Harry Morgan spent his life in and around Gallup, New Mexico. He won awards at every major Indian art show. The year before he died there was an exhibit at the Heard Museum featuring several of his silver boxes.

Harry and I had a relationship that lasted 30 years. I first met him when my friend Buzz and I were driving to Houston to do a jewelry and Navajo rug show at a department store by the name of Sakowitz.

We stopped in Gallup to buy some concho belts as we’d heard they were a hot commodity among the fashion-conscious women of Texas. My father told me he had seen some jewelry by a smith named Harry Morgan and knew he had a shop in Gallup. I don’t remember how we found him, but Buzz and I stumbled into a shop where Harry had about a dozen silversmiths working for him.

What does it mean to be the “first” to do something? It takes the ability to put your ego on the line and to take a chance with the confidence that it will work out.

Zuni Silversmith Dan Simplicio was one of those people. He lived a short life of 52 years, passing away in 1969. He was the first to use coral in its natural form, the first to set rough cut coral in rings and he introduced the common use of leaf work in Zuni jewelry.

Effie Calavaza is a Zuni Silversmith whose work has captured the hearts of many collectors. She was born in 1928 and started making jewelry in the 1950’s. She is still doing some silver work although she has passed her designs down to her daughters.

The Fall Gallery Walk has been Durango’s major art event since it was founded in 1983 by the four original members of the Durango Gallery Association. Toh-Atin Gallery is the last one standing of the original group and we are happy that the Gallery Association continues to grow in both numbers and quality.

Do you ever wish you had taken a picture of someone or some thing and didn’t?

That’s the way I feel about Willie Yazzie. He was a wonderful Navajo silversmith who worked for years demonstrating his art at Mesa Verde National Park.

We often get requests for bracelets that will fit large wrists and right now, we have a nice selection of good ones. Here are three Navajo style pieces that I thought you might enjoy seeing.