 Epilogue 309 Index 310 Photography credits 317

vi

vii

Contents R E A DER’ S GU IDELINES

To Wear the Jewelry of Eveli

iv

Foreword viii Introduction xi

I

Prologue xiii

This book is composed of splashes of color and word-clusters on bound printed pages. As a whole, I think of it as an impressionistic collage or a sculptural mobile. The word-clusters fall into three categories:

Jewelry & its Magic

xiv

THE JOURNEY

1

1. Information such as titles, descriptions of materials, and explanatory comments.

2. Messages emanating from the pieces themselves, which I have expressed as poems.

3. Stories which are windows inviting the reader to glimpse into my past, and sometimes meet the recipients of the work.

II Regarding the jewelry itself, I would like to point out that all metalwork, inlay, stone settings, carvings and finishings were done by me, unless indicated otherwise. The drawings, sketches, sculptures, and garments were done by me. Unless indicated otherwise, the poetry is by me.

HOPI LAND 2 SANTA FE 31 TUCSON 55

CLOUDS & RAIN

79

HONORING CLOUDS & RAIN

81

THE SIGNIFICANCE 105

III

BEING HOME

The photography, spanning over four and a half decades, was done by various people and a great number of pieces had been worn before being photographed. Please refer to the Photography Credits at the end of the book.

EARTHSCAPES 123

IV

MY BESTIARY 159

The ivory used in the work is mostly fossilized walrus ivory. “Fossilized” refers here to walrus tusks which were in the Alaskan earth for at least a hundred years and have undergone changes in color and hardness. In a few early pieces, elephant ivory was used at a time preceding the ban on the elephant ivory trade in 1975.

SEA NOSTALGIA 197

CONNECTED TO COSMOS

121

BEING HUMAN

235

WE HUMANS 237 ASSEMBLAGE 251 SOUND & MOVEMENT

273

THE MYTHICAL & THE MYSTICAL

281

147

THE GARDENS 213

BRANCHING OUT 303 IVORY CARVINGS 304 MIXED MEDIA 305 BRONZES 306 INSTALLATION 308 Epilogue 309 Index 310 Photography credits 317

vi

vii

Foreword I

n 2015, while employed as the Marcia Doctor Curator of Native American Jewelry at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, I had the opportunity to develop a retrospective exhibition of jewelry and other works by Eveli Sabatie. Through a series of taped interviews, telephone conversations, and a memorable visit to her Tucson home and studio, Eveli revealed to me her remarkable story.*

Jewelry in the American Southwest evolved through a series of unlikely influences that resulted in a distinct regional style, combining Native American, European, and North African elements. When colonists from Spain arrived in the Americas in the sixteenth century, they brought with them metalworking traditions grounded in seven centuries of Muslim occupation. These remain visible today in familiar forms of Navajo and Pueblo silverwork.

In 1968, North Africa returned to the Southwest in the form of a talented young artist named Evelyn Sabatie. Known today as Eveli—the Hopi version of her given name—she is one of only two jewelers acknowledged as protégés of the great Charles Loloma (the other is his niece, Verma Nequatewa). Between about 1970 and 2000, Eveli created a body of work of marked originality, and one that fits well into the collaborative history of jewelry making in the Southwest. Born in eastern Algeria in 1940 to parents of European descent, Eveli’s childhood was characterized by the turmoil and instability of war. Finding solace in drawing and in playing the violin, she was singled out in school for her artistic abilities. She attended university in France, and in 1968 traveled to San Francisco, where a chance meeting at a Grateful Dead concert resulted in a trip to Hopi. There, in a local laundromat, she met Charles Loloma, who asked if she’d like to learn to make jewelry.

Eveli joined Loloma’s studio as his work revealed a growing interest in mosaic. He drew inspiration from an ancient style of mosaic earring that was still important in Pueblo Indian ceremonial dress, and from an illustrated book about ancient Egyptian jewelry. Eveli brought to the mix a familiarity with Moroccan mosaic and an insatiable curiosity that made her a willing pupil. Loloma did not teach as much as encourage her to look on and experiment, so she returned to the Bay Area to learn soldering and basic jewelry techniques. When she returned to Hopi she assisted in the studio, cutting stone and making turquoise and coral inlay.

