Gift Shop
Our Mission
We provide an opportunity for local artists to showcase and sell their new and current works. We strive to inspire our talented community by providing a platform for their growth and improvement as artists within a creative retail environment.
Our Gift Shop features several local artists and their handcrafted works. Items are always changing with new and exciting goods that pertain to St. George and surrounding areas. The artists featured range in age, experience, and medium. Artists submit brief biographical statements to feature in the museum as well as on our website and social media platforms. Most works are sold on consignment where a majority of revenue goes straight to the artist. We aim to create an educational yet profitable space for local artists and invite you to explore the many treasures we have in store!
Our Featured Artists
Shirley Smith
Shirley is originally from the Midwest, and discovered her passion for photography in 2012 shortly before moving to Southern Utah. She had her own solo show in the St. George Art Museum in 2020 titled “Alternative Vision” that featured her infrared, macro, and abstract photography. Additionally, she has also been on display at Red Cliffs Gallery, Zions Bank Staircase Gallery, Mesquite Fine Art Gallery, and more. More recently, she has discovered her passion for alcohol ink painting and experimenting in other creative outlets. One thing she is currently working on is honing her photography skills to be able to teach beginning photography classes.
“I want to capture the feelings, colors, and textures the world provides to us to see and experience. I do this through photography and alcohol ink—Come see my world!”
Megan Brown
Megan is originally from Lyman, Utah. She moved to St. George to attend college in 2013. When she graduated, she quit her job flipping crepes and turned her passion of graphic design into a full-time freelance business in 2018 which is her proudest artistic achievement to date. She is currently working on creating a sticker for every US National Park in the country. She is inspired by the outdoors and combines that with her own simplistic art style to achieve her unique designs. Her business is titled “Wildtree” and she currently sells pins and stickers in our gift shop. Now that she works for herself, she spends her days drawing and designing and bringing the beauty of the outdoors to us through her art.
Kierstin Madsen
I have never been content with only looking at things. To fully understand and discover something, I had to touch it. I had to get a feel for it. I desired to experience the things that interested me through my hands. My Junior year of High School I took my first metalsmith class. It was in that class I realized my hands weren’t just used for experiencing things, but also had the power to create things that could be experienced. At that realization, an instant connectivity was formed between my body and soul. Soon I was filled with an inspired and rushing desire to share my perceptions of the beauty that surrounded me. My hands were the conduit for those desires; so I became a sculptor.
I have been creating jewelry and metalworking for 15 years. I found it outstanding and inspiration how simple elements like copper, bronze or silver could become such profound unique items of self-expression. But not just that, how with creating wearable art, I had a way to invite others on my journey of true self identification and open expression.
In 2018 I started MPE Designs as a conduit to allow anyone an opportunity to experience and add art to their life in a variety of mediums. My husband children and I work together to create unique handmade items that ring and resonate with those who encounter them. We also serve as a starting point for anyone who has a desire for something unique but need help understanding how to bring that dream to life. We work in metal, fiber arts, canvas, paper, wood, leather and much more. Each set or run we create is unique. I create to live. I live to love. I love to create.
My studies included the earning of an Associate of Fine Art from Casper College in Casper, Wy and the earning of my Bachelors of Fine Art with an emphasis in Sculpture and Metal-Smithing from Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID.
Kaylee Fisher
My name is Kaylee Fisher and I'm a 23 year old pyrography artist. On May 4th, 2019 I received my Bachelors of Art Degree from Dixie State University. Since then I have run my art business from home full time. My pyrography art is inspired by nature and spirituality.
Ridge Merrill
Ridge Merrill was born in 1998 but his story began long before that — late 1600s in the Connecticut colony of the United States, to be more precise. There lived a humble family of potters. This occupation was passed on from father to son for eight generations taking them across colony and state lines over the next two centuries. Lead poisoning from the glazes they used back in those days brought the family profession to a halt in the late 1800s...until their descendant, Ridge Merrill came along.
Back to 1998. Ridge was a quiet and thoughtful boy born in Mesa, Arizona. His childhood consisted of red lollipops, singing with his siblings, and digging sand tunnels with cousins. During his senior year of high school Ridge spontaneously decided to take a pottery class. He quickly realized clay was a better medium than the sand he was accustomed to.
After a few bumps in the road of life, a college class led a battered Ridge back to pottery. His passions for mental health and creativity seemed to meet perfectly in the clay. As his ancestors cheered from the heavens, Ridge decided he would spend his life on the potter’s wheel. He started a business cleverly named “Oridgenal Pottery” in 2018.
Creating with clay brings light into Ridge’s life and helps him feel more connected with the world around him. His love for pottery and connection eventually led him to his wife, McKinley. She stumbled on his social media business page and one thing quickly led to another.
Ridge and McKinley currently live in Southern Utah, where he is exploring his personal pottery style and studying Fine Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics at Dixie State University. And yes, Ridge still thanks his ancestors for helping him bring back the family trade.
Todd & Lucy Duke
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve"
Todd & Lucy run a family-owned handcrafted leather business in Ivins Utah. They relocated from Northwest Colorado in the winter of 2017. They are a husband and wife team who have been making leather goods since 2012 while raising their 4 children.
One of their goals is to use their leather supplies in an eco-friendly way to illuminate waste. All their scraps are saved and used to develop unique items that share their passion for leather and their love for the art of stamping leather. Their handmade keychains were born from this desire. They produce and design their own leather stamps, locally, which allows them to make one-of-a-kind, hand-stamped leather jewelry, keychains, and company swag...
Todd & Lucy are self-taught leather makers who are passionate about teaching their children to work hard, to have an entrepreneurial spirit, and to love their country.
