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SWAIA ARTIST Profile

Jonathan McKinney

Name
Jonathan McKinney
Tribe
Pueblo of Acoma
Juried Classification(s)
Jewelry

SWAIA Booth History

SFIM25
SFIM24
MAR 803
WIM25

2024 Best of Show Awards

First Place
N/A
Second Place
N/A
Honorable Mentions
N/A

2025 Best of Show Awards

First Place
N/A
Second Place
N/A
Honorable Mentions
N/A
Portfolio Example & Artist Statement
Jonathan McKinney

I create jewelry in Argentium silver, 18K and 14K gold, semi-precious and precious stones inspired by my cultural background (Acoma Pueblo) with a modern spin. Since I primarily use Argentium, I prefer to fuse, rather than solder my pieces together, which gives sharper, cleaner results without solder joints. I love using a mix of color with natural stones and shells such as sugilite, lapis, mother-of-pearl, coral, and turquoise. It�s important to me to use the highest quality materials available, especially in turquoise, which is a personal passion of mine. Precious stones I use include diamond, sapphire of all colors, tourmaline, aquamarine, and garnet. I love to fabricate/form metal from ingots, especially in gold. I use traditional stamping and overlay techniques, and especially like to use stamps I create myself. I use a variety of stone-setting methods from basic bezel to channel setting. I employ different techniques depending on the project and final design objective.