TRADITIONAL
HANDS Jewelry & Art
Gallery is presenting authentic,
handmade Native American jewelry, arts and crafts at the ASHEVILLE MALL December
1st – 31st, 2014. The
kiosk is located close to Earthbound Trading Company and Starbucks.
The featured artist, General B. Grant (Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indian), is the ONLY Master-Silversmith in Cherokee, NC. His traditional and contemporary Indian Artwork
is presented at Traditional Hands Jewelry & Art Gallery located downtown
Cherokee, NC. His wife, Ute Grant, originally from Germany,
manages and operates the gallery.
General has been
creating high-quality handmade SILVER
JEWELRY such as rings, cuffs, necklaces, earrings, belts, belt buckles and
gorgets, for over 30 years. Sterling
Silver is the main material being
used, however he also works with gold
in conjunction with custom orders. He designs unique jewelry with Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Onyx and other gemstones. 
The artist’s main focus is the re-introduction of a very important part
of Cherokee’s culture: WAMPUM. Wampum is made from one of the hardest and
most beautiful shells in the world – the Northern
Quahog. It is a clam found along the New England
coast. Only a small percentage of quahog shells have deep layers of purple – purple coloring that goes all the way
through the shell, thick enough to make beads and jewelry out of. It is
rare to find the Quahog shells with deep-penetrating purple, so it is even more
valuable.
Wampum beads, which were made into belts, is one of the oldest,
foremost means of recording stories and important information for the Cherokee
people. The beads were traded by the Cherokee Indians and other Native
American tribes long before the first Europeans arrived. Later on, the new
settlers recognized and acknowledged the
Wampum shells and beads as the first Native American currency.
For more information, please visit http://www.traditionalhands.com/, contact the gallery at Phone
828.554.5884, or after hours call Ute Grant’s cell phone 828.736.5543.
No comments:
Post a Comment