Preston Duwyenie — Hopi Silversmith

Preston Duwyenie is a Hopi jeweler and potter, and a teacher of Native artists. Paula A. Baxter's Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry lists him as Hopi, born 1951, says he "has played a significant role as an educator of Native American artists," and records that he studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts and earned a B.F.A. in metalsmithing from Colorado State University in 1984 (Baxter 2000, p. 46). As of 2000, Baxter records, he had taught at IAIA from 1988 to 1992 and was professor of jewelry at the University of New Mexico (Baxter 2000, p. 47).

Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver records him at Hotevilla, beginning silver work in 1980, and names Nelda Getty as his instructor at Colorado State (Wright 2003, p. 94). Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as active since the 1980s, a potter and silversmith in contemporary cast work who has also made pottery tiles with silver inlay (Hougart 2022, p. 110). Baxter describes his jewelry as uniting fine-art technique with design elements drawn from Hopi and other Native American aesthetics (Baxter 2000, p. 47).

His hallmark

Wright and Hougart record the same pictorial mark, a figure carrying a child. Wright captions it Carried in Beauty and Hougart Female and child (Wright 2003, p. 94; Hougart 2022, p. 110).