Their drive comes from a desire is to create everyday essentials, made from high-quality full-grain leather hides, that that will last a lifetime.
From Hide to hand - they make it all!
Tracy Thuringer
I consider myself an artist from the college of life. I love art in all mediums, for its color, texture and creativity that is brought to life by the artist’s mind’s eye and interpretation.
Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Orem; I spent my working career on the central coast of California working for Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, in the criminal division. Beginning as a typist clerk, I retired after 31 years, as Administrator of the case management system.
I first discovered ceramics in my early 20’s and instantly fell in love. I was fortunate enough to work at a large ceramic warehouse where I learned all the ins and outs of slip cast ceramics. From casting molds to loading kilns and everything in between. When the art of ceramics faded away, I turned to other mediums to fill the void and found a love for painting and stained glass. It wasn’t until 2018 that I discovered block clay when I took a class “make your own slab vase” and fell in love all over again. Although I continue to enjoy working with other mediums, creating with clay, in all its forms, is the medium that draws most of my attention. My main focus is functional items but, I very much enjoy combining many techniques on one piece. Hand building brings me the most joy and satisfaction. The creative possibilities are endless.
When my hands aren’t covered with clay, I enjoy spending time with my husband, family and friends, flower gardening, walking my dogs, quilting, taking classes, baking and decorating holiday sugar cookies.
Dona Fisher
Ashlee LeBaron
Ashlee’s love for photography began early in life and has continued to grow and develop through the years. In the midst of obtaining her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Photography, from the University of Utah, she discovered her love for photographing the small towns of Southern Utah and the people living in them.
As a native of St. George she loves where she lives, and the beauty and history of the area. Many places around Washington County have great meaning to her, and her family, beginning with her pioneer ancestors who settled the area. This historical connection has had a major impact on her art in recent years, in which she has chosen to spend her time photographing historical buildings in St. George and surrounding rural areas.
Recently she has partnered with her aunt and has experimented with digital art and has enjoyed the limitless creativity with that medium.
Mel Scott
Professional Artist and instructor Mel SCOTT is proficient in a variety of mediums. She is adventurous and has a no fear attitude regarding unusual mediums working with alcohol ink, TomBow pens, pouring watercolors, acrylics, oils, pastel, pencils and mixed media.
Mel is a graduate of Dixie State College and SUU with a BFA. She is affiliated with the Southern Utah Watercolor Society as one of the 10 original founding members and was the first president of that organization.
Mel is a member of the Southern Utah Art Guild, the Red Cliff Gallery in St.George and Gallery 35 (Dixie Watercolor Society as a signature / charter member).
Her paintings hang in private homes throughout the country and in Europe. St. George City permanent collection included. After retirement from teaching art at Dixie State College Mel taught 10 years at Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts as head of the visual art department. Upon retirement she and her husband Gene served an LDS mission Mel where she taught drawing and painting in Oregon.
Returning to St.George Mel was asked to teach watercolor and drawing classes for Dixie State University as part of the ICL program.
During this covid year Mel has been teaching private, and small group sessions in the Mel Scott Gallery by appointment only.
“I always knew I was an artist!” My earliest recollections of childhood (in Indiana) are full of paints, chalk, pencils, charcoal, collage…….. My parents seemed to know that ART was vital to my spiritual being.
As a wife, and mother to 6 children it has not always been easy to find time to paint. My husband, Gene Scott is my biggest cheerleader supporting my every venture.
It is my joy to continue sharing the arts with others. I love to watch the art eyes turn on… People seem to walk… No float when they create.
Wil Adams
Wil Adams is an artist who enjoys creating desert life and southwest vibe art using acrylic, watercolors, and digital drawing with his own unique distinctive designs and characteristics.
Since he lives in southern Utah, a lot of his artwork leans towards cactus, sand, sun, feathers and more recently dream catchers have started to make their way into his artwork. In addition, he’s always enjoyed inspirational quotes and being a massage therapist, so healing vibes are a big part of his life and he pours those intentions into his artwork.
He’s always been into art and crafts his whole life, and as he has started to near retirement he wanted to reinvent himself. A few years back, he started to paint for stress relief and now it has turned into an opportunity for him to continue working in his later years.
Wil studied visual arts in college and worked as a professional photographer for several years after college. Around 30 years ago Wil decided to make a change and pursue a career in the healing arts as a massage therapist. Through those years he was always drawn back to his passion to create visual arts and crafts as a way to relax and bring himself back to center. Some of his favorite past art mediums were photography, lapidary, silversmith and polymer clay work. These mediums also allowed him to create wonderful gifts for close friends and family, but he never really wanted to share his work beyond that point, until he discovered he loved to paint.
He finds that painting to be the most relaxing and creative of all the mediums. It allows him to focus, yet still is able to release the creative passion that derives within him in an abstract way. He continues by saying, “It’s not about controlling every aspect of the work, it’s about laying down an idea or feeling and allowing the colors and paint to transform into a beautiful piece of artwork.”
Raquel Coburn
"My ceramic pieces are influenced by nature, the home, and traditional Chinese pottery. I am inspired by the organic repeating patterns found within nature. Flowers have continued to take on significant meaning as I have studied floriography and the Victorian Language of flowers. I love that flowers can carry individual messages. The different flowers portrayed in my ceramic arrangements symbolize a distinct message or emotion. Unlike words, and like nature, my art can have unique meaning to different individuals. I hand paint the florals in blue monochrome style, inspired by the traditional Chinese technique they use to hand paint cobalt on porcelain. I feel like there is always something classic, chic, and timeless about owning and passing down blue and white pottery. I have always been interested in the concept of functional pottery, and how my pieces can enhance a home space, