I am here to learn

[Lin]

Hola, my name is Lin. I come to this site as I believe the indigenous people and arts, to include the jewelry arts, have much to teach us. The world is Koyaanisqatsi, Hopi word for life out of balance. I want to learn from the original people how to fix this f….ed up world. The indigenous arts for me are a way to explore the history and possibilities for fixing what is broken. This would appear to be the only site that provides discussions about Native American jewelry.

Is there a general discussion area here?
If not, might be fun, and educational, to create a place on here for people to discuss other, more general, topics like the history of silver jewelry in the Americas.

Discussions of the silversmithing arts? Hand stamp techniques, inlay, sandcasting?

Also, discuss what makes pieces valuable? Is value these days predicated on the market demand and the style du jour, or age, beauty, complexity, the artist who made the piece? A Navajo cuff by Charlie or Tommy Singer will fetch more than an equally beautiful chip inlay cuff that is unsigned. There is dramatic and puzzling differences in dealer valuation and pricing online, in all forums, auction houses, facebook, etsy, etc. Maybe could discuss how value is determined? Or how we would like to see value determined?

Since forum is called Turquoise People, maybe discussions on the mines, colors, types of turquoise. How turquoise is formed geologically? Is white buffalo turquoise? Chinese turquoise, is it good? Is it valuable? What makes turquoise valuable?

Any interest here in a broader, general discussion area, not necessarily involving specific pieces and prices?

[Lin]

I am sure most or all of the info I mentioned can be found via search on the forum, but in one general discussion area it might be easier to find. I wonder, is there a reason it is not a good idea to have a general discussion area?

[Lin]

Hey Zia. I did see your comment before you deleted it, as it arrived in my email. Might you or someone else explain why a suggestion such as a general info forum might not be welcome? Seems a fairly benign idea to me.

Also, I am sure I am not the first to look around and post a bit on the forum before introducing myself. Surely not.

[Ziacat]

I deleted it because I didn’t necessarily agree with what I said after I read it. I really have no preference one way or other on having another category. But I would say that depends upon what Jason as the admin thinks.

[Ziacat]

I don’t think @Steve was saying you needed to introduce yourself; I think what he meant was that’s a section where you could ask questions about topics since it’s called “introductions and chat.” At least that’s how I took it.

[Lin]

Thanks Zia. Appreciate your response.

[Lin]

It was unclear to me what Steve was trying to tell me.

[Lin]

Glad I introduced myself, and told about my interest in Nat Am jewelry and art, at any rate. Looking forward to a lively discussion.

[Jemez2]

Welcome, Lin! You will find that the whole site is already exactly as you just described, with threads devoted to discussions of mines, identifying makers, techniques, values, inlay, casting, stone origins, auctions, repairs…

the best advice i can give you is to dive in, one thread at a time and enjoy! there are a lot of thoughtful and knowledgeable collectors here, as well as some sassy humor, so don’t be offput by what might seem like inside jokes now and then. the more you read, the more you will get to know us.

if you have questions or comments, please share them so we can get to know you as well!

[Steve]

@Lin

It was unclear to me what Steve was trying to tell me.

sorry for the confusion but my intent was to show you that the “chat” part of this category more or less covered what you were asking about establishing in the other thread.

you joined in 2019 so you have been around for a while

there are a few tricks you can use to explore what is archived here in earlier posts without relying on the search function.

starting from the main forum page 1st click latest. by default “latest” is set to display most recent.

but if you click “activity” twice…

you are time warped back to 2010

i found this topic and wondered who is Arron Anderson

when opened the original chatter was there but the video link was missing or edited out

no problem, but i still wanted to know more so armed with a few key words and google…

hope some of this mess helps

[Patina]

@Steve Thanks for posting these tips & tricks to access archived information. I was previously unaware of this. It will be useful as I continue to read old threads - they contain a wealth of information!

[Lin]

Thank you. Look forward to further explorations.

[Ziacat]

Apparently I will have to try these tips on another device. I pretty much exclusively use my phone when I’m on the forum (my laptop is really slow and probably nearing its end), because I can’t do some of this stuff. Maybe I’ll try it on my tablet eventually.

[Lessonslearned]

welcome @Lin and thanks @Steve for the pointers being pretty new here I’m sure they will com in handy!

[Steve]

@Ziacat

I pretty much exclusively use my phone when I’m on the forum

this works for me on android

default screen opens showing “categories”

click the dropdown box and select “latest”

on the “latest” screen click that little menu next to the member icon

select the “desktop view”

now click the activity button 2 times

and you should get teleported back in time to 2010

[Ziacat]

Ahhhh, got it! I hadn’t tapped on the desktop view. That worked, thanks! But not sure I want to be teleported…

[Steve]

@Ziacat

But not sure I want to be teleported…

shoot, go back in time with the knowledge you have today

[Lin]

Still think it makes good sense to have a general discussion area about the various subjects I mentioned above, but oh well.

[Jemez2]

Hi Lin - the topics you mentioned in your original post aren’t very general, though, they’re quite specific:

• the history of silver jewelry in the Americas (there are literally DOZENS of books on this subject!)
• Discussions of the silversmithing arts
• Hand stamp techniques, inlay, sandcasting
• what makes pieces valuable? (what makes anything valuable?)
• Is value these days predicated on the market demand and the style du jour, or age, beauty, complexity, the artist who made the piece? (yes, to all of those)
• A Navajo cuff by Charlie or Tommy Singer will fetch more than an equally beautiful chip inlay cuff that is unsigned. (certain artists will probably always be in demand based on name recognition)
• dealer valuation and pricing online, in all forums, auction houses, facebook, etsy, etc.
• how value is determined? Or how we would like to see value determined? (value of art is and always will be subjective)
• discussions on the mines, colors, types of turquoise.
• How turquoise is formed geologically? (google is your friend)
• Is white buffalo turquoise? (no)
• Chinese turquoise, is it good? Is it valuable? (it can be. depends on the when/where it was mined and quality)
• What makes turquoise valuable? (gemmy characteristics, origin, cut/setting, size, condition, provenance, rarity, all the other things that make collectible minerals and art “valuable”)

if you want to talk about a certain topic, start a thread and ask a question! Those with knowledge or interest will chime in. Many of the issues you ask about above have been discussed in great detail previously. there is a search feature on the top right, like a spyglass, that you can use to dig around.

[Lin]

Jemez, thanks for separating out my questions. Search sounds like the way to go.

However, if I did want to to ask any of these specific questions to perhaps start a fresh discussion where to post? Chat?

Search, I guess, find topic, see what has been already said, sounds like copious lots, and throw in my two bits if I have anything to add or ask.