Precision: Carl and Irene Clark’s Micro-Fine Inlay
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Precision: Carl and Irene Clark’s Micro-Fine Inlay By Faust Gallery
When conceived, a beautiful spirit is given. When we come into this modern world, sometimes people—or even we—cover up the original, real beauty. That spirit is like the sunshine. No matter how dark the clouds cover the sunshine, no matter how dark things are in our lives that we cannot see that beautiful spirit, just like the sun is still shining, our beautiful spirit is still shining. We maintained our Spiritual Path. We would not negotiate our Spiritual Path to accommodate our lifestyle. I am Tl’izi Lani (Many Goat), 1900 AD, from the Kinłachii’ní (Red House), 800 AD. The Red House Clan’s legacy evolved from this collaboration in the ancient days. Our Hopi relations are the Tobacco Clan—this is my mother’s clan. I’m also related to my father’s clan, Bitter Water. Irene is Edge Water and related to Towering People. All our daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters are Edge Water. As children, my younger brother and I imagined our shoes were toy cars. We played by making dirt roads. This imagination and our hands in the dirt are what connected our Spiritual Path to Mother Earth. The second youngest child of 13 in the mid-1950s, we came from meager beginnings—never had toys. But our lives were full of culture and imagination. As a child, I could see for miles—the vastness of the river valley below from our doorstep. Our imagination ran free. The sky was the limit. Our cultural philosophies, Creation, and Beauty Ways reflect art. We journey through evolution, making our lifestyle through a balance of harmony with Mother Earth/Nature. Beauty is before us, behind us, above, and below us. We “Walk in Beauty.” There is no word for art because it’s simply a part of life. “The beginning of reason” is the meaning the Diné give to what others may call art. There are words for paintings, pottery, jewelry, but not for art as something separate. Revealing the family’s ancient culture enlightens the senses we use in our jewelry making. It gives us our reason, purpose, and place. This is our spiritual soul. Native jewelry speaks to a strength of character that goes beyond the maker’s meaning and emotion. It surpasses the maker’s state of fashion. It carries the power of a spiritual blessing—a Spiritual Path of momentous necessity going into our future.Carl & Irene Clark
In the intricate world of Native American jewelry, few artists have pursued precision and symbolism as relentlessly—and as beautifully—as Carl and Irene Clark. Working together as husband and wife, this Diné (Navajo) duo has redefined the limits of inlay, crafting jewelry with astonishing detail and intention. Their signature technique—micro-fine inlay—involves arranging thousands of minuscule stones into complex geometric and symbolic patterns. It took Carl years to develop this technique. Each piece shows a detailed celebration of Diné heritage through their micro-inlay.
Carl and Irene began collaborating in the early 1970s, merging Carl’s silversmithing background with Irene’s eye for detail and balance. Carl was self-taught in 1973 and then taught Irene in 1974. Their micro-fine inlay technique uses incredibly small hand-cut stones—some as small as 1/5000th of an inch wide—set flush into silver or gold. To the naked eye, the finished designs appear seamless, as though painted. But closer inspection reveals a tightly woven mix of turquoise, jet, coral, lapis lazuli, mother of pearl, and other natural stones—each individually shaped and inlaid with precision. Today, the Clarks have taken their inlay further, adding curves and dimension beyond a flat surface.
Their pieces often feature the stylized Navajo Yei figure, Moon God, and Rug Pattern, all deeply rooted in Navajo traditions. But they do not simply replicate tradition; they translate it through their visual language in jewelry.
Their work has garnered widespread acclaim, with awards from Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair, and other juried exhibitions. More importantly, their pieces are held in museum collections and private hands around the world, respected not only as jewelry but as cultural documents, Navajo expressions, and feats of technical mastery.
What makes the Clarks’ work so resonant is not just its difficulty—it’s the devotion behind it. Each piece can take a few months or even years to complete, often for a larger piece like a bracelet hosting 7,500 micro stones, if not more, in the design. It requires steady hands, perfect vision, and total presence.
In an age where fast fashion and shortcuts dominate the mainstream jewelry industry, American Indian jewelers like Carl and Irene Clark remind us that slowness can be revolutionary. Their micro-fine inlay is not just an artistic achievement—it’s a commitment to telling stories that cannot be rushed.
The exquisite philosophical ways come unconsciously. Ancient culture from the past shall endure—and come to last. Even through the worst of times, eternal hope is still alive. God says, “You’re not done,” and I believe that—we’re not done. We journey through evolution, shaping our lifestyle. We’ve tried to pass this cultured heart to the young ones. Now, in our seventies, we’re still giving it a hard fight—fulfilling our honored place, our contribution. We have no choice but to keep working. There is no word for retirement in our vocabulary. Sometimes, we’re not financially secure because we are striving artists. We created the curvature and color-blend inlay technique in 1986. A large bracelet can take two to three years to complete. Times are exquisitely extreme now. With our urban family, our culture is fading through assimilation. It feels that after we are gone, our family culture may no longer exist. It feels like our cultural legacy ends with us. But my feet are secure. I have my basic needs met, so I can continue the work of a lifetime. I have a cultured heart—and I will contribute what I can, no matter how small. I will help provide the foundation for the next chapter of this evolution and movement.Carl & Irene Clark
Want to explore more?
Check out our latest newsletter: Stone by Stone: The Micro Inlay Story of Carl & Irene Clark for another look into the Clarks’ creative process.
And don’t miss our Instagram feature to see their micro-fine inlay work up close.
