Featured Artists

The Gem Shop is proud to feature lapidary artists who create extraordinary art that highlight and celebrate the beauty of the mineral world. Our artists this holiday season are Jim Pape, wire wrapper Jennifer Damrow, and Michael Duncan.

Jim Pape has been collecting rocks since the age of nine. What began as a hobby turned into a lifelong interest in collecting, learning, and creating: from cabochons, woodwork, and silversmithing to stained glass creations. Like many artists, his career path was unrelated to his artwork, and he worked in construction for many years before finding his first success at a gallery. Living out in Arizona, Jim has a passion for going out rockhounding and collecting his own material for use in his work. Since he has been a collector for so long, he also has a diverse inventory of material he has purchased from gem shows throughout the years, which ensures truly unique stones show up in his pieces. His knowledge of different trades has culminated in his current work, which combines techniques typically used in other media to create unique decor pieces. Jim's creativity shines in these pieces, where he combines all sorts of agates, jaspers, petrified woods and other gemstones into cohesive pieces of art.

Jennifer Damrow resides in Madison, Wisconsin as full-time jewelry designer and owner of Exclusive Inspirations. She works with her spouse and partner, Evan Radant, to carefully select and/or collect and cut each gemstone. Jennifer and Evan are fortunate to be able to work closely with the owners of many mineral and gemstone mines to bring you a unique and diverse selection of different stones! Jennifer uses Argentium Sterling Silver and 14/20 14kt gold-filled wire to create her one-of-a-kind designs. The pair travel to gem and art shows across the Midwest throughout the year, sharing their treasures in different communities and local businesses. Combining exceptional craftsmanship, quality materials, and truly special stones, any jewelry created by Jennifer and Evan is a piece to cherish.

Michael Duncan is a retired scientist living in Maryland. He has always been interested in rocks, minerals, and geology. As a child, he lived in Montana and collected Montana Agates along the Yellowstone river with his parents. As an adult, he has continued collecting in many parts of the US and even in Morocco, dabbling in lapidary work on and off during the years. Now partially retired, Mike has finally found the time to truly explore his creative mosaics, shown here. He still enjoys going to the rock and mineral shows, especially Tucson, to find interesting stones to include in his pieces.

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