Jonathan Loretto

Jemez (b.1967) Jonathan Loretto is from the village of Walatowa (Jemez Pueblo) and Cochiti Pueblo, and is the son of Snowflake Flower (Stephanie Rhoades) who is well-known for her figurative pottery. He first took up silversmithing, learning to make jewelry at the knee of his older brother, recognized jeweler Phil Loretto. He also did inlay work for several jewelry companies and shops on the Santa Fe Plaza.

Jonathan was educated at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he studied Photography for two years. He also attended Southwestern Indian Polytechnical Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico and studied Culinary Arts for two years. Jonathan first took up silversmithing, learning to make jewelry at the knee of his older brother, Phil. He also did inlay work for several jewelry companies and shops on the Santa Fe Plaza. He enjoyed a successful career as a jeweler, working with noted designers such as Nancy Brown Jewelers, Bagley & Hotchkiss, and worked for Ralph Lauren, designing and making concho belts for his Concho Belt Collection, which Oprah Winfrey wore on the cover of “O” magazine.

At about 17, Loretto turned to pottery making, using his skills as a jewelry designer to decorate the figures he created, inlaying turquoise and semiprecious stones in the clay.