Charlene Sanchez Reano of San Felipe Pueblo is a fabulous mosaic jeweler who started making jewelry at age 18. She is the sister-in-law of Angie Reano Owen and Rose Reano and the daughter-in -law of Clara Lovato Reano, all from whom she initially learned jewelry making.
She is known for her "sandwich" necklaces such as the one above with the shell blank sandwiched between two different colored mosaic designs. The first step in the process is cutting the blanks out of shell. Then she attaches the small mosaic pieces to both sides of the blank in their rough form. Finally she grinds the glued mosaic pieces flush then polishes them to a high shine.
