Born at Shungopavi on Second Mesa, Stacey Josytewa is a member of the Snow Clan and an exacting silversmith who specializes in traditional Hopi overlay pieces.

In late June 2004 we ran into Stacey in Albuquerque and acquired a group of three bracelets. It hadn't been our intention to begin building a line of Hopi bracelets at that time, but the pieces were so compelling, so perfectly executed that we were powerless to resist. This piece shows a depiction of a spider in the center and the spider's web stretched along the face of the cuff. Such a depiction is a reference to Spider Woman, a deity of the Hopi who taught the hopi to weave cotton in the "ancient time ago." To better get a feeling for the significance of this design, read what John D. Loftin wrote in Religion and Hopi Life (Indiana University Press, 1991, pp. 3,4):

     By repeating the techniques laid down by ... Spider Woman,
     in mythic time, Hopis reexperience that timeless era and feel
     a sense of unity with their mythical ancestors. The practical 
     act of weaving occasions experiences of eternity and relation-
     ship with the cosmos. Weaving is not an act in which
     one creates something oneself; it is an act in which one
     uncovers a pattern that was already there.
     
The work is impeccably clean. For those unfamiliar with traditional Hopi silverwork, a brief explanation of the technique employed in the craft can be found at the bottom of this page.

Hallmarked "Stacey Josytewa" in script near one terminal with a pictographic hallmark near the other terminal accompanied by a "Sterling" stamp.

                             Width at center: 1 3/16"           Width at terminals: 1/2"

                                         Terminal to terminal: 5 3/4"     Gap: 1"

                              Total inside circumference (including gap): 6 3/4"

**Important Note** Silver polish is the enemy of Hopi jewelry. It will get into the grooves of the textured layer and be hard to remove (you can use a toothbrush under running water to get it out). Also, don't use a cloth impregnated with jeweler's rouge to polish it. In most cases, the best polishing rag is a 100% cotton t-shirt that has been softened by repeated washing. After all, you only want to polish the top layer.

Hopi overlay jewelry consists of two layers of silverwork. The overlayer consists of a separate layer of sheet silver which has cut out designs made with a jeweler's jigsaw. The designs may be geometric, figurative or realistic. These designs almost always incorporate themes or symbols of Hopi religion since the Hopi perceive no separation in their lives between the secular and the religious. The underlayer of Hopi silverwork consists of a layer which is carefully hammered to create texture for that part of the design which will show through the top layer of "cut out" design. After creating this texture on the underlayer, it is oxidized to make it dark grey to black in color. Then the two layers are soldered together to create the full effect of a precisely cut out design brought to life by the dark textured underlayer. Precision of the "cut out" of the overlayer and intricacy of the texturing of the underlayer are the main criteria for judging the quality of the piece. Some Hopi jewelry is finished with a brushed surface and some is buffed to a high polish.