Dorothy Poleyma — Hopi Silversmith
Hopi silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Dorothy Poleyma, a Hopi jeweler, was profiled with her husband, Raymond Kyasyousie, in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: DPK (conjoined initials) (Hougart (2022)).
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. 74), Dorothy Poleyma was born in 1960 to Ramona Loloma and Walter Poleyma and is a member of the Badger Clan. [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 75) reported that she and her sisters, nieces of Charles Loloma, used his tools and were introduced to soldering, sand-casting, lost-wax casting, and stonecutting and grinding. [1]
Dorothy Poleyma told Bahti (2007):
“I started out in 1992 making stampwork bangle bracelets, and then I learned how to set stones and sold them at Monongye Gallery”
— Bahti (2007), p. 75 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 75), as of 2007 she was experimenting with textured sheet silver, replacing an earlier method of fusing silver filings onto sheet, and made abstract modern jewelry with amethyst, garnet and agate as well as turquoise, coral and malachite. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 75), Poleyma described her practice this way: after starting with basic designs, she added clan symbols, and from there began incorporating clan stories into her work. [1]
Family in the directory: Raymond Kyasyousie · Charles Loloma
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.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Cited for the recorded hallmark.
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