“Corn Pollen Bracelet”
by Lorenzo Shirley, Navajo
Alternate Views 
Photo by Marnie Sharp
Description: Silver and Kingman turquoise.
About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in jewelry and silversmithing, in recognition of Hartman Lomawaima's efforts to help Native American artists and craftsmen.
Jurors’ Comments:
Mark Bahti: This is a very unusual sand-cast. It’s very much a corn pattern. I chose this partly because this award is named for Hartman who was Hopi and corn is important in Hopi life. It’s well-formed and doing a cast like this in a good curve without it kinking or bending at key points is difficult. They got a good clean cast, a nice asymmetrical turquoise which they worked with and continued to keep in an asymmetrical setting rather than trying to somehow right it and square it up Then they gave it a blanched finish. They didn’t oxidize it or do anything to heighten the contrast; they just blanched it to give it a more visual pop, in my opinion. So from a technical standpoint, a design standpoint and the appropriateness of the motifs to who Hartman was, it just seemed like it was the most appropriate one.
(About pieces that were considered but not chosen) There were a couple of others that came close. I really quite like the belt with the pottery shards. The problem is that the buckle just does not belong design-wise, scale-wise or anything else. It just missed. The buckle needs to be rethought because the belt’s great. There was a bracelet with very fine Spondylus shell and turquoise vertical inlay that was quite nice and had very much a Hopi aesthetic to it; I could see Hartman wearing that. The stamp work on the ends is perfunctory and just doesn’t carry through the warmness of the rest of the piece. And by that I don’t mean the color, I mean just the feel of it, abruptly ends where the stamp work begins.
Martin Kim: The quality of the craftsmanship is self-evident and I agree with Mark’s assessment of the technical achievement and the beauty of the handling of the asymmetrical stone.
(About the Runner-up, his initial choice, “Brown Bear” bola tie) After I looked across the entries in jewelry it seemed that there were many that were equally high level of craftsmanship and could fairly draw recognition on that quality alone. So I decided I would look instead for something that spoke more to Hartman and I thought as an award that was a memorial award it would appropriate to show respect for the honor that he brought to his clan. And so the Bear Clan symbol on this swayed me in that direction purely for the focus of the award.
Susan Folwell: (About the Runner-up, her choice, Bola Tie with Carnelian and Montana Agate) It is beautiful in its simplicity and it’s something that could be worn by a man or a woman. I think it’s done technically well. It’s just a very attractive piece; very warm and inviting. I appreciate it very much.
(About a piece that was considered but not chosen) I’d like to comment on the belt with the pottery shards as well. What really threw it off for me was the buckle. I really appreciate the belt. It’s a beautiful piece of work, something I would certainly want in my own collection. But I think the buckle really needs to be rethought.