Nick Rosetta Stone and Shell Jewelry demonstration

Using all natural material and handmade processes, he makes beautiful heishi necklaces.

Nick learned the art from his parents, Ray and Mary Rosetta. The heishi artform goes back to ancestral pueblo times, long before the arrival of the Spanish in the Southwest, when Kewa stone and shell jewelry – believed by many archeologists to be the oldest form of jewelry in the southwest-was highly prized and widely traded.

Nick does most of the lapidary work–cutting, grinding, sanding and polishing. His wife Me-Wee does ninety-five percent of the stringing. He obtains his materials from many different places–turquoise from Nevada and Arizona, serpentine from South Dakota, pipestone from Minnesota, as well as stones from Canada, Peru and Australia. 

Demonstrations of his work will be on September 22, 28, and 29th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm each day.