Meet the Artist
Based in idyllic Ojo Sarco on the historic High Road to Taos, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, silversmith and lapidary artist Priscilla Walsen creates stone inlay jewelry, unique hollow forms, handmade “confetti” chains and three-dimensionally sculpted pieces. Using traditional and modern metal-working and lapidary techniques, Walsen is best known for her contemporary and colorful stone inlay designs. A true lapidary artist, she starts by sourcing the highest quality rough genuine gemstone material which she saws, grinds, sands, and polishes, marrying the finely finished stones into one-of-a-kind patterns to create unique jewelry pieces.
Priscilla earned a B.A. in English from Princeton University in 1982. In the 1990s, she began studying lapidary arts. She founded SilverWear Jewelry in 1997 after studying stone inlay techniques at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM. Her stone inlay work was featured in Lapidary Journal (Jewelry Artist) Magazine. She is certified as a Precious Metal Clay (PMC®) Artisan by the Precious Metal Clay Guild.
A Look Inside the Studio
The Work Bench
Working at the jeweler's bench.
The Hot Zone
This is where the soldering and fusing happens.
The Wet Zone
This is the lapidary area of the studio. This is where the stone cutting, cabochon making and stone inlay work happens.
