Collection: Art Tafoya

Art Tafoya is a silversmith and artist of mixed Yaqui and Mexican descent. At the age of 12, he learned the basics of metalworking from a blacksmith in his neighborhood. He later learned handmade stamp and die making from Carlos White Eagle, a student of the legendary Navajo silversmith Fred Peshlakai.

Art has studied Peshlakai's stamps in great depth, and is an expert who can tell whether a piece is Peshlakai's work even when it is unsigned. He makes all of his own stamps and dies, and finishes his work in an old-style stampwork that carries on the Peshlakai tradition. His original jewelry is highly sought after by collectors around the world.

Before moving to Albuquerque, he lived and worked as a silversmith for 25 years at a turquoise shop at Knott's Berry Farm in California.