Southwestern Silver & Turquoise
Make a beautiful Navajo-style bracelet. Students explore traditional jewelry-making with this silvery Southwestern-U.S. project.
1. Native American silver workers of the U.S. Southwest learned their craft from earlier Mexican and Spanish artisans. The Mexican silversmith Nakai Tsosi taught Atsidi Sani, the first Navajo to learn silver smithing. Navajo silver smithing was first recorded in 1868. Since then, it has become a popular art form.
2. Early Navajo silver pieces have a great deal of symbolic meaning in the shapes and types of materials. Find out about this early silver work. Try to discover the meanings of these objects.
3. To create a silvery turquoise-colored bracelet of your own, mix a small amount of green and blue Crayola® Washable Paint into white Crayola Model Magic. Work the paint in with your hands to create a consistent color.
4. Tear off several small pieces of the modeling compound. Shape them into small stones. Add a little more blue or green paint, rework the Model Magic, and repeat the process. Change the color of the turquoise several times, until you have a collection of slightly different colors of stones. Wash your hands.
5. Crumple up the sides of a small piece of aluminum foil so it resembles a narrow plate or tray. Place a drop of Crayola School Glue into the center of the foil. Press your slightly-dry Model Magic turquoise into the recessed part of the foil.
6. Use your fingers to slightly pull apart the surface of the slightly dry Model Magic, creating cracks. Use a black Crayola Fine Tip Marker to color in these cracks. Wipe off the surface of the turquoise with a damp paper towel. Your turquoise will look like it is naturally cracked and veined.
7. Press the crumpled edges of the foil with the flat end of a Crayola Colored Pencil. Punch a few small holes in the middle of the foil with the sharpened end of the colored pencil.
8. Use colorful, thick thread to string your bracelet pieces together. Add ties on both ends when you are finished.
Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project.
Crayola Modeling Materials including Crayola Model Magic®, Model Magic Fusion™, Crayola Air-Dry Clay, and Crayola Dough With Small Parts—
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—
- Keep away from open flames. Do not use to make candleholders, hot plates, trivets, or other similar objects that will be used or placed near fire and other heat sources.
- Do not put in an oven, microwave, or kiln.
- Do not make into vessels/containers that will hold unpackaged food.
- If the arts & crafts project involves making small objects, follow the small parts/choking hazards standards: WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 years."
- The use of modeling material to make items that look like food is discouraged for children younger than age 5 to avoid their confusion with real food.
- Unless sealed with a water-resistant glaze, do not make projects exposed to or immersed in water, such as boats or outdoor bird feeders. They would disintegrate when exposed to moisture.
- Crayola Dough—contains gluten (wheat flour) as an ingredient. Crayola Air-Dry Clay, Crayola Model Magic, and Model Magic Fusion are gluten-free. However, they are produced on the same machinery as Crayola Dough which does contain gluten. Although the machines are cleaned prior to the start of each production run, there is a slight possibility that trace amounts of gluten from Crayola Dough may be present in the other modeling compound products. For information regarding specific ingredients or allergic concerns, please call our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-272-9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Small Parts— WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
Crayola Washable Paints—Not for use as body/face paint.
String-Like Materials—Includes string, raffia, lacing, yarn, ribbon, and other similar material. Children 3 years and younger should not be given any string-like material that is longer than 12 inches. Close adult supervision is essential whenever children use string-like material. When crafts are to be worn around the necks of children 8 years and younger, attach the ends of the “string-like material” with clear adhesive tape, which allows easy release of the bond if the craft becomes entangled or caught on equipment. For children older than 8 years, the ends of the “string-like material” may be tied and knotted.
- Examine many different samples of silver and turquoise jewelry with children who have special needs. Look at photographs. Talk with artisans.
- Create other silver and turquoise jewelry in this same manner. Make a ring by creating a plain band that fits your finger. Attach a silver and turquoise section to the top. Tape the top piece in place.
- Use Model Magic with red and orange tempera to create coral pieces. What other stone effects can you create with paint or Crayola Washable Markers? What happens if you add sand to the modeling material?
- Explore how turquoise is mined and polished before it is made into jewelry. Learn about the production of silver, too.
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