Ron Bedonie
ARTISAN DETAILS
INTRODUCTION
The concho belt is the artist’s masterpiece. No one starts as a silversmith by making a belt, but instead works and continues to learn until they become mastered in their craft. When you come across old pictures of one of the most famous Navajo silversmiths of all-time, Slender Maker of Silver, he seems to be most proud of his belts. Artists like Vernon Haskie & Perry Shorty make the concho belt the most collectible piece of their work. So, when Ron Bedonie showed up with his masterpiece we asked him to sit down for an interview.
HALLMARK
Ron Bedonie
1987 to Present
TRIBE:
Navajo
STYLE:
Heavy silver with deep stampwork
FIRST YEAR MAKING ART:
1987
ARTISAN INTERVIEW
Do you come from a family of silversmiths, is that where you learned the craft?
My late father John Bedonie Sr. was a silversmith. His father, my grandpa was also a silversmith. None of us had a hands on teacher, but would learn silversmithing from watching and doing.
Did you grow up with silver being an important part of your early life?
My father was a welder, part-time silversmith, so we moved around a lot for his work. I left boarding school at Jeddito, AZ in the 2nd grade when we moved to Phoenix, until the 7th grade.
What was that like?
Hot. We would come back to Jeddito to visit family and for longer periods in the summer. I would spend lots of time with my grandpa, as his sidekick. He wouldn’t ever let anyone watch him make silver but me.
So you came back to Jeddito in the 7th grade, then what?
We didn’t stay long. My father took a job in Salt Lake City and half of the year he came back to move us up there.
Did you like Salt Lake City better than Phoenix?
It was very nice. You had all four seasons there.
Did anything change with becoming an artist?
No, I was busy being a kid. My cousin Ricky showed me how to do beading and I would make some custom pieces in sell them a dealer in Salt Lake, the Teepee Gallery...
What kind of beading?
Glass beads, I would make belts, key chains & other beaded pieces.
Did you play any sports in school?
Me and my cousin Ricky made this pole vault out of plastic conduit. That gave me an interest in the sport and they had it in Salt Lake school I attended.
Were you good at it?
Yes, I had the record at my school from the 8th grade through the 12th grade.
That’s amazing, what was your top vault?
14’ 9”.
So we are finishing up high school, what happened next?
I got married, moved to back to Phoenix and started working in construction. I would plaster homes. My brother introduced me to this work and it paid well.
When did you start working silver?
I took a job in Northern California doing plaster work with the same company I am with in Phoenix. This is when I bought a new pickup truck, a Isuzu Pup. That pickup truck payment began my jewelry career.
The pickup is the start?
I could afford the payments, this is around 1987 and I am back in Jeddito when my mother gives me a piece of silver to make something to sell.
What did you make?
A pendant, my mother sold my first piece of jewelry to a customer in Idaho.
How does your jewelry making progress?
My cousin’s brother Thomas Jim asked me to come and stay with him in Winslow to help him with his jewelry, buffing and other stuff. I was able to pick up stuff fairly quickly and begin making my own pieces.
Were you going out and selling your work?
Thomas told Gene Waddell to give me an order. He had me make a ranger set for him and he liked the work and gave me more orders. My early work was going to Gene.
Did you go back to construction or make jewelry your full-time work?
I have always gone back and forth. In 1993 I am in Las Vegas for a year working on the Excalibur Casino. I would come back and fill orders for Gene. Then in the early 2000's I spent around five years in Parachute, CO working as an electrician.
When you were done in Colorado what were you doing?
I came back to the Shiprock area and start filling lots of different orders.
Who are some of the bigger influences on your work?
Thomas Jim of course and I always liked my uncle’s style, Edison Sandy Smith.
This belt is amazing, have you made many of these?
I have made different belts. I understand Michael Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger have belts made by me.
So, what does the future hold?
I will continue to make jewelry and probably do a little construction work here and there.
Thank you, for the interview and belt.