She left the Loloma studio in 1973. With $1,000 and the bench that had been hers at the studio, she rented an apartment in Santa Fe’s Acequia Madre neighborhood and went to work. Although she had learned casting in Loloma’s studio, Eveli preferred to fabricate jewelry that accentuates stone in combination with exotic woods, coral, and other materials. Her love of carving is evident

in works that highlight lavish, organic shapes and crystal cabochons in open-back settings. The surrounding metal is heavily textured and stamped, rarely left plain. As she developed her own style, her work became known for its opulence and wit, and for the fact that she does not repeat herself.

Throughout her career, Eveli has looked to nature as a source of inspiration and subject, and she frequently incorporates natural materials into her work. In her Snail’s Pace necklace, she set an ammonite fossil into a pendant, bringing the ancient creature (in her words) “back to life.” Vortex of Ridges, a sterling silver bracelet covered with exquisitely carved turquoise inlay, calls to mind swirling waters. Depictions of animals, reptiles, and sea creatures abound, including a realistic puma rendered in ivory and mounted onto a sterling silver cuff; a turquoise serpent surrounding the jeweled, gold Tree of Life bracelet; and Marlin’s Odyssey, a necklace of lapis, coral, and gold designed for a man who loved to hunt the giant creatures. For Santa Fe calligrapher and peace activist Mary Lou Cook, Eveli fashioned earrings in the form of carved, ivory sea urchins; and she made the comical Cow Face necklace for a cow-themed Philadelphia show. Plant life appears as well, as in her whimsical Prickly Pear matching belt buckle and ring.

The mosaics and other architectural elements of Eveli’s North African homeland are present in her work also, as in the turquoise inlay of her Ancient Wall bracelet, and the intensive stamp work on her Ancient Temple cuff. But rather than deliberately choosing to include specific references to North African or Moorish design, Eveli regards these characteristics as “unconscious or subconscious” aspects of her work—elements that spring from her psyche. These stylistic attributes figure prominently in other pieces too, including the silver and turquoise bracelet she calls Woman Carrying Water, and in the titles of other works, such as Vault of Prayers—a linked bracelet of stamped silver hexagons set with small turquoise cabochons and lined on the inside with turquoise mosaic. In describing her African Fabrics bracelet, Painted Walls belt, and Castles in the Sky ring, she refers to the presence of “the mason, the weaver, and the quilter,” although she does not reveal whether she regards these as muses, or as aspects of her own personality.

Eveli stopped making jewelry in 2000, when her eyes and her hands could no longer support the meticulous work her jewelry demanded. Her creative output carried on for a number of years in the form of mixed media, installation, and bronze sculpture, and while she does not engage in these activities today, they testify to her astonishing level of creativity, range, and skill. In this book, she tells her own story, and adds a significant chapter to the history of modern Southwestern jewelry, and Navajo and Pueblo silverwork.

* A portion of this text appeared in an exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Eveli: Energy and Significance, June 12, 2016.

CHERI FALKENSTEIN-DOYLE

INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

viii

ix

Foreword I

n 2015, while employed as the Marcia Doctor Curator of Native American Jewelry at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, I had the opportunity to develop a retrospective exhibition of jewelry and other works by Eveli Sabatie. Through a series of taped interviews, telephone conversations, and a memorable visit to her Tucson home and studio, Eveli revealed to me her remarkable story.*

Jewelry in the American Southwest evolved through a series of unlikely influences that resulted in a distinct regional style, combining Native American, European, and North African elements. When colonists from Spain arrived in the Americas in the sixteenth century, they brought with them metalworking traditions grounded in seven centuries of Muslim occupation. These remain visible today in familiar forms of Navajo and Pueblo silverwork.

