Andy Lee Kirk (Isleta)
Andy Lee Kirk Isleta Pueblo and Navajo learned the basics of jewelry making at the University of New Mexico where he received a degree in Biology. He continued to make jewelry while employed by first the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, then the Forest Service. But the artist's call was stronger than that of his other interests, and eventually became a full-time jeweler.
Influenced by the late Hopi artist Charles Loloma and Navajo jeweler Gibson Nez, Kirk is versatile and prolific. He does lapidary work, including rolling his own beads, and has mastered all types of precious metalwork including lost wax and sandcast techniques, stamping, engraving, overlay and fabrication. He has taught these techniques to his daughter Melanie, as well as his brother Michael.
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