ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gerard "Lumpy" Kindt
Gerard "Lumpy" Kindt
Gerard's experiences have been diverse and enjoyable. Since graduating from Penn State in 1972 he has worked in various occupations. While his outside interests usually included some sort of artistic endeavor his real artsy side was not fully realized until he and wife Karla bought the Teton Art Gallery business in downtown Jackson Hole. At that time he was appraising commercial real estate In Jackson and would occasionally cover as a clerk in the store. Included in the business purchase were silversmithing tools and findings. During slow winter shifts he would experiment with bead stringing and silversmithing. Before long he had taught himself to be a budding silversmith. Over time, trial and error and experience have allowed him to become a proficient silversmith. Gerard's creative side has had a chance to become fully developed and he has since designed many sterling creations. His most successful designs began as wire sculpture wildlife broaches, and have since expanded to more elaborate sterling gold and gemstone creations.
In 2001 Gerard retired from real estate appraising and currently devotes full time to his artistic endeavors. Most recently he has been practicing lapidary arts and is now cutting and finishing most of the stones used in his finished work. He uses precious gems but favors semi-precious stones for his creations, stones like elk ivory, turquoise, opal, azurite, agate, jade, jaspers. Gerard creates many one of a kind all sterling items, but has also been expermenting with using other metals such a gold copper and bronze. He had a mineral claim in central Wyoming and occasionally has time to collect specimins there to cut into finished stones for his inventory. He has mastered wire wrapping techniques and creates many interesting wrapped pendants, bracelets, rings, and such. He has been using many locally collected stones in his creations, and will do so as long as customers keep supporting this endeavor. Gerard enjoys getting outdoors, boating and fishing, and incorporates prospecting and rock hounding passions with those activities and has collected many outstanding mineral samples .