Pat Pruitt is a contemporary artist of Laguna, Chiricahua Apache and Anglo descent who is known for his cutting-edge work that uses innovative materials, design and fabrication techniques. He first learned jewelry-making by studying with Laguna jewelers Greg Lewis and Charlie Bird, who gave him a solid foundation in traditional materials like silver and copper and traditional techniques such as repoussé. In college Pruitt studied mechanical engineering and worked as a machinist, an experience that led him to open Custom Steel Body Jewelry. With his knowledge of machining technology and his love of working in stainless steel, he developed his distinctive style of stainless steel jewelry that challenges notions of what Native American jewelry is. Pruitt’s Native American heritage inspires his jewelry but he gives every design a contemporary, industrial edge. Pruitt has received first and second place awards at Santa Fe Indian Market and Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market and currently lives in the village of Paguate in Laguna Pueblo.