Alex Beeshligaii — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Navajo (Diné) silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Alex Beeshligaii, a Navajo silversmith, was profiled in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
No hallmark is recorded for this artist in our sources yet. If you have a signed piece, we would love to see the mark.
From the Library: Bahti, Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers (2007)
A 2007 profile, reviewed and corrected by the artists themselves before publication. Anything described as current describes 2006-2007, not today.
According to Bahti (2007, p. 19), Alex Beeshligaii was born in 1953, and while his father and uncles did not work silver, the generations before them did, back to Atsidi Chon, one of the first Navajo silversmiths. [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 19) reported that he learned to solder in a high-school art class at Ganado taught by the Hopi artist Sherwood Numkema, and in 1976 sat in on Preston Monongye's silversmithing classes at the Phoenix Indian Center. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 20), Allan Wallace (Washo-Maidu) introduced him to inlaying stone and shell, a technique Bahti called something of a hallmark of Alex's work. [1]
Speaking to Bahti (2007) of the two years he worked with Allan Wallace, Alex Beeshligaii said:
“I'm always grateful that I met him and learned from him.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 20 [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 20) described his cement-and-oil sand casting: he gathered sand from the arroyos and sifted it three or four times to get a more consistent grade. [1]
Recalling a summer (about 1995, as he remembered it) he spent watching Rick Manuel work overlay, Alex Beeshligaii told Bahti (2007):
“He's the one that kinda taught me about the metal itself, and different gauges.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 20 [1]
Sources
- Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
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This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and is compiled from published sources, cited above. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.