Gallery Artist Passes

Tommy Singer, featured artist at the Santa Fe Shop, passed away on May 31, 2014.

Singer was a world famous Navajo silversmith and was considered by many as one of the greatest contemporary Native American jewelry silversmiths of our time. His jewelry work is coveted by collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Singer had been a silversmith for more than 28 years and learned the art from his father when he was 7 years old. His father, Tsinnigine Hathali, was a Navajo medicine man. He grew up in a small community of Dilcon on the Navajo Reservation in Winslow, Arizona. Singer used sterling silver and turquoise to create artistic expressions of Navajo traditional ways.

Singer stated, “I make jewelry out of silver. Every piece is made with the meanings from my traditional ways – the Navajo way of living. My father was a silversmith. He taught me and wanted me to continue this trade. It was my fathers’ dream that I learn to silversmith so that I can continue his belief.”

In the 1960s, Singer became famous for inventing the use of turquoise and coral chips in silverwork. This method of design is referred to as “chip-inlay.” This invention was so successful that chip-inlay is used by thousands of artists to this day.

His friends at the Santa Fe Shop in Fish Creek will miss him. To see some of his work, stop by the Santa Fe Shop, located at 4147 Main Street in Fish Creek. For more information visit santafeshop.com.