Traditional Hands Jewelry & Art Gallery featured at Asheville Mall during December

TRADITIONAL HANDS Jewelry & Art Gallery is presenting authentic, handmade Native American jewelry, arts and crafts at the ASHEVILLE MALL December 1^st – 31^st, 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.