Yes, I used my Preview app one time to fill in all that space using the drawing tools and it was just too much, if anything it had the effect of diminishing everything else instead of enhancing it. But since I’m just finding out it’s most likely Navajo, the style is new for me. On the longest sun ray if you can see it you’ll see that there’s a flat spot no texture and that’s due to a small sliver of the ray was raised up just enough that my shirt cuff had a thread that caught on it and it was just luck that I found it and am saving it in case it can be repaired. Since I have no idea how that could be done easily even by a skilled craftsperson I can live with it the way it is, chalk it up to previous bad results using people who were in over their head.
Thank you for that info, that’s a site I’ve looked at for years too but never knew that.
I just sent a cuff with heishi to Perry Null to have fixed (that I’d been told by another shop in NM was too hard to fix), and they did a great job.
I’m still confused that you said the black on the silver cuff has faded. Are you sure it just wasn’t as black as some other pieces to begin with? I have a lot of Hopi pieces and I’ve never had the oxidation fade even one little bit.
It does and since I only polish everything but the background it’s developing a slight darkness in such a way that since the sun is peeking out of the clouds, it’s what you would expect to see in real life.
Hi moderators, thank you for the info which I’ll do since it saves me time too!
Faded might not be the right word, indirect light it looks fine but put under a lamp and it looks like this. Don’t shower with it have live iron in water, when it oxidizes will leave rust stain on anything. I’m sure over the yrs. it’s gotten wet and I always dry it off. Maybe it just needs cleaning?
Interestingly, following up on @Ziacat’s comment above, some of the most collectible bracelets of early Hopi overlay jewelry have fading in the blackened sublayer from wear over time–and this isn’t considered a negative aesthetically. If it was a great bracelet when made, it still is even with the color change. This I’ve learned from high-end Hopi jewelry collectors.
Thanks, I didn’t know that. But makes complete sense to me. @SilverWolf said the second cuff was bought in 2014, didn’t say if it was new. I noticed looking at mine that some are slightly darker than others, and my fav one is one of the darkest of all. In @SilverWolf’s cuff could this also just be a difference in how much oxidation is done by the artist?
For example these 2 are different.
Nice work!! I’d like to see your collection of pins/pendants…in the other thread. Please. 
As far as I know it was new it certainly had that new “brushed” or matte look on the silver and the black was a solid black. It came with an authenticity card from Shumakolowa. I remember the look of the silver because if you wear it all the time that changes to a reflective surface, so it was enjoy that look while it lasts. Also had to be careful with shirt sleeves and polishing cloths since the stars were so new their edges would catch, could only polish in one direction back then. Like I said it’s black in daylight or indirect light it’s just one of the first pieces I’ve owned that has so much of a “blackground” to it.
To clarify, The wolf pendant was designed to be used as a brooch or pendant, I removed the pin since pendant was too heavy as a brooch and I’ve never trusted those closing clasps to stay shut either. Kept the removed pin. So there’s no collection - I wish - I’ve never come across any pendant that compares to or even is of a wolf that isn’t the snarling wolf nonsense. I’ve got a wolf obsession due to owning nothing but hybrids for years. Wolves are all about love, family/the pack, having fun and are funny too, are talkers, express all the same emotions we do and I miss being able to own/love any more, old before my time. I support the International Wolf Center and there’s a woman on Facebook who takes in wolves/hybrids and provides plenty of pics, a lot of land for them, memories for me.
Since we didn’t get to go to CO, we are spending a couple days up on beautiful Lake Michigan. Maybe when I get home I’ll round 'em up and snap a pic.
I’ll check that thread for yours!
Did you ever go to Door County in Wisconsin? It’s beautiful this time of year.
I have not, I bet it is beautiful. Someday! MI is just so much closer, and we love the dunes.
So the matte finish is gone? Your silver cuff had more of a matte finish? Hmmm. I have some that are more matte, and some more shiny, depending on what the artist wanted. I don’t polish them much, because I wear them and so they barely need it. You can see in the pic I posted the left one is more matte.
