By Dottie Indyke
The secret is in the water, Benson Manygoats likes to say, in reference to the process of crafting his dramatic inlaid jewelry and boxes: The more water used, the less likely the precious stones are to crack. But playing in water is also a longstanding pastime for Manygoats, whose favorite activity growing up in Tohatchi, NM, in the heart of Navajo country, was wading in mud puddles—the dirtier the better—and washing 18-wheelers.
Although Manygoats’ mother’s maiden name means “silversmith” in Navajo and his paternal grandfather practiced the Navajo art form the old-fashioned way, casting his pieces with ash and fire, Manygoats is essentially self-taught. In high school he learned to cut metal and solder, and he experimented with mosaic inlay by wrapping small stones in a rag and hitting the bundle until the stones crumbled into small pieces. After graduation he answered an ad placed by jewelry designer Ray Tracey seeking artisans with inlay and silversmithing skills. “Ray drew some designs and asked if I could make them,” Manygoats recalls. “He liked the way I worked, so he hired me right then.” In 14 years with the company, Manygoats continually surprised Tracey with techniques that the more experienced artist didn’t think possible. “I put some of my ideas into his jewelry,” Manygoats says, “but I wanted to save some for myself.”
Each morning Manygoats heads into his studio, based in an old trailer behind his Tohatchi home, prepared for a long workday. Dozens of projects are on tap that require him to stretch and innovate, such as the dazzling ladybug bracelet he conceived when one of the bugs landed on his arm as he and his wife sat eating lunch in their car on a summer day. Ideas, he says, come to him at all hours of the day and night.
“I like to use stones that are more than an eighth of an inch thick, because they last longer,” he notes. “I like bright stones with no cracks, and I like when the stone is real clear. I still learn things, like not to throw old tools away. I sharpened the edge of an old saw, and it turned out to be a really good tool for me. I use old files that have been worn down. To do engraving, I bang with a hammer so I have a nice straight design.”
No one is more delighted than Manygoats by his 11-year-old son’s interest in jewelry making. “He has done a little bit of inlay,” his proud father declares. “Like me, he likes to put his hands in water.”
Manygoats’ work can be seen at Ellis Tanner Trading Company, Gallup, NM; the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market, Phoenix, AZ; and the Southwest Indian Art Fair, Tucson, AZ.
Featured in “Native Arts” March 2007
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