I was watching this and thought some of my fellow turquoise peeps might be interested in how Mary Tafoya makes her jewelry.
Very cool video @Ziacat !
I did not know she was from Santo Domingo, but I am not surprised!
They do wonderful work up there. Maybe I am biased because my friend Rodney Coriz lives there!
Also, my mouth fell open when she showed that her backing material was made from jet!
OMG, I need a Mary Tafoya piece right now!
Rodney says that all the jewelers there are very protective of their work and don’t want other jewelers to see what they are working on.
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Wow, that was pretty cool. I could watch this kinda stuff all day. Thanks so much for sharing Ziacat 
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I’ve got 5 of her pieces so of course I’m biased about her work 
And your cuff is awesome.
Several of my pieces have serpentine backing, and I dropped one and it cracked. The next year at the Art Market I asked them if they could fix it. Her husband said she was changing to using jet as a backing because the serpentine broke easier.
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Enjoyed this! I didn’t know spiny oyster was hard to find.
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That was such a cool video! I always wondered how they got inlay to “stick”. Thank you @Ziacat ! I’ll be keeping my eye out now for one of her pieces. As a gardener, her designs and color combos speak to me!
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Love this! Her work is so joyful and unique, and to my mind fairly priced for the imagination and skill involved. @Ziacat you’re lucky to have a collection. I feel lucky to have my one piece and would love to give it a new friend. 
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I also love that yours is on a necklace, and not just a pendant alone. Four of mine are just the pendant, but I finally bought one that’s on a necklace.
I look back at the prices I paid for my first few pieces by her, and I feel kind of guilty now that I understand the work involved. I remember one time we were at Cameron Trading Post, and my hubby listened to a tourist asking an employee if they could come down on the price of one of the rugs. The employee was very patient, and explained in great detail how the rugs are made. He said with the work and time taken into account, the artist made them for basically the cost of $3 an hour, and he couldn’t ask her to make them for any less. People just don’t understand the work involved in a lot of this art.
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Good luck and hope you have fun this weekend. Show off your Mary Tafoya if you buy one.
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Aww thank you! That’s so sweet. I am looking forward to it! And you have a BLAST in UT! I wish I was going there, hopefully won’t be too long till I get back. And if you get any good shopping in, share with us!
@Ziacat What a wonderful video of the Tafoya Studio! I have never seen this style of inlay that appears to be Marie’s unique claim to fame! I really enjoyed watching it and would love to own a Tafoya piece of art! I will be searching to see if I can! Thank you for sharing!
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You are welcome! She exhibits at a lot of Native American art markets. I bought all of my items from her here in IN at the Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market. I’m not sure where you’re from; maybe you can check out something like that? It’s more fun to buy from the artist in person 
I also see her work in many, many stores when we travel in the southwest.
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Yes indeed, it would be an incredible opportunity/experience to visit & purchase directly from the Artist!
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