Stephanie Medina
- Renowned traditional & contemporary jeweler
- Santo Domingo Pueblo
- Known for colorful, artistic, finely crafted mosaic inlay
- Creates vivid color palettes from genuine gemstones
- SWAIA-Santa Fe Indian Market Artist
- Heard Museum Indian Fair and Market Artist
- Wheelwright Museum Fellowship
Stephanie Medina of Kewa (Santa Domingo) Pueblo comes from a renowned family of jewelers. She learned jewelry-making from her mother, acclaimed artist Rosalie Medina, who was known for her mosaic inlay jewelry, and her grandparents, Joe and Eliza Chavez. As a child, Medina learned to drill turquoise, grind, sand and buff strands of turquoise heishi beads, and was introduced to the complex art of mosaic inlay by her grandmother who created fine inlay thunderbirds. Today, Medina is known for her extraordinary mosaic inlay and lapidary work and has built upon the legacy of her mother and grandmother while adding her own vision and contemporary touches. She works in a range of gemstones and shells, including lapis, turquoise, black jet, pen shell, melon shell, mother of pearl and coral, mixing and matching these to created innovative and unexpected color combinations. Medina’s jewelry has been featured in such prestigious shows as the Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market, the Autry Museum Indian Market and the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show, and she has been the recipient of a Wheelwright Museum fellowship.
"Stephanie Medina’s pieces are an acknowledgment to the older more recognizable jewelry craft of her Pueblo but her personal touch to that style of jewelry makes it contemporary and her own." - Andrew Thomas, Native Art Expert