Monthly Archives: January 2013

2 posts

21 January 2013; Navajo Sandcasting

Making a mold out of tufa stone was discussed in a previous post, but how did the Navajo mass produce some of their work if the mold would only work for a small number of pieces? In the mid 1800’s the Navajo started a process that is known as sandcasting. […]

7 January 2013; Tufa Stone Casting

Beautiful silver jewelry is a well known icon for the Navajo, or Dine, people. But how are they able to create such intricate work out of silver? One method was to use a mold carved from tufa stone. Tufa is a type of limestone that is relatively easy to carve […]