Charles Supplee (b. 1959) Biography

Charles Supplee is known for his elegant and innovative contemporary jewelry design and colorful stonework.  He was born to a Hopi mother but grew up on the Navajo Reservation where his French father was a school teacher.  The elder Supplee was an hobby jeweler and taught Charles the basics at home.  After graduating from high school, he moved to Scottsdale to work as a silversmith at the Arizona Turquoise and Silver Company, and in the 1980s, he apprenticed for two years with the renowned French jeweler, Pierre Touraine.  Touraine enlarged Supplee’s repertoire of techniques and also taught him three-dimensional design for which his in now well known.  He also works in bronze sculpture, photography and painting.