Eleanor at Heard Museum sculpture garden, 2016.
Eleanor Beck, 1959-2016
Eleanor (Taneeszahnii/Tsédeeshgizhnii/Tohdích’i’nii/Kinyaa’áanii) was born in Keams Canyon, AZ but raised in nearby Piñon on the Navajo reservation. Her mother is a well-known weaver, excelling in “Chief Blankets” and “Two Grey Hills” designs. She grew up in a tight knit community, graduating from Chinlé High School in 1978. Shortly after graduating she met and married her husband, Victor Beck.
Eleanor Beck then attended Northern Arizona University (NAU) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. But it was in the 1980s when she began assisting her husband whose career and work started to excel at that time. After many years of practice and learning the mechanics and techniques of modern jewelry, she worked professionally as an artisan for five years. She continued to develop her own style and craft until her passing in 2016.
She sought to combine influences from her experience and influences surrounding her in her own unique and elegant approach. Today, her daughter and jeweler Nanibaa continues to capture these elements in her own collection titled, Shima' (My Mother).
Overall, Eleanor's earrings captured the clean simplicity of contemporary designs. She used sterling silver with wavy patterns or a tear drop frame that incorporates wire on the outside of the stone; including coral, jade, or lapis lazuli. In her necklaces, she used handmade sterling silver beads, inlaid coral, or turquoise stones with her own stamp work. She also created bracelets and custom made her jewelry to accommodate special requests. Her sterling silver necklace received an honorable mention at the Museum of Northern Arizona Navajo Show in August of 2013.
She is survived by her husband, daughters Kehazbaa and Nanibaa, son Victor Jr., grandson Nathan, and a beautiful extended family, Eleanor passed away in August 2016 of ALS.