Product Description
20″ Long Handmade Lapis Beads with sterling silver beads and clasp at the end by Hopi Artist, Raynard Lalo.
Raynard recently came in with hand carved Lapis beads that he had made himself. We were impressed with them and purchased one strand. He brought another strand in today and they are even better! It is even more wonderful that he has just begun making them recently and had never made them before. When his grandfather, Hopi Elder, Martin Gashweseoma, passed away, Raynard was gifted a bag of lapis that his grandfather had worked on with a file. They were very rough and Raynard asked a friend to help him learn to finish them into beads. Hand carved and finished beads are quite rare so it is a thrill to see the quality that he is creating.
Raynard was born in 1984 and grew up on the 3rd Mesa of Hopi at Hotevilla. He is a member of the Spider Clan. He began carving at 15 years old with help from his father, Valjean Lalo. His mother, Dorlene Lalo is a basket weaver. Raynard carves old style dolls of Cottonwood root and uses natural earth pigments crushed to a fine powder to make his paints.
Raynard has a joy and a passion for carving that are coming through in both his Kachinas and now his beautiful beads.
