Anthony Lovato

Anthony
Lovato  

Santo Domingo Pueblo Indian Tufa
Casting Jewelry

Anthony
Lovato's jewelry and metalwork is formed by tufa casting. Not only
does he make pendants, bracelets, and necklaces using this method,
but he also creates hollowware jars that extend as much as seven
inches in diameter. The whole design has to be done backwards. After
the silver is melted and poured the design becomes a positive image
on the silver with the fine sand grains as a natural texture to
his silver work. The silver/gold jewelry he makes really is a gift
from Mother Earth. He uses tufa sandstone only found on the Hopi
Reservation in Arizona and brings rough blocks of the sandstone
back home to Santo Domingo Pueblo. He then extracts one object from
each sandstone carving, making truly one of a kind pieces.
Anthony
grew up in a family of jewelry makers. His grandfather, Santiago
Leo Coriz, who was born in 1913, initially made practical metalwork
such as horseshoes and later made traditional jewelry. His grandfather
learned casting from a Hopi friend and in turn taught Anthony. His
mother, Mary, revised the traditional Pueblo shell inlay work.
In
1978, Anthony completed his associate of fine arts from the Institute
of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. From 1979 to 1980 following
graduation, he worked at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
He took additional jewelry classes at the Northern Arizona University
and at the University of Colorodo in Boulder to enrich his background.
He has been a dedicated metal smith since 1984. He has taken an
old tradition of casting and made it new.
He
is a member of the Corn Clan and the use of corn imagery is in much
of his work. Most of the designs go back to nature. He was influenced
by his former instructor and noted sculptor Allan Houser.
Anthony
Lovato has visited Connecticut for several years to showcase his
work at Southern Exposure.
 
Mary
& Anthony
with owners of Southern Exposure, Les & Lu

Check
out Anthony's
Work For Sale
Mary
C. Lovato
Biography
Native
Peoples: Mary & Anthony Lovato