The Life and Work of Lewis Lomay

To celebrate the upcoming show SILVER HONORS STONE: THE WORK OF JULIAN LOVATO at the Wheelwright Museum, opening April 10, we are featuring one of the other artists who has a prominent place in the show: Lewis Lomay. 

As anyone who has followed Turkey Mountain Traders over the years can tell you, one of our favorite artists is Lewis Lomay, the Hopi artist who was born in 1915 at Oraibi.  His work melds together the symbolism of his Hopi upbringing and the fine craftsmanship from his training under two of the greats of Southwestern silverwork.  Recently, a friend brought in a copy of NEW MEXICO magazine from July 1976, which happened to have an article devoted to Lomay, and we wanted to share some of what we learned from reading it.

The first thing we learned about him, which is not commonly known, is that he first learned jewelry making at the Santa Fe Indian School under Ambrose Roanhorse, the great Navajo silversmith, who started his students working on copper and brass before moving on to silver slugs, which they would heat and pound into small buttons.  From there, they advanced to more elaborate things as their skill allowed.  Lomay studied at the Indian School for a year before returning to Hopi for the summer.  Then, in a bit of a chance occurrence that would impact the rest of his life, he returned to Santa Fe in the fall too late to register for courses.  As the article states, "After a few days spent looking for a job in Santa Fe he found one in the shop of Frank Patania.  Patania was a jeweler who had been an apprentice in Italy and a goldsmith and designer in New York before he came to Santa Fe (in 1927).  Lomay remembers Patania as a remarkable craftsman.  In his shop Indian designs were used, but the work was done to meet a goldsmith's exacting standards.  New designs, of European origin, were introduced.  'Working with Patania,' Lomay says, 'I learned about modern jewelry and how to finish pieces in any metal as perfectly as they did in gold.'"

Lomay worked with Patania in both Santa Fe and Tucson until the outbreak of World War II, at which time he went to work painting aircraft for the war effort.  When the war ended, he returned to Santa Fe but found he could make more money painting houses than making jewelry.  (Times have certainly changed, haven't they?)  He continued to make jewelry for family members and eventually entered some pieces in Indian arts and crafts shows, where they won many awards.  Encouraged, he returned to producing jewelry full-time, which remained his profession until his passing in 1996.

Lomay's work is modern and beautiful, a creative melding of traditional materials and techniques with contemporary and original designs.  We currently have two Lomay pieces in inventory, a bracelet and a pair of earrings, both shown below:

If you are interested in adding a piece by this highly important artist to your collection, please give us a call at (480) 423-8777 or email us at info@turkey-mountain.com.