Frederick L. Shute Resume
Frederick Shute, as a lifelong student of comparative religion and mysticism spent his early years living in Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. He returned to the United States in 1973 and entered the University of Maryland a year later, majoring in philosophy, before transferring to the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was in Flagstaff that Frederick discovered a new love, geology, and continued his study in that field.
Following his tenure at Northern Arizona Frederick embarked on a career as an importer of gems and jewelry. From 1978 to 1983 he traveled between the United States, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia. It was during this time that he began designing jewelry containing gold and precious gems with the influences of the world's cultures and past civilizations.
In 1980 Frederick returned to the states and arrived in Moscow, Idaho where he started Gem State Crystal a mineral, art gallery, jewelry store. The jewelry created by Frederick during this time was a combination of ancient influences and modern sculptures. Frederick sees jewelry as creating three dimensional freestanding pieces using the same material as jewelry, precious metals and gems.
Following the success of Gem State Crystals in Moscow, Frederick opened up a store in Boise in 1983. For the next ten years he expanded his knowledge and understanding of comparative religion and sculpture and began to test the limits of casting in solid gold and silver. In 1992 he began developing ideas for sculpting deities of ancient civilizations.
In 1996, Mythological Images was born. The images created and shown here are the result of a five year creative process, which continues today. Each is cast in solid 24 carat gold or solid sterling silver and are created using the same casting methods used by ancient artisans.
The limited edition sculptures by Frederick Shute have been displayed at a special showing at the Morrison Performing Arts Center in Boise, Idaho in December of 1996. A display of the solid gold mythological images were also featured at: New York Jewelers of America, July 1998; Tucson Gem & Mineral, February 1998 and 1999; and Ramses Mineral & Jewelry Gallery, Sedona, Arizona in May 1999.
return to the Frederick L. Shute studio