My lapidary and jewelry metal work is a direct result of my passion for mineral collecting. Working the Tripp mine I knew I would be moving from the mineral specimen market to the lapidary jewelry market. I took a gemstone cutting class which clicked. My concave, fantasy gemstones and carvings are not standard shapes or in calibrated sizes so finding sources for jewelry settings was difficult. Therefore I took jewelry classes at Manchester Institute of Art which also clicked. Taking a raw piece of gem rough, that I have mined, cutting a gemstone, designing and fabricating it’s setting and creating a finished jewelry piece is so gratifying.
