Lorraine Quam Waatsa — Zuni Silversmith
Zuni silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Lorraine Quam Waatsa, a Zuni jeweler, was profiled with her husband, Duwayne Waatsa, in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: LW (other makers have also used an LW mark) (Schaaf (2003), p. 317).
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), Lorraine Quam Waatsa recalled:
“My teacher was my grandfather, and then my mom and dad.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 194 [1]
As Lorraine Quam Waatsa told Bahti (2007):
“I do new designs in my head first, then I make the bezels for them and put them together on the silver base plate the way I see it in my head, and eventually it comes out to what I want.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 194 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 194), Lorraine (born 1954) began making jewelry at eighteen, starting with small cluster pendants; her mother, Alice Ondelacy Quam, working with Duane Quam, had been known for cluster work for more than half a century, and her grandparents Warren and Doris Ondelacy for cluster work as far back as 1930. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 194), in joint pieces she did the stonework, and on her own she made smaller pieces such as earrings and pendants; she found Sleeping Beauty turquoise the easiest to work, while Morenci and spiderweb turquoise can be brittle. [1]
Family in the directory: Duwayne Waatsa · Bryant Waatsa Sr.
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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