Ron Striegel - Firehawk Designs

Ron Striegel is a celebrated, award-winning keeper of Nishnabé metal smithing. Examples of Nishnabé crafts are rare. Since 1996, Striegel has worked to rediscover, revive, and reinvent this art form in a way that brings the past, present, and future together. Through his work, he has become a modern Keeper of the Fire.

Each work is a celebration of his culture. Ron uses examples of Nishnabé silverwork found in old paintings, photographs and sketches as inspiration. His style uses both these examples as well as traditional and contemporary designs and techniques.

“It starts with an idea that I get from looking at nature.”

Ron works with a few distinct techniques. Using stamp work and overlay, Ron creates layered mountain scenes. These reflect personal moments for Ron - or in some cases mountains of great importance to the commissioner of the work. Each mountain is cut out in silver or gold. Details are added to the scene using sculpted pieces of metal, stamp-work or stone accents. Ron uses high quality turquoise, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other stones in his work.

“His work provides an opportunity for educating others on who the Citizen Potawatomi were and are today.” - Potawatomi.org

Fire, Stones & Style

Nature and fire come together in both his craft and in the natural stones he uses. The technique of joining different metals together is not something every smith has mastered. Ron has to be patient and methodical in his work, especially working in the heavy gauge for which he is known. Too much heat and the metals become fire-scaled or worse, melt; too little and the solder will not run everywhere it’s needed.

Soldering isn’t the end of it. Ron works with a single small wholesaler in Durango, CO to select the turquoise for his work, and is equally selective in sourcing other stones.

Heritage

Ron is descended from Chief Naunongee (also spelled “Nan Non Gee”), a Nishnabé chief said to have lived to 102. Through the signing of many treaties with the United States, the Nashnibé, and other tribes, were moved west, eventually reaching modern day Oklahoma.

“The Darling family made countless contributions to the fabric of life that would become Oklahoma and Potawatomi county” - Potawatomi.org

From Chief Naunongee, Ron traces his lineage to Chopa Neebosh, Archange Ouilmette, Elizabeth Ouilmette, then the Darlings, beginning with Francis Darling, Carrie May Darling and eventually to Evert Lester Striegel, and J.R. Striegel, Ron’s father.

Ron was raised near Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family had a cabin in Taos - a few hours north of Albuquerque, tucked under the Taos Mountain - where Ron spent much of his youth. Ron has strong memories of being in the Taos plaza, watching the vendors and artisans work and sell there. The Navajo silversmiths who used to demonstrate on the plaza stuck in his mind.

Ron also recalls his father encouraging him to learn and understand his culture and to connect with it. In 1996, Ron attended a regional meeting of the Citizen Potawatomi. He recalls Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett, Jr. delivering a lecture on the disappearing language and arts of the people and the responsibility that all Nishnabé share in rediscovering and passing on those aspects of their culture.

This would all come together to inspire Ron’s work.

The process of making "Taos Mountain" - Each mountain bracelet begins with a photo or sketch of the mountain which is placed over a silver sheet, cut and layered - as many as 4-layers - to create a unique and stunning scene.

Artist's Statement

I grew up in New Mexico and was interested in silversmithing at a young age after seeing Navajo silversmithing demonstrations as a boy. I was fascinated by the torch that the smiths used with the blue flame. I am Citizen Potawatomi, the people of the place of the fire. While at a regional meeting in the 1990s Chairman Barrett gave a lecture on the disappearing language and arts of the Potawatomi and the responsibility that all Potawatomi share in recapturing those aspects of our culture. I began silversmithing shortly after his talk.

Following the Potawatomi tradition, I began silversmithing using heavy gauge sterling silver which creates its own problems with heating and bending the metal. In the last decade or so, I’ve specialized in layering metals to create 3d images of mountain scenes and in using gold along with sterling silver. Since gold and silver melt at significantly different temperatures, this has been challenging to learn this technique. I’ve vaporized a bit of gold along the way learning how this technique can be used successfully.

I’ve been fortunate to have produced some works that have won awards in art shows, including the Potawatomi Art Competition, Denver Cultural Heritage Festival and Lamar County Colorado Art Competition. Thank you for considering my art. I am always honored when someone purchases one of my works.

Learn more about the Citizen Potawatomi Nation at: https://www.potawatomi.org/