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Denise Wallace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Denise Wallace
Born1957
NationalityAmerican (Sugpiaq)
Known forJewelry

Denise Wallace (born 1957) is a Native American jeweler and member of the Sugpiaq tribe.

Early life and education

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Wallace, of Alutiiq descent (also called Sugpiaq Eskimo) was born in 1957 in Seattle.[1] After high school she spent time in Alaska where her grandmother lived.[2] She studied lapidary work and silversmithing in Seattle, and at age 19 began to study at Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe.[3] She received her AA in fine arts from IAIA in 1981.[1] Wallace lived in Santa Fe for twenty years before moving to the Big Island of Hawaii in 1999.[4]

Career

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A notable jeweler, Wallace's work exhibits the "major motif of transformation",[5] with movable components including doors, latches, removable parts and hidden compartments. She has stated that the doors are based on traditional masks which sometimes include a face which opens to reveal another face, and described this motif as "a way to show the transformation of the inner spirit of an animal, person, or object".[6] She creates pieces from gold, silver, fossil ivory, coral and semiprecious stones.[1][7] Wallace also uses fossilized mammoth and mastodon ivory and walrus tusk in her work.[4] The jewelry sometimes includes depictions of figures dressed with Native American textiles and embroidery. She has been called "among the finest jewelry designers of the twentieth century".[2]

Personal life

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Wallace married Samuel Wallace from Virginia, with whom she has two children.[7]

Exhibitions

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Farris 1999.
  2. ^ a b Kirkham 2002, p. 117.
  3. ^ Indian Artist 1997.
  4. ^ a b Levin, Jennifer. "Horns of the dilemma: Tackling the ivory issue". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  5. ^ Lauria & Fenton 2007, p. 256.
  6. ^ This path we travel : celebrations of contemporary Native American creativity. Walter Bigbee, National Museum of the American Indian. George Gustav Heye Center. [Washington, D.C.] 1994. p. 114. ISBN 1-55591-205-2. OCLC 30472930.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ a b Matthews 2005, p. 33.
  8. ^ "Arctic Transformations: The Jewelry of Denise and Samuel Wallace | National Museum of the American Indian". americanindian.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-23.

Sources

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Further reading

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