In 1968, North Africa returned to the Southwest in the form of a talented young artist named Evelyn Sabatie. Known today as Eveli—the Hopi version of her given name—she is one of only two jewelers acknowledged as protégés of the great Charles Loloma (the other is his niece, Verma Nequatewa). Between about 1970 and 2000, Eveli created a body of work of marked originality, and one that fits well into the collaborative history of jewelry making in the Southwest. Born in eastern Algeria in 1940 to parents of European descent, Eveli’s childhood was characterized by the turmoil and instability of war. Finding solace in drawing and in playing the violin, she was singled out in school for her artistic abilities. She attended university in France, and in 1968 traveled to San Francisco, where a chance meeting at a Grateful Dead concert resulted in a trip to Hopi. There, in a local laundromat, she met Charles Loloma, who asked if she’d like to learn to make jewelry.

Eveli joined Loloma’s studio as his work revealed a growing interest in mosaic. He drew inspiration from an ancient style of mosaic earring that was still important in Pueblo Indian ceremonial dress, and from an illustrated book about ancient Egyptian jewelry. Eveli brought to the mix a familiarity with Moroccan mosaic and an insatiable curiosity that made her a willing pupil. Loloma did not teach as much as encourage her to look on and experiment, so she returned to the Bay Area to learn soldering and basic jewelry techniques. When she returned to Hopi she assisted in the studio, cutting stone and making turquoise and coral inlay.

She left the Loloma studio in 1973. With $1,000 and the bench that had been hers at the studio, she rented an apartment in Santa Fe’s Acequia Madre neighborhood and went to work. Although she had learned casting in Loloma’s studio, Eveli preferred to fabricate jewelry that accentuates stone in combination with exotic woods, coral, and other materials. Her love of carving is evident

in works that highlight lavish, organic shapes and crystal cabochons in open-back settings. The surrounding metal is heavily textured and stamped, rarely left plain. As she developed her own style, her work became known for its opulence and wit, and for the fact that she does not repeat herself.

Throughout her career, Eveli has looked to nature as a source of inspiration and subject, and she frequently incorporates natural materials into her work. In her Snail’s Pace necklace, she set an ammonite fossil into a pendant, bringing the ancient creature (in her words) “back to life.” Vortex of Ridges, a sterling silver bracelet covered with exquisitely carved turquoise inlay, calls to mind swirling waters. Depictions of animals, reptiles, and sea creatures abound, including a realistic puma rendered in ivory and mounted onto a sterling silver cuff; a turquoise serpent surrounding the jeweled, gold Tree of Life bracelet; and Marlin’s Odyssey, a necklace of lapis, coral, and gold designed for a man who loved to hunt the giant creatures. For Santa Fe calligrapher and peace activist Mary Lou Cook, Eveli fashioned earrings in the form of carved, ivory sea urchins; and she made the comical Cow Face necklace for a cow-themed Philadelphia show. Plant life appears as well, as in her whimsical Prickly Pear matching belt buckle and ring.

The mosaics and other architectural elements of Eveli’s North African homeland are present in her work also, as in the turquoise inlay of her Ancient Wall bracelet, and the intensive stamp work on her Ancient Temple cuff. But rather than deliberately choosing to include specific references to North African or Moorish design, Eveli regards these characteristics as “unconscious or subconscious” aspects of her work—elements that spring from her psyche. These stylistic attributes figure prominently in other pieces too, including the silver and turquoise bracelet she calls Woman Carrying Water, and in the titles of other works, such as Vault of Prayers—a linked bracelet of stamped silver hexagons set with small turquoise cabochons and lined on the inside with turquoise mosaic. In describing her African Fabrics bracelet, Painted Walls belt, and Castles in the Sky ring, she refers to the presence of “the mason, the weaver, and the quilter,” although she does not reveal whether she regards these as muses, or as aspects of her own personality.

Eveli stopped making jewelry in 2000, when her eyes and her hands could no longer support the meticulous work her jewelry demanded. Her creative output carried on for a number of years in the form of mixed media, installation, and bronze sculpture, and while she does not engage in these activities today, they testify to her astonishing level of creativity, range, and skill. In this book, she tells her own story, and adds a significant chapter to the history of modern Southwestern jewelry, and Navajo and Pueblo silverwork.

* A portion of this text appeared in an exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Eveli: Energy and Significance, June 12, 2016.

CHERI FALKENSTEIN-DOYLE

INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

viii

ix

Very Early Work: 1969–1974

D

espite these early pieces being somewhat coarse and technically unrefined, I like what they are telling us about the journey I was embarking on. Polished perfection never became my obsession anyway. Even after some years of practice, I still did not mind a rough unfinished look at times. Furthermore, I could not wait for the following piece to be born out of the one I was presently working on. Pieces uninterruptedly flowed into one another. It was like some unstoppable energy was uncoiling itself from deep inside me. I could not be distracted by a scratch left on the metal. My fellow jewelers though were quick at pointing out these imperfections, and the later work shows that I did finally learn some of the discipline.

Photographs of the early work done at Hopi are few. I was lucky to have a number of pieces from those years come back my way. In some, the influence of Hopi culture and Loloma’s style are obvious. On the other hand, there are the more unusual pieces made of bones, along with the body ornaments, which were also created during that time.

LISTENING INTENTLY Pendant Silver, turquoise, malachite, ironwood, turquoise beads (Hung on heavy wire) This face is probably the very first carving I attempted.

6

MOCCASIN PRINT

BIG FACE

Ring Silver, turquoise, ivory, lapis lazuli

Necklace Silver, ironwood, malachite, turquoise, leather

7

Very Early Work: 1969–1974

D

espite these early pieces being somewhat coarse and technically unrefined, I like what they are telling us about the journey I was embarking on. Polished perfection never became my obsession anyway. Even after some years of practice, I still did not mind a rough unfinished look at times. Furthermore, I could not wait for the following piece to be born out of the one I was presently working on. Pieces uninterruptedly flowed into one another. It was like some unstoppable energy was uncoiling itself from deep inside me. I could not be distracted by a scratch left on the metal. My fellow jewelers though were quick at pointing out these imperfections, and the later work shows that I did finally learn some of the discipline.

Photographs of the early work done at Hopi are few. I was lucky to have a number of pieces from those years come back my way. In some, the influence of Hopi culture and Loloma’s style are obvious. On the other hand, there are the more unusual pieces made of bones, along with the body ornaments, which were also created during that time.

LISTENING INTENTLY Pendant Silver, turquoise, malachite, ironwood, turquoise beads (Hung on heavy wire) This face is probably the very first carving I attempted.

6

MOCCASIN PRINT

BIG FACE

Ring Silver, turquoise, ivory, lapis lazuli

Necklace Silver, ironwood, malachite, turquoise, leather

7

TURTLE Pin Silver, ironwood, turquoise, coral, malachite, lapis lazuli This was my first animal piece.

1

SNAKE WOMAN Ring Silver, carved coral, ivory, ironwood, shell bead

2

IN THE PLAZA

TWO HAIR BARRETTES

LADY BUG

Necklace Silver, turquoise, yarn

1. Silver, ivory, ironwood, turquoise

Belt buckle Silver, ironwood, coral, malachite

2. Silver, coral, ivory, malachite, ironwood, turquoise bead 8

My first experiment working with hinges.

9

TURTLE Pin Silver, ironwood, turquoise, coral, malachite, lapis lazuli This was my first animal piece.

1

SNAKE WOMAN Ring Silver, carved coral, ivory, ironwood, shell bead

2

IN THE PLAZA

TWO HAIR BARRETTES

LADY BUG

Necklace Silver, turquoise, yarn

1. Silver, ivory, ironwood, turquoise

Belt buckle Silver, ironwood, coral, malachite

2. Silver, coral, ivory, malachite, ironwood, turquoise bead 8

My first experiment working with hinges.

9

STOIC NECK Necklace Silver, turquoise, sugilite 1990s

(Back view)

64

EMANATIONS FROM THE CENTER Necklace Silver, 18k gold, lapis lazuli 1980s

65

STOIC NECK Necklace Silver, turquoise, sugilite 1990s

(Back view)

64

EMANATIONS FROM THE CENTER Necklace Silver, 18k gold, lapis lazuli 1980s

65

OBLIQUE RAIN Earrings 18k gold, sugilites 1990s

CLOUDS CASCADING Earrings Silver, turquoise, lapis lazuli 1990s

DESERT STORMS Bracelet Silver, sugilite, lapis lazuli, charoite, turquoise 1980s

CLOUD BANNERS Bracelet Silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise 1980s

(Top and inside views)

Here, turquoise itself was the inspiration. Inside the bracelet is the dark blue line I discovered as I cut the stone, zigzagging through its depth, like lightning traveling from cloud to cloud.

TOWERING CLOUDS OVER WINDSTORMS Earrings Silver, sugilite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase 1990s

90

91

OBLIQUE RAIN Earrings 18k gold, sugilites 1990s

CLOUDS CASCADING Earrings Silver, turquoise, lapis lazuli 1990s

DESERT STORMS Bracelet Silver, sugilite, lapis lazuli, charoite, turquoise 1980s

CLOUD BANNERS Bracelet Silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise 1980s

(Top and inside views)

Here, turquoise itself was the inspiration. Inside the bracelet is the dark blue line I discovered as I cut the stone, zigzagging through its depth, like lightning traveling from cloud to cloud.

TOWERING CLOUDS OVER WINDSTORMS Earrings Silver, sugilite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase 1990s

90

91

WRAPPING UP THE SKY Belt Silver, Blue Gem turquoise 1980s The inlaid sections of the belt were purchased. I was told the inlay had been done by a New Mexico Pueblo artist.

102

103

WRAPPING UP THE SKY Belt Silver, Blue Gem turquoise 1980s The inlaid sections of the belt were purchased. I was told the inlay had been done by a New Mexico Pueblo artist.

102

103

(Back view) BUTTERFLY WINGS Earrings Silver, Chinese turquoise 1990s

(Front view)

BUTTERFLY NECKLACE Silver, turquoise Early 1980s

184

WINGS OPEN / WINGS CLOSED Earrings Silver, Arizona turquoise Early 1980s 185

(Back view) BUTTERFLY WINGS Earrings Silver, Chinese turquoise 1990s

(Front view)

BUTTERFLY NECKLACE Silver, turquoise Early 1980s

184

WINGS OPEN / WINGS CLOSED Earrings Silver, Arizona turquoise Early 1980s 185

(Front view)

LURES Earrings Silver, walrus ivory, lapis lazuli, ebony 1980s

MARLIN’S ODYSSEY Pendant Silver, 18k gold, lapis lazuli, mother-ofpearl, coral with 22k-gold commercial chain from Thailand 1980s (Back view) 204

BLUE DOLPHIN Bracelet 18k gold, lapis lazuli 1980s

This piece was designed for a man whose passion was fishing for marlin.

205

(Front view)

LURES Earrings Silver, walrus ivory, lapis lazuli, ebony 1980s

MARLIN’S ODYSSEY Pendant Silver, 18k gold, lapis lazuli, mother-ofpearl, coral with 22k-gold commercial chain from Thailand 1980s (Back view) 204

BLUE DOLPHIN Bracelet 18k gold, lapis lazuli 1980s

This piece was designed for a man whose passion was fishing for marlin.

205

PAINTED WALLS Belt Silver, turquoise, coral, ivory, malachite, ironwood Belt: 2 1/4 inches high x 32 inches long Buckle: 3 1/2 high x 2 1/2 inches wide 1978–79 (Measurements are approximate)

This belt is the culmination point of the “Matchstick Inlay” period. It took three months to complete and 15 minutes to sell.

256

257

PAINTED WALLS Belt Silver, turquoise, coral, ivory, malachite, ironwood Belt: 2 1/4 inches high x 32 inches long Buckle: 3 1/2 high x 2 1/2 inches wide 1978–79 (Measurements are approximate)

This belt is the culmination point of the “Matchstick Inlay” period. It took three months to complete and 15 minutes to sell.

256

257

An intimate journey through the life, work, and cultural influences of jewelry artist Eveli, who learned her craft from Native American artist Charles Loloma.

ISBN: 978-1-78884-192-4

9 781788 841924

57500 £55.00/$75.00

www.accartbooks.com