Biography

Ray Van Cleve, Contemporary Southwestern Jeweler and Metal Artist

For more than 40 years, Ray Van Cleve has been fabricating elegant limited edition and one-of-a-kind silver and gold jewelry. Ray was initially recognized for creating saucer, acorn, overlaid and melon-shaped beaded necklaces out of sheet silver. His work has expanded to include belt buckles, pendants, bracelets, small boxes and freestanding metal sculptures.

Rather than hire employees or use the jewelry casting process, Ray chooses to personally hand cut and form all components. The only mass-produced part of his work is the sterling silver chain upon which necklaces are strung. 

The act of making jewelry is a meditative process for Ray, whose greatest professional pleasure is in knowing that clients delight in wearing his work. He usually incorporates semi-precious stones, such as turquoise and lapis, into his jewelry because they generate great warmth and are closely connected to the earth.

Ray learned how to cut stones and polish silver from a Zuni Pueblo silversmith in Gallup. When he moved to Santa Fe in the early 1970s, he made his first strands of sterling silver beads with hand-held metal cutters and other simple tools of the trade. Ray continues to live in Santa Fe with his wife, abstract painter and arts writer Emily Van Cleve.

The Van Cleve family history is firmly rooted in the great Southwest. Ray was born in Safford, Arizona and grew up in a rural community north of Dallas, Texas. The Van Cleves, who have been ranching and farming in the Southwest for more than 150 years, have many fascinating tales to tell about life in the Old West. 

According to family legend, Ray’s grandfather received help in changing a wagon wheel from prominent Apache leader Geronimo, who was trying to escape capture by the U.S. Army when the two men met along the old Santa Fe Trail.