Bracelet c. 1950s

This silver bracelet with turquoise stone was made by a Navajo (Diné) artist. When you look at this beautiful piece, you can see how it came into being—shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I can sympathize with the artist. What might it have been like to create? What might they have been thinking when they made it? The material aspects of the stone, its color and texture, surely shaped the artist's experience. The surface and the physicality of the medium contribute to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work. The gesture of placing the stone in the metal speaks of feeling, intention, and meaning. Artists are always in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. The bracelet is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed or definitive readings.