Sterling Silver “Loco Cactus” Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco [SOLD]

What could be more “Arizona” than a saguaro cactus?  Apache artist Jan Loco made this sterling silver pin to reflect New Mexico’s neighboring state.  The finish is polished silver with a few stamped images to reflect the texture of the flowering cactus. On the back, she inscribed Apache handmade, Jan Loco, “Loco Cactus” Sterling.

Jan Loco began making jewelry in 1988. She developed a unique method of creating jewelry without the use of any power tools.  Using only heavy-duty shears, she cut and fashioned her piece to the desired shape, after which she hammered it with a specially selected rock until she achieved the desired texture.  This is a laborious task, but she felt it honored her ancestry to use items of nature rather than power tools.

Jan Loco became interested in Apache symbolism and legend when, as a young adult, she discovered her Apache ancestry. Her work is inspired by the stories of her ancestors, incorporating designs reflecting the heavens, Apache legends as well as plants and animals of the Apache homeland.  She did not learn of her Warm Springs Apache heritage from her adoptive parents until she was an adult. It was then that she learned she was the great granddaughter of Chief Loco, one of the last of the Apache chiefs, who had been imprisoned in Florida in 1886 by the U. S. government.

Jan Loco no longer is making jewelry.  She moved from New Mexico some years ago and her whereabouts are unknown.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Sterling Silver "Loco Cactus" Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco is from the collection of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest by Sarah Peabody and William Turnbaugh

Relative Links: jewelry, Apache, Jan Loco, Apache Jeweler