Meet Your Instructor
GregorySegura
Award-winning precious metals artist and Santa Fe native Gregory Segura started perfecting his silversmithing skills in the 1990s. He had served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a hotel manager and financial planner but his heart was looking for a new, more creative career path. In, 2008 Gregory picked up his hammer and lit his torch and never looked back.
Although he had taken a metalworking class in the 1980s, Greg’s expertise with silver is largely self-taught. “Working with silver just comes naturally to me,” he admits. “Sculpting, painting, and carving do not come to me with the ease and understanding I feel in working with silver and stones."
Gregory’s work reflects his Spanish and Native American heritage. For each of his original designs, he draws on the legacy of New Mexico’s master silversmiths as well as rich culture and natural beauty of the region. His work encompasses a wide range of diverse designs, from traditional to contemporary, making each piece and unique.
Since launching Santa Fe Silverworks in 2008, he has attracted a loyal following for his attention to quality, detail, and the inherent beauty of his materials. In 2010, he received the E. Boyd Memorial Award for Originality and Expressive Design at Santa Fe’s annual Traditional Spanish Market. That same piece, Corazón de Santa Fe, also won in the market’s precious metals category. That year, 2010, was his debut year juried into the market. In 2013, at Gregory’s forth Traditional Spanish Market, he was awarded the First Place Blue Ribbon in Precious Metals for his 75ct Ruby Sacred Heart Rosary and in 2014 he was awarded once again for his work with a double-sided Sacred Heart necklace, taking second place. Two awards were again given to Gregory in 2016 for his “Viva la Reina” necklace, awarded the poster for the 2017 Las Cruces Spanish Market and was awarded for his gold adorned “Guadalupe Cuff”. Then again in 2018 Gregory was awarded 1st and 2nd place in Precious Metals at Traditional Spanish Market in Santa Fe.
The world-renowned Author, Collector and Dealer of Native American Art, Martha Struever, invited Gregory to be the only Spanish Market Artist during her 2011 Summer Native American Artist Tour.
In 2017 the Albuquerque Museum purchased the necklace “Empress Isabel” for permanent collection and included it in their exhibit “Jewelry From New Mexico”
In 2021 New Mexico Magazine named Gregory as one of 12 Makers New Mexico. Recognition given to artists that inspire and are inspired by New Mexico.
Gregory’s Spanish ancestors arrived in Santa Fe around 1624 and he still calls it home with the love of his life and inspiration, Debra, and their two rescue cats, Benicio del Gato (Lil Buddy) and Wally and two rescue pup's named Steve and Theodore aka Teddy (Ted) aka (NO).
Every piece you choose was created from the “Heart and Soul of Santa Fe”.
Lexi Erickson
LEXI ERICKSON is an internationally known jewelry teacher and artist, known to many through her long association with, frequent cover artist, and contributor to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. She wrote and is featured in her popular instructional DVDs, and has decades of jewelry teaching experience. Starting out with interests ancient art history and archaeology, she quickly became fascinated in the Stone Age and how it evolved into the Bronze and Iron Ages, which led to her taking a jewelry class in college. This led, quite unintentionally, to a Masters Degree in Jewelry Design and Fabrication, with studies at both Texas Tech University and the University of New Mexico, and then an additional teaching degree from Sam Houston State University in Texas. This has given Lexi a unique position of teaching jewelry classes at both the university, community college, and high school level, at national Bead Fests (several here in Santa Fe, where her classes were always a sell-out) and through popular private workshops in her own private studio. She has hosted students from all over the US, Canada, Europe, South America, and Australia in her home. Teaching is her passion, which means Lexi spends time with each student, seeing that they follow the technique she is teaching, but with their own design that has spoken to them. At the end of each series of classes, the student has their own one-of-a kind piece, designed and produced by them. Lexi takes pride in the fact that she helps each student find their own “voice” through design and technique. She has also been a “Best of Fine Craft” and numerous blue ribbon winner at shows and will offer marketing and sales hints, and talk about the real world of doing art and fine craft shows, which she has also juried and judged. She gives you an insider view of the judging process, doing shows, and how to be successful. Lexi lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two lively Bichon’s, but grew up in Midland, Texas, and has family in New Mexico. She understands the beauty, culture and art of the area very well, and our specific design aesthetic of the Southwest…that which makes us so unique.
Donald Lanzer
Donald started making jewelry in high school in 1989 in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Influenced by a childhood friend, he became a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC in 1995 where he studied jewelry fabrication, design, history and gemology. A field trip led to his first job as a jeweler at the Harold Freeman Company also located in NYC.. As a model maker he learned to precisely hand carve wax prototypes from rendered designs. From 1996 to 2003 other skills were learned ranging from stone setting, polishing and CAD design. He went freelance in 2003 where all of his skills enabled him to produce finished pieces of jewelry from start to finish for other jewelry stores in NYC and Long Island, NY. In 2003 Donald graduated from the Gemological Institute of America with his Graduate Gemologist Degree. He has also taken many classes that include Stonesetting at GRS, a 22k Granulation class from Elizabeth Ryle, multiple CAD design classes from Gemvision and multiple classes from Valentin Yotkov for Repousse. Today Donald lives in Santa Fe, NM where he still makes custom jewelry for other local jewelers and for his own clients. Teaching has always been a love of his. He taught Wax Carving, Stone Setting and CAD at Santa Fe Community College from 2008 to 2020.
