| Monday, May 29, 2006 |
| The End |
Sunday: Everything hurts.
Feet, calves, knees, and most of all - thighs and butt. After 4 days of hiking 8-10 miles a day over varying elevations of 1,000 - 2,000 feet, this old girl has had enough. Plus, the weather has been so wonderful, I didn't have a "rain day" to go to all the wonderful art galleries and shops of Sedona. That, coupled with the fact that this is Memorial Day weekend, and all the day trippers are in town to hike the most popular trails, made this the perfect day to shop.
I am not the traditional jewelry type. Diamonds and gems leave me cold (with the distinct exception of Opal). But hand crafted, Native American stone work and silver leave me breathless. I don't own a watch, ring or bracelet, but I adore big, heavy, artistic pieces of handmade necklaces, collars, cuffs, and earrings made from interesting and rare pieces of stone.
Yesterday, I drove East out of the Grand Canyon and entered the Navajo Nation. I went to the Little Colorado Gorge, and visited the Cameron Trading Post. It's one of the few, authentic, Navajo supported stores to sell authentic pieces produced by Navajo artists and craftsmen.
I walked through the Flea Market style stalls, most of them selling trashy tidbits, and was immediately drawn to a woman in her sixties, wearing the traditional velour shirt, ruched skirt, and an amazing set of Squash Blossom necklaces and cuffs, who was beading her own work, and had a collection of already worked silver pieces with her. Her name is Lilly Nelson, and she has lived in the Navajo Nation her entire life. She had a wonderful 6 strand piece of red coral beads she had made, interspersed with pieces of turquoise and silver, and the ends of the strands were impossibly small beads of shell. We negotiated a price I was almost embarrassed to pay her for such beauty. She responded by adding earrings she had made. We talked for a while, and she signed a small document like an author signing a book. This was not tourism. This was investing in a people and their culture. It deserves to be preserved. Admist what could be considered a rather exploitive display, Lilly Nelson, and a few other stalls, exhibited the true sense of the artistic heritage and skill that these artists represent.
In Sedona, there is really only one place to invest in truly high end, one of a kind, pieces of Native American art. It's Garland's Jewelry. This place is world renknowned, and I saved my lunch money to come here. Two years ago, I invested in a dramatic and unique silver pillow necklace and earrings inlaid with red coral, along with some liquid silver and a turquoise bear fetish with a heart line.
This time, I succumbed to a one of a kind antique / estate piece created about 1940 by a famous Navajo artist. It's a 20" necklace made of 10 separate strands of turquoise to create a "rope" of turquoise stones. It's stunning. And heavy. I will be taking lunch to work for months to pay for it. Some people buy cars, I buy Native American art. Each piece comes with a photo / authenticity document for insurance purposes. Yikes.
I also bought some unusual earrings made from fossilized dinosaur bone which actually match a large silver pendant of Labradorite, which I received as a gift a few years ago, and gifts for some lucky family and friends. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 12:32 AM   |
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