Byron McCurtain, Kiowa Jewelry
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Kiowa artist Byron McCurtain’s talents as a world-class lapidary artist are apparent as you look at how carefully he cuts pieces set in the inlay style called cushion inlay”. The style refers to the process where the semiprecious stones are cut and then combined into a design. Then the artist smooths the edges and rounds them off like a seat cushion. This process makes the piece reflect more light and appear more lustrous than regular flat inlay.
Byron McCurtain was born in 1958 in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a descendant of the great Kiowa chief Lone Wolf. He showed artistic promise as a young man and attended IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) in Santa Fe. After graduating in 1982, he worked at Santa Fe Stoneworks where he developed his lapidary skills. He then apprenticed with Gibson Nez, the award-winning Diné jeweler, afterwards returning to IAIA to study three-dimensional jewelry making.
He signs his works “BYRON KIOWA” along with a geometric hallmark.
Relative Links: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Kiowa Nation