Western Life & Style
Stunning jewelry commemorates Santa Fe's 400th anniversary
by MICHELLE POWERS GLAZE
Web exclusive
Jennifer Jesse Smith
One of Santa Fe’s new generation of artists, Jennifer Jesse Smith grew up immersed in the city’s culture and surrounded by such art-scene luminaries as Douglas Magnus, Forrest Fenn, and Mark Winter. Smith remembers walking the aisles at Indian Market and the Bennett (now Ethnographic Indian) show as a little girl with her mother, artist Cathy Smith. Now an artist in her own right, the younger Smith wanted to celebrate Santa Fe’s 400th with a symbol that embodies the look and feel of classic Santa Fe. Seeking inspiration within, she felt a prompting: Look atop the sanctuaries — and there she found her answer. Smith’s commemorative crosses reflect the city’s heritage and include traditional design features such as a delicate flower that embellished many historic documents. Smith’s Sword Crowned by a Heart cross (shown) was patterned after the Cross of St. James, used by colonists at the establishment of Santa Fe’s first church, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, in 1610. The Santa Fe 400th committee and governing board of directors officially recognized the cross for its “celebration of the beauty, essence, and history that is Santa Fe.”
For more information, visit www.jenniferjessesmith.com or call 505.231.0558.
Douglas Magnus
Spanish colonial coins, or cobs, served as inspiration for the Santa Fe 400th Treasure Collection, Douglas Magnus’ tribute to the city that’s been his home and his muse for nearly 40 years. He admits he knew little about old coins when he began work on the line in March. That lack of knowledge, it turns out, worked to his advantage. “It freed me up to take my idea in my own direction,” Magnus says. And people have responded enthusiastically to that direction from the start.
One of the earliest admirers of Magnus’ work was New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who noticed the silver cuff that Magnus was wearing at an event and asked to see the full line. Richardson chose a pair of cuff links: a simple sterling coin design with 1610 stamped on one and 2010 on the other. “I love my Doug Magnus cuff links,” says Richardson, “and I wear them on very special occasions.”
From these less-than-humble beginnings, the collection has grown to include hatbands, rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants. And it comprises production pieces as well as 100 percent handcrafted items in silver, silver with gold overlay, and 14kt gold. “I wanted to make attractive pieces that were very affordable, as well as more spectacular ones for those who could afford them,” Magnus states. High-end designs, such as those incorporating Cerrillos turquoise from the ancient mines Magnus purchased in 1988, have generated the most interest and customers often buy multiple pieces.
To make his pieces true commemorative treasures, Magnus has limited production of bracelets, necklaces, and pendants to runs of 400 each, numbered and signed by the artist.
Achieving the desired look wasn’t easy, though. Working from photographs with techniques much like those used hundreds of years ago, Magnus replicated elements from coins used in the 1600s. He hand-carved dies from tool steel, an easy-to-use high-carbon material that hardens with heat, and more than one die cracked during the tricky tempering process. The hand-casting and hammer strikes produced a lively variety of surfaces, giving the pieces a look similar to that of the original coins, which were crudely made during the colonial period.
The Santa Fe 400th line has been the most satisfying in Magnus’ career. “Something happens to me along the way,” he says, about working with the differently shaped ingots, coins, date stamps, and gold overlays. “It’s all about the way you choose to fill a frame or a space. I’m so keenly aware of the way elements in design relate to one another.” And Magnus has had plenty of experience filling a frame in his time — first as photographer, then jewelry designer, painter, sculptor, and most recently videographer. He’s particularly excited about his newfound ability of wrapping a design around the entire piece, creating a miniature work of art.
As for the 2010 commemorative works of art, Magnus and Andrew Ortiz, a silversmith/bench jeweler who has worked with Magnus for 15 years, will keep pouring silver and turning out their treasure.
Visit www.douglasmagnus.com, or call 505.983.6777.
