Artist: Duane Tawahongva
Source: Hopi
Image: Sterling Silver Bear Pendant with stone

Size: 2" W x 1-1/5" W

A member of the Coyote Clan, Duane Tawahongva was born at Second Mesa on the Hopi Reservation and lives today in Mishongnovi Village. Duane’s trailer studio sits on the high bluffs of Mishongnovi, with a 100-mile view of the eternal desert valley below, giving him a view all the way to the peaks of the San Francisco Mountains.

Duane is a self-taught silversmith, working in traditional Hopi silver overlay. Duane’s work incorporates hundreds of designs, including very traditional Hopi designs such as prayer feathers, clan symbols, corn maidens, water waves, and rain clouds. Duane also dabbles in special order contemporary designs such as unicorns, dolphins, and mermaids. Some of Duane’s work also incorporates semi-precious stones including coral, azurite, and natural Australian opal. 

Over the last several years, Duane has worked at creating several designs based on Hopi spirituality, designs which are uniquely his own. These designs include his “three generations” and his petroglyph designs which are inspired by Dawa-Ki on ancestral Hopi Lands.