Maybe matte wasn’t the word all I know is I’ve had rings that start out that way too and with bracelets I think it’s the constant movement of the sleeve cuffs of my clothing against them that slowly turns them shiny since I wear them all the time 24/7. Maybe it’s that final buff they give it?
I think I’m missing something, I’m slightly confused about if the comment about the wolf pendant was a reference to an earlier post that I missed. @nanc9354 mentioned another thread, but I looked briefly and couldn’t find mention of a wolf pendant on another thread either. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I agree that wolves are super cool, and I have three pieces of NA jewelry that feature wolves. I would love to see your pendant, and I can get pics of my wolf pieces if you’re interested.
When you say owning nothing but hybrids, do you mean that you have had pets that are half dog, half wolf?
To your first question this is my wolf pendant
I would love to see pics of yours.
As far as the hybrids go the highest content we ever had blew our vets mind, she said “I’m going to put down for the record 82% but I want to say these guys are more like 92 - 98 %, they’re practically pure wolf where did you get them?”
We got them from the man who supplied Walt Disney with his trained wolves for that one movie can’t recall the name and several others as well as Hollywood in general, he brought out photo albums filled with pics of him his wolves Walt Disney and the cast. He used to live down south I’m guessing Bear Mountain area since you need to have property with not a lot of people nearby, why anyone would not love to hear them howling is beyond me. When he moved up to Northern CA to a subdivision those wolves knew we were coming before we got there since there were so many roads and not sure of his address we just followed their howls. The stud was Yukon Pete haha, he was a big one too, tall but very calm but when we went to look at the moms there were two of them nursing their pups and they weren’t having any of that understandably and I told my wife just back off cause whatever she’s feeling is going right into those pups, besides there were a dozen or so in his house, very young barely 8 wks and that’s good for the bonding with us. We were like when they’d wake up at night we had them in the kitchen with a baby gate so they couldn’t wander until we had taught them to go outside, it was I’ll go…no you went last time I’m going…this was about going into the kitchen and just loving and rubbing those sweet bellies until they’d fall asleep us too on the floor with them. So that was Grizzly and Sassy, when we lost Grizzly to a new nerve disease - not without bringing him back from the brink which got us 2 more years - we got an Akita Timberwolf hybrid Taiowa from a local guy who was into wolves too, they made good money selling the pups but too many buyers wanted them for the wrong reasons but not us, we raised them with love, never taught them to be aggressive to anyone, if anything I’d put myself between them and danger besides they all of course looked like wolves and any delivery drivers just loved them. When Sassy died after only 7 yrs. of the same tumors they all died of we decided no more commercial dog food it’s all crap and chicken thighs were cheaper plus beef roasts, beef ribs for treats/dinner, chicken and vege stews from a slow cooker more or less what we ate. Which brings me to the last two Romeo and Sashi we got for Taiowa.
Sashi is the white one who started out looking like a wolf but ended up looking like a purebred Samoyed, Romeo is the gray/black/white mix and the big guy is Taiowa. R &S were the lowest content, the parents were Malamute mixes and obviously mixed with Samoyed mom.You haven’t lived until you wake up to two wolf pups running down the hall to the foot of your bed and getting just their front paws up on it and howling for you to get up, we pretended we were sleeping until we peeked out and started laughing and they both looked at each other with surprise that turned into they tricked us and up they jumped onto the bed and gave us a lot of playful grrrs with much belly rubs. When they’d snuggled up to us the last thing Sassy did was give my ear lobe a playful nip with those sharp pointed front teeth and I pretended to be shocked and said you bit me! She just gave me that it was only a love nip look before nuzzling in against my neck, my late wife Nancy had Grizzly doing much the same to her.
More info than you wanted I know but I miss all of them my wife too.
https://cruinthe.tripod.com/nexus/articles/petfood.html
Zeus was only 6 when his spleen exploded from what the vet called Hemangiosarcoma
Wow, at least I don’t wonder why my Taiowas spleen just ruptured out of nowhere. He was the last dog who we were still feeding canned dog food to but when we got Romeo and Sashi while he was still alive, we decided that’s it no more canned. Sorry you lost Zeus.