Tommy Jackson — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Navajo (Diné) silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Tommy Jackson, a Navajo silversmith and the eldest son of Gene and Martha Jackson, was profiled with his family in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: TJ; JACKSON ©; and Jackson in script, sometimes in a diamond or fish shape (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. 59), Tommy Jackson, born in 1958, was the eldest son of Gene and Martha Jackson and learned silversmithing from his parents. [1]
Tommy Jackson told Bahti (2007):
“I started when I was about twenty,”
— Bahti (2007), p. 59 [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 60) reported that after teaching, including a silversmithing class at Tohatchi, he went full-time into jewelry. [1]
He told Bahti (2007) where he learned inlay, about 1985-86:
“I started with Gary Gordon at his place, BG Mudd in Gallup, where I picked up inlay,”
— Bahti (2007), p. 60 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 60), he later turned to the old style of hammer, file, chisel and stampwork, including concha belts around 2000, while his inlay drew on ivory, shell, sugilite, malachite, alabaster, lapis lazuli and jet among other materials. [1]
Family in the directory: Gene Jackson · Martha Jackson
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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