Jolene Bird
Jolene Bird's Masterpiece
by Hugh Pickens
Jolene Bird and her son Charles drove 12 hours from Santo Domingo, New Mexico to visit me yesterday and today and show me the piece of tuquoise inlay work that she has been working on for the past two-and-a-half years. This is a Fender Stratocaster guitar onto which Jolene has attached pieces of Kingman and Sonoran Turquoise highlighted with Jet. The stars are in Abalone, Mother of Pearl, Pipestone, Yellow Serpentine, and Spiny Oyster. The artistry in this piece is simply breathtaking and has to be seen to be believed.
Consider that this is a three dimensional mosaic, a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle if you will. Jolene told me that each individual piece of turquoise had to be cut, shaped, and ground down to fit perfectly with the other pieces. Each individual piece probably took six to eight hours to produce and there are literally hundreds of pieces covering the guitar.
For an artist, a masterpiece is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship.This is Jolene Bird's Masterpiece, the culmination of thirty years of honing her talent in working with inlaid turquoise. Jolene says that she will never create another piece this complex and beautiful. The reverse side is as beautiful and intricate as the front.
Dr. Pickens never saw this creation, but she did know that Jolene was working on it. The last time Jolene visited with my wife she told my wife that she was working on the guitar and my wife told her she wanted to see it and purchase it when it was finished. Dr. Pickens already had dozens of Jolene's other pieces in her collection and was very familiar with her work. I have no doubt that if this piece were at Santa Fe Indian Market, it would have taken first prize. It will have a place of honor in Dr. Pickens Museum.
I was talking to Jolene about an artist and immortality. Isabella Russell-Ides says in her play "Lydie Marland in the Afterlife" that you don't really die until your name is spoken for the last time and you are remembered by someone that knew you or knew of you for the last time. I told Jolene that 100 years from now, people will be looking at this masterpiece with her name on it in Dr. Pickens Museum and that her great-great-grandchildren will come and say that one of their ancestors created this work of art. That is immortality for an artist. Thank you Jolene for creating this work of art.
Jolene Bird
Santo Domingo
Jolene Bird is an accomplished artist who learned her craft from her grandfather over 20 years ago. Jolene makes her jewelry in the tradition of the Santo Domingo Pueblo in New Mexico. After studying at the prestigious Poeh Institute in Santa Fe, Jolene has continued to refine her craft by selecting only the finest raw materials and then cutting, carving and shaping each separate element to create her highly refined jewelry. Working with natural materials, Jolene makes her own beads from stone and shells, sizing each piece as she makes her jewelry. She is particularly accomplished in inlaid mosaic pieces. Finishing many of her works with hundreds of heishi beads, Jolene cuts every bead – each a different size and dimension, while at the same time relating to the adjacent beads – resulting in some of the finest traditionally designed necklaces and bracelets found in contemporary Native American jewelry.
Jolene is a regular participant in a number of shows throughout the United States each year. She won 1st Place in the Traditional Category at the prestigious 2012 Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City, an event sponsored by the Oklahoma City Art Museum. She took 2nd Place at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, IN (2012) and will be showing her work at the Santa Fe Indian Market. A regular guest participant in a number of national and international shows, Jolene has presented her jewelry at:
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, Indian Show, December 2012 Heard Museum, Scottsdale, AZ, Summer 2012 Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, Christmas Show, December 2011 Smithsonian Institute, New York, NY, Select Jewelry Show, November 2010
Jolene Bird, Santo Domingo, New Mexico
Santo Domingo Pueblo
Jewelry
A member of the Santo Domingo Pueblo tribe, Jolene Bird has been designing and crafting jewelry in semi-precious stones and sterling silver for over twenty years. Her unique inlay work in the traditional style was honed at an early age from her grandfather who taught her how to select the highest quality stones and shape them into intricate designs. She studied the art of silversmithing at Po Arts in Pojoaque Pueblo and grew into her own exclusive designs that are now recognized by discriminating collectors worldwide. Jolene’s distinctive style was acknowledged in the 2011-2012 edition of A Cup of Cappuccino for Entrepreneurs Spirit: American Indian Entrepreneurs. Her exceptional contemporary jewelry continues to earn top awards at prestigious juried art shows.
References
About Pickens Museum



Latest Stories about Pickens Museum
- Ponca City Monthly publishes story about Pickens Learning Commons at NOC
- Pickens Learning Commons Opens at NOC Tonkawa
- Pickens Museum Acquires "War Club" by Yatika Starr Fields January 20, 2022
Location and Hours of Operation
Artists at Pickens Museum
- J. Chester Armstrong
- Bryant Baker
- Jolene Bird
- Robin Bray
- Barbara Chase Riboud
- Sergey Chernomorets
- Charles Cordier
- Jo Davidson
- Andrew Scott DeJesse
- Donald De Lue
- Roger Disney
- Yatika Starr Fields
- Espi Frazier
- John Dale Free
- John Free, Jr.
- Paul Gauguin
- Mitch Gyson
- Jeff Ham
- Robert Hardee
- Hugh Harrell Jr.
- K. Henderson
- Bri Hermanson
- Skip Hill
- Malvina Hoffman
- Allan Houser
- Patrick Dean Hubbell
- Oreland Joe
- Malvin Gray Johnson
- Rockwell Kent
- William Kilpatrick
- Tom Lea
- Becky Mannschreck
- John Manship
- Paul Manship
- Raoul Middleman
- Woodrow Nash
- Ed Natiya
- Clyde Otipoby
- Gene Pearson
- Pablo Picasso
- Daniel Pickens
- Erika Pochybova
- Charles Pratt
- Bill Rabbit
- Traci Rabbit
- Tanya Rafael
- Richard Recchia
- Faith Ringgold
- Josué Sánchez
- Fritz Scholder
- Stephen Schwark
- Isaac Shari
- Ralph Steadman
- Scott Storm
- Albert Wein
- C J Wells
Articles about Pickens Museum
2022
- Ponca City Monthly publishes story about Pickens Learning Center at NOC
- Pickens Learning Commons Opens at NOC Tonkawa
- Pickens Museum Acquires "War Club" by Yatika Starr Fields January 20, 2022
2021
- Pickens Museum/NOC Mural Dedication Set for June 16th
- Yatika Starr Fields Completes Mural for Pickens Museum May 12, 2021
- Pickens Museum and NOC Announce Mural by Osage Artist Yatika Starr Fields May 5, 2021
- Osage Warrior in the Enemy Camp (Counting Coup) by John Free March 29, 2021
- Pickens Museum Displays Route 66 Murals by Robert Hardee March 29, 2021
- Pickens Museum Opens Exhibit of Sculpture by Donald De Lue at NOC March 24, 2021
- Pickens Museum partners with NOC February 23, 2021
2020
- Three Faces of the Pioneer Woman February 21, 2020
- Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Faith Ringgold February 21, 2020
- Exhibition: "Winter in New York" January 22, 2020
2019
2018
- The Turquoise Guitar by Jolene Bird November 26, 2018
- World's Largest Naja August 29, 2018
- A 1949 Hudson Limousine August 29, 2018
- Meet the Museum Design Team May 21, 2018
- A Ponca City Mystery April 5, 2018
- Tonya Rafael Visits Ponca City February 2018
2015 and before
- Sculptor Bryant Baker's Lost Masterpiece November 3, 2015
- Pioneer Woman Models Come Home February 26, 2010
- Pioneer Woman Models Should Return to Ponca City July 13, 2007
About Pickens Museum
Contact
hughpickens@gmail.com