Mike is Pascua Yaqui, and makes his home in Nambe Pueblo, where Margie his wife, has family. It was at Nambe he received his name NaNa Ping, given by Margie’s grandfather. It means Aspen Mountain in Tewa.
A third generation jeweler, Mike learned basic metalwork and lapidary skills from his uncles, while he was in his teens. By twenty, he was making his own pieces. At first his contemporary style wasn’t well received. A hiatus from jewelry making was taken while Mike and Margie ran two off-set printing companies for more than a decade.
