Jack Tom — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Navajo (Diné) silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Jack Tom, a Navajo silversmith, was profiled with his wife, Mary Tom, in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: JT (Schaaf (2003), p. 307).
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.
Speaking to Bahti (2007), Jack Tom described how he designs:
“I don't draw. I start a piece of it and it goes that way.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 172 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 172), Jack Tom was born in 1948 at Keams Canyon, Arizona, and began working jewelry in 1971. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 175), Jack taught himself silversmithing while working as a buffer in a Holbrook jewelry shop; rising silver prices pushed him out of silverwork in 1979, and he returned in 1985 after four years as a welder. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 175), the Toms' first show was the 1974 Holbrook Navajo County Fair, where their work won three ribbons, and Jack went on to win ribbons at the Heard Museum, Santa Fe Indian Market, Museum of Northern Arizona and Eight Northern Pueblos. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 175), the Toms added 14-karat gold about 1994, and Jack learned textured rolling from Zuni jeweler Marvin Panteah; the Toms also sandblasted the backs of their pieces instead of giving them a mirror polish. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 172), Jack Tom's work drew on Navajo rug designs and ancient Anasazi patterns. [1]
Jack Tom told Bahti (2007) that his great-grandmother was Hopi:
“It's why I do some of my designs in Hopi style”
— Bahti (2007), p. 172 [1]
Family in the directory: Mary Tom
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.
- Schaaf, Gregory. American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2003. Cited for the recorded hallmark.
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