Collection: Keli'i Eli - Zuni Fetishes

Keli'i Eli is a Zuni Puebloan second generation self-taught fetish carver and stone sculptor born and raised in Zuni, New Mexico. He first started carving Zuni fetishes on a whim in November of 2015 as a means to provide for his family while attending the Dental Assisting program at the University of New Mexico.

Keli'i's influences as an artist stems from his Zuni beliefs that we are all connected in one form or another. It was once said by his grandfather that when we pass on, we become everything…the soil we plant in, the air that we breathe, the rain that is needed to give life, and the nourishment we receive from the crops that we grow.

Throughout the past three years of carving, Keli'i truly believes that the stone chooses the artist. He has been blessed with the vision to take the stone from its raw form and with prayer and traditional techniques, is able to carve what the stone tells him it wants to be - breathing life into the stone. In most times, while carving, the stone would chip off in ways he never intended the stone to do, but this is just the stone telling him that it wants to take a different form.

Each stone is different in its raw form and in the end, not one carving is the same, making it truly unique and one of a kind. He is known for carving natural stones such as Number 8 Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Bumblebee Jasper, Argentina Black Marble, Picasso Marble, Pennsylvania Black Jet, Frog Skin Serpentine and a variety of Alabasters just to name a few.