MARK D. STEVENS

Laguna Pueblo • Contemporary Native American Silversmith

Home
Where It Began
The Process
The Commitment

the process

From Sherd to Silver

Each piece begins with an original pottery sherd. its shape, curvature and painted design become the guide for a single piece of hand-fabricated sterling silver jewelry.

One sherd. One design. One piece.

the TRANSLATION

The design is translated into silver.

Mark studies the sherd's shape, curvature and painted design, then recreates those elements by hand in sterling silver. The goal is not to reproduce the pottery itself, but to carry its design into a new material

FABRICATED BY HAND

Every line is cut by hand.

Using heavy-gauge sterling silver, each piece is individually fabricated. The recessed areas are stippled and darkened to create depth and contrast, while the raised silver preserves the original design.

One Sherd. One piece of jewelry.

Only one piece of jewelry is ever made from each original sherd.

Once a design has been translated into silver, it is never duplicated from that sherd. Each finished piece remains connected to one specific pottery fragment.

returned to the earth

The sherd eventually goes home.

After the jewelry is sold, the original pottery sherd is returned to the place where it was found and buried again in the Laguna Pueblo landscape. The collector receives a photograph of the original sherd, while the artifact itself returns to the earth.