Timmy Yazzie is a Navajo/San Felipe/Santo Domingo silversmith. He was taught by his maternal grandfather the traditional ways of life, their history, and religion. His maternal grandmother was a pueblo potter, and his paternal grandfather was a rug maker and silversmith. Timmy studied jewelry making with well-known native artists to include Chalmers Day and Jimmy Harrison. Timmy Yazzie combines his fine inlay and stone work with the pottery designs in his silver overlay work, making his pieces one of a kind.
Tim Yazzie stops by the Medicine Man Gallery studio to discuss his upbringing in New Mexico and the journey that led him to Tucson, Arizona where he lives today. Tim indulges us in the hardships of being a Native American silversmith (half Santo Domingo, a quarter San Felipe, and a quarter Navajo) in the 21st century and tells the story of his first job working with silver and turquoise inlay.