Carl and Irene Clark are well known for their extremely fine quality jewelry.  the detail that goes into their handcrafted jewelry is micro-fine inlaying techniques.   Carl was self-taught in 1973 and then taught Irene in 1974.   “I learned all my silver-smithing and inlaying techniques by  trial and error without a teacher or predecessor.  Since there was no category for my type of inlay back the, I then classified it as “micro-fine intarsia”.”

Carl and Irene are both Navajo.  Carl was born in Winslow, Arizona and is from the Manygoat-Redhouse Clan and is related to the Bitterwater Clan.  Irene was born inBird Springs, Arizona, and is from the Edgewater Clan and is related to the Towering People.  The clans are an important part of history to the Navajo, especially to the maternal side.  Carl and Irene use the water symbol as their trademark because they are both from water clans.  The “I” in their sign is for Irene and the “C” is for Carl.

Carl and Irene take pride in their work and it shows in the full detail they create using their traditional reflections.  The Rainbow man Yei that is in their inlay, symbolizes “Jewelry of Protection”.  “Artistically speaking, we use the inlay as a picture and the metal work as a picture frame.”  The Clarks have developed the “Picture” of a micro-fine Rug Design and the Color Blend (from day to night) that creates an authentic technique that makes it hard for “copy cats” to duplicate.  Since their jewelry takes much longer to make than a common piece of jewelry, the Clarks work together to create beautifully handcrafted jewelry with the utmost precision, care and quality.