King Manassa Lives Again – The Journey of a Bracelet!

A Posting by Malcolm Bob, BUSI Intern

Each of the Navajo Cultural Arts Certificate students project a unique personality. Everyone of them stands out in their own way. They have consistently displayed the dedication they have to their craft.  Conversing with the students over the past weeks has shown what type of person they are when working their pieces. 

Every artisan takes pride in certain aspects of their work. For Carlon P. Ami, he prides himself on precision and style. He contradicts himself by either creating pieces in the classic Navajo Style or taking an extremely contemporary turn. Carlon loves to use thick and heavy silver in his work and the finished products show why. He pays arduous attention to every detail of every piece. Carlon mentions that he wants to make pieces that are different. His intent is to make something that no one else is making. 

I was lucky enough to have an early view of one of Carlon’s recent projects. After a conversation with him about the NCAP website, he offered to drive home, which he said was just down the road, to bring over a bracelet he had recently completed. Fifteen minutes later, he came with two bracelets, one complete with stones and the other with the stones removed. He then told me the story of his two bracelets. 

King Manassa lives again! The first thing that demands one’s attention is the sheer size of the King’s Manassa turquoise stone in the bracelet. It must have been the size of a smartphone, yes it’s that huge. The placid green is balanced by three coral pieces mounted on either side of the center stone. I asked about the stone and to my surprise he said it was originally larger. My thought was, “how could it have been bigger when holding it in my hand it was already rather heavy.” Carlon told me that he made the stone slightly smaller to better fit the new bracelet he was making and to reduce the amount of unnecessary matrix on the mount (I know, I’m not sure I fully understand what that means either). The stone was originally purchase by Carlon’s mother. He stated that his mother bought the stone in the original “thin” bracelet and it was cumbersome to wear; so… he decided to use it in a new bracelet. He told me that he got the coral from a trading post in Zuni, who was trying to clear their safes of “C Grade” material that was just lying around.  Although the price was good, Carlon did state that it took three hours of digging through coral scrap to find those pieces. In selecting his materials for his products, Carlon said that you need to be persistent in your visits and have a good background knowledge of who carries the best raw materials. You just have to keep trying and keep an open mind; if you are looking for something specific, there is a good chance that you will never find it. Even if one place does not have what you want, come back at another time, keep looking!

​The bracelet is undeniably beautiful but he stated it isn’t prefect. Carlon showed me a couple of areas of the bracelet that he is not particularly happy with. He said if he was making it for sale he would been more precise. The stamping on the bezels surrounding the stones did not meet perfectly. There are spots where the seam between the bezel and base plate is obvious. Carlon stated that the first bracelet is always a prototype, the second is always perfect. He uses prototypes to investigate new design ideas and to develop the technique necessary to bring the design to fruition.

​Carlon shared with me a lot about his technique and the sourcing of his materials. He is definitely an Emerging Artist who will benefit the Navajo Cultural Arts Program as much as the program benefits him.
 
If you are interested in checking out some more of Carlon’s work that is for sale please visit the Smoking Trails Arts and Craft at the Hopi Cultural Center in Shungopovi or the Museum of Northern Arizona Gift Shop in Flagstaff.