Alvin Thompson

Alvin is a highly regarded Navajo silversmith who has perfected the art of ‘sand casting’ to produce exquisite pieces of work. He was born in Winslow Arizona but spent much of his younger life in Seba Dalkai area on the Navajo Reservation north of Winslow. Alvin’s talent is a family tradition, he learned sand casting from his sister. Alvin describes his work method as ‘unassisted hand poured cast silver,’ a process that involves using a sand medium for mold into which the silver is poured. He ‘carves’ designs into the sand or creates impressions in the sand with patterns.