Arnold Blackgoat
Arnold Blackgoat’s great grandfather was Moses Blackgoat. He was the first silversmith in the Blackgoat family. Moses was from the Lupton area and started making jewelry in the early 1900s. The art of jewelry making has been passed down generation to generation. My great-grandfather passed on the trade to my grandparents, Ben & Helen Blackgoat. They taught my father Harrison, and my mother Jennie also picked up the trade. Now I am the fourth generation in my family to make silver.
He started to silversmith at the age of eight, by helping his grandmother, Helen Blackgoat, his mother Jenny Blackgoat, and his well-known uncle, Carson Blackgoat.
He is known for his precise free hand stamping, using only the highest grade stones and heavy gauge silver.
Arnold talks about making jewelry: “I was with my grandma at the Shiprock Fair. I wanted some money for something at the fair. She tossed me a piece of nickel and told me to make something. That is how I could earn the money to buy what I wanted. I made a stamped buckle and bolo that I sold at the fair. My grandma taught me the value of making my own money and that is what I did.”
“My mother’s work as always has been my inspiration. She always used lots of stamp work and would make each piece a little different. That was my foundation and I just made small changes to the work. I would add extra beads, wire work, homemade bezel, and use better turquoise. Concentrating on making one of a kind pieces.”
