Squash Blossom Dangles

These squash blossom dangle earrings were made by Navajo jeweler Tanisha Haley.  Each part of the three parts of the earrings are handmade and oxidized to give them a beautiful patina.  At the top is a round fluted bead, under the fluted bead is a cylinder with a fluted half bead on the top and bottom.  At the bottom is a squash blossom.  They dangle from sterling silver wires.  More about handmade beads below.

Size: 3" L includes wires x .5" W

Imagine a wooden or steel block with different sizes of domes in it, along with a variety of tools that fit exactly into those domes.  Silver or gold is layed on top of the selected size.  The matching tool is placed on top and hit hard to create the half dome shape in the metal.  Each dome is then sawed out by hand, soldered together, and the edges are filed down and polished.  If the beads are stamped, this is done on the metal before and the stamped piece has to be carefully placed so that the stamp work is symmetrically.