(1980-Present)
Tribal Affiliation: Hopi
“I am very proud and it is very important to me that I carry on the tradition of bead making. Since I was a little girl I have loved stones. Now that I am older working with stones, taking each piece of raw rough Turquoise and making in to a beautiful piece of jewelry to wear and to cherish bring such a good feeling to my heart. I love it more and more each day and I feel very fortunate to have learned such a beautiful art.” –Piki
Piki Wadsworth is carrying on the tradition of the finest bead making; very few Native American artists or any other artists for that matter are able to create such beautiful beads. She was born into a family who has made beautiful beads from natural turquoise for about 35 years.
She is the daughter of Cheryl Yestewa and Glenn Wadsworth, who are known for creating some of the finest hand rolled turquoise necklaces. She was born at home on Second Mesa of Hopi Reservation and is number three of nine children. She is the only child of renowned artist Cheryl Yestewa that is carrying on the tradition of the gorgeous handmade turquoise beads. She has been around the art all her life, and helped to drill and string beads for her parents at the young age of 10.
Although Piki lives in California with her two daughters, she comes to New Mexico and Arizona to visit family and sell her jewelry. Piki loves and appreciates the outdoors, and spends her spare time enjoying hiking and biking with her girls.
She is rapidly becoming one of the best Native American bead makers. Her exquisite pieces are found in many galleries who carry the finest jewelry.