Born in 1962, Edison Cummings (Navajo) has been an active jeweler since the early 1990s. He graduated from Holbrook High School in Arizona in 1981 and then moved to Santa Fe to study at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Initially he studied painting, having been inspired when a young man by Navajo painter Jim Abeita. But soon Edison’s interests began to shift toward three-dimensional art, particularly sculpture, and he also took a few jewelry classes. He left New Mexico to attend Arizona State University in Tempe to pursue an art education degree. For five years he worked at the White Hogan in Scottsdale, getting hands-on experience and incorporating his artistic ideas into jewelry and flatware. He currently lives in Arizona. Edison’s style is contemporary. His sculptural pieces are often sleek, unusually shaped teapots and coffeepots. They are made using a difficult metal stretching technique. He creates his fabricated jewelry (bracelets, earrings, pendants, pins, and rings) using gold, silver, and set stones. His inspiration comes from such diverse images as a well-designed building or the lines of a highway guard rail.

Source:  wheelwright.org