Victoria Adams
He On E Va
Jeweler
Small objects of personal value have been worn, carried or kept in many types of medicine bundles longer than anyone's memory ... except for Mother Earths. When a person wears an object that they value spiritually or monetarily, they feel empowered, protected, proud and beautiful.
The jewelry I create comes from my life view, in which ritual, culture, ancient and contemporary experiences play significant roles. These items are talismans of my own participation and consciousness.
Victoria Adams
Victoria Adams is a jeweler and bead worker who is widely recognized for her stunning jewelry designs, featuring unique combinations of color, texture and materials. Juxtaposing precious metals, gemstones and fossils with plant, animal and human forms, Victoria expresses her own heritage, experiences and values in life.
Born in Oakland, California, Victoria is an enrolled member of the Southern Cheyenne/Arapaho tribe of Oklahoma. Her Cheyenne traditional name is "He On E Va," which means "Woman Who Lights the Pipe."
Creating items of personal adornment from metals became a Cheyenne art form just prior to the Civil War. Traders venturing to the central and southern plains introduced German silver (nickel) from the northeastern states, hence the flourishing of metal arts among the peoples of the Great Plains.
"When designing and building my jewelry, I incorporate the natural forms I observe," Victoria explains. "Sightings of deer, antelope, birds, bugs, berries and my own horses can set one day very much apart from another. Cheyenne religious ceremonies are not complete without the inclusion of plants and animals. We honor them. They governed our survival in ancient times, and today they are still an integral part of our traditional and contemporary cultures.
"For me there is no dividing line between a fine, large diamond set in gold and a beautifully crafted, pair of graceful silver Southern Plains style earrings. Depending upon one's cultural tradition, the value is similar. When I dress for a fine evening in New York or for a night of dancing at one of my favorite pow wows, the glint of my silver earrings, like the sparkle of a diamond, makes me feel elegant and proud."
Victoria recently launched a new website. Take a look here!
The jewelry I create comes from my life view, in which ritual, culture, ancient and contemporary experiences play significant roles. These items are talismans of my own participation and consciousness.
Victoria Adams
Victoria Adams is a jeweler and bead worker who is widely recognized for her stunning jewelry designs, featuring unique combinations of color, texture and materials. Juxtaposing precious metals, gemstones and fossils with plant, animal and human forms, Victoria expresses her own heritage, experiences and values in life.
Born in Oakland, California, Victoria is an enrolled member of the Southern Cheyenne/Arapaho tribe of Oklahoma. Her Cheyenne traditional name is "He On E Va," which means "Woman Who Lights the Pipe."
Creating items of personal adornment from metals became a Cheyenne art form just prior to the Civil War. Traders venturing to the central and southern plains introduced German silver (nickel) from the northeastern states, hence the flourishing of metal arts among the peoples of the Great Plains.
"When designing and building my jewelry, I incorporate the natural forms I observe," Victoria explains. "Sightings of deer, antelope, birds, bugs, berries and my own horses can set one day very much apart from another. Cheyenne religious ceremonies are not complete without the inclusion of plants and animals. We honor them. They governed our survival in ancient times, and today they are still an integral part of our traditional and contemporary cultures.
"For me there is no dividing line between a fine, large diamond set in gold and a beautifully crafted, pair of graceful silver Southern Plains style earrings. Depending upon one's cultural tradition, the value is similar. When I dress for a fine evening in New York or for a night of dancing at one of my favorite pow wows, the glint of my silver earrings, like the sparkle of a diamond, makes me feel elegant and proud."
Victoria recently launched a new website. Take a look here!
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Victoria Adams
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Born Oakland, California, 1950. Presently Resides in Santa Fe, NM
Enrolled Southern Cheyenne/Arapaho, Tribe of Oklahoma Education 1977-1981 Apprenticeship with William Burke, Goldsmith, Mill Valley, CA 1978-1979 Revere Academy of Goldsmithing, San Francisco, CA 1976-1977 Independent study in London, England 1975-1976 University of Nevada at Reno 1969-1970 San Francisco Art Institute Selected Exhibitions 1999 & 2002 Winter Camp -- Honoring the Legacy, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK 2001 Eight Northern Pueblos Artists & Craftsman Show, Nambe, NM Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM 1998-2003 Santa Fe Indian Market, NM 1999-2003 Heard Museum Indian Market, Phoenix, AZ 2000 Anticipating the Dawn -- Contemporary Art by Native American Women, Gardiner Art Gallery, Department of Art, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 1996-1997 Red Earth Festival, Oklahoma City, OK Native American Arts, Film and Dance 1996 Old & New Masterpieces, Native American Arts, an exhibition organized and first shown at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts & Humanities, ID, and traveling to Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, MT Heyoh doh-Whvon Tseo, Eagle Plumes Fine Art, Allens Park, CO 1983-1996 C.M. Russell Art Show, Great Falls, MT 1995 Who is Indian? What is Indian Art? Eagle Plumes Fine Art, Allens Park, CO 1994 Trappings of Texas, Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine, TX Tradition is Not a Static Concept, Eagle Plums Fine Art, Allens Park, CO 1992-1994 A Gathering of People - Native American Arts, Sun Valley Center for the Arts & Humanities, ID 1988-1994 Holiday Show, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, ID 1990 Victoria Adams & Rick Bartow, Jewelry & Paintings, Sun Valley Center for the Arts & Humanities, ID Museum Benefit Show, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, MT 1987-1989 Wild West Art Show, Big Horn Gallery, Cody, WY 1983-1986 Trappings of the American West, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ 1973 Reno Indian Arts & Crafts Show. Awards 2004 First Place, Large Necklaces & Earring Set, Non-traditional Jewelry, Santa Fe Indian Market, NM 2000-2003 Best of Division, Non-traditional Jewelry, Santa Fe Indian Market First Place, Large Necklaces, Santa Fe Indian Market, NM 2000 Honorable Mention, Heard Museum Indian Market, AZ 1999 Best of Division, Jewelry, Lapidary, and Best of Classification, Large Necklaces, Heard Museum Indian Market, AZ 1973 Best of Show, Jewelry, Reno Indian Arts & Crafts Show, NV Publications 2004 Cowboys & Indians Magazine, March Indian Market Magazine Presented by Santa Fean Magazine, 2004 Collectors’ Edition 2003 American Indian Jewelry I, 1,200 Artist Biographies. Ca. 1800-present By Gregory Schaaf, Ph.D, assisted by Angie Yan Schaaf 2000 Santa Fean Magazine, May Native Peoples, Market Issue, August 1997 Southwest Art, December 1995 Sky Magazine, Delta Airlines, February Marie Claire Fashion Magazine, German Issue, February 1993 Town & Country, June The Salt Lake City Tribune, October 10 1990 Southwest Art, July 1989 American West, April American Craft, December 1987 Southwest Art, December Museum Collections Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM Private Collections Ellen Taubman, New York, NY Fred LaBour, "Too Slim," Nashville, TN Jasmine Kahn, New York, NY Patrick Sean Duncan, Los Angeles, CA Peter Coyote, Mill Valley, CA Sandy Pinkard, Warner Bros, Nashville, TN Thomas Thayer, Universal TV, Los Angeles, CA Tammy Garcia, Taos, NM |