Buddy Lee (1941-2018)

Buddy Lee is a self-taught artist with a wonderful imagination and a unique sense of design. He makes one-of-a-kind pieces of “wearable art.” He loves carving his own stones; his specialty is carving faces in mastodon ivory. He is also very versatile in his creations; some will take on an Eskimo feel while others could be Indian, African, or abstract. Many of his pieces are sculptures as well as jewelry. No two pieces are alike and each piece is copywrited under Buddy Lee.

He receives inspiration from many sources. Sometimes he had visions of pieces before he makes them. Usually he just begins the work and the piece develops on its own. “I feel like I am just the instrument,” says Buddy Lee. He can start to make a piece and before it is finished it becomes something completely different from what he had in mind. He says, “The piece becomes what it wants to become.”

Buddy Lee has a great following of collectors who wait eagerly for his next creation. Buddy Lee says “No one likes my work more that I do,” but I think there are many customers that would disagree with that statement.

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78-261 Mastodon Ivory Face Cuff Bracelet

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78-261 Mastodon Ivory Face Cuff Bracelet

$2,500.00

Handmade Sterling Silver with Mastodon Ivory with Sterling Corn Stalk Harvest and Blue Turquoise Corn Cuff Bracelet

by Buddy Lee

5 1/2” inside circumference x 1 1/4” opening

Mastodon Face: 3 1/2” long x 2” wide

This cuff is somewhat adjustable in size

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(1941- 2018) The late, great artist, Buddy Lee was a self-taught jeweler with a wonderful imagination and unique sense of design. His one-of-a-kind pieces of “wearable art” told stories rich in culture with a deep appreciation for the natural world. He carved his own stones and his work is most recognized by the forms cut from 20,000 year old mastodon ivory.

He made each piece sculptural and versatile often finding inspiration in African, American Indian and Eskimo traditions. Buddy Lee had visions of pieces before he made them and felt that the work developed organically on it’s own. Buddy Lee once shared, “I feel like I am just the instrument and the piece becomes what it wants to become.”

Buddy Lee’s jewelry is treasured by collectors from around the world. He loved surprising his followers and always challenged himself to come up with new ideas that made people smile. Buddy Lee’s talent was as big as his heart, and his whimsy left a lasting impression on the art world.