Carl Clark — Navajo Lapidary & Inlay Artist
Carl Clark's work is mosaic at a very small scale. In the partnership Lois Essary Jacka describes in Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone, Irene Clark designs most of the pieces and does the metalwork, and "Carl meticulously grinds the stones to minute sizes that he then fits together in mosaic patterns" (Jacka 1995, p. 99).
Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry shows a cast silver bracelet and ring by Irene and Carl Clark in "a micro-fine mosaic inlay technique" (Bassman 1997, p. 54). William and Sarah Turnbaugh, in Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest, call him "a Navajo artisan" and show contemporary jewelry in 14K gold with high-grade turquoise that he styled around 1985 (Turnbaugh and Turnbaugh 2007, p. 71).
Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as Navajo, born in 1952, a maker of "Many styles," whose "newer work is mostly micro- and mosaic-inlay," and a "Multiple award winner" (Hougart 2022, p. 89).
His hallmark
Hougart gives his mark as "I C (stacked, inside a symbol)" (Hougart 2022, p. 89).
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References
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997.
- Turnbaugh, William A., and Sarah Peabody Turnbaugh. Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2007 (first published 1988).
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks: Silversmiths, Designers, Guilds and Traders. 5th edition. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
- Schaaf, Gregory, with Angie Yan Schaaf. American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies, ca. 1800-present. American Indian Art Series, Vol. 5. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2003. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
From the Library: Schaaf, American Indian Jewelry I (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
Schaaf (2003, p. 116) recorded Carl Clark as born in 1952 at Winslow, Arizona, and living in Phoenix as of 2003, with a third prize for mosaic rings, shared with Irene Clark, at the 2002 Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup. [5]
Carl Clark told Schaaf (2003, p. 116) that he made Kachina dolls from 1968 to 1973 and took up jewelry after a summer job logging in work at an arts and crafts gallery in Winslow; between 1973 and 1975 he worked out a style drawing on Navajo, Hopi and Zuni work, began micro-inlay by 1975, named the technique micro fine intarsia inlay, and entered his first micro fine inlay piece at the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup in 1977. [5]
This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and compiled from published references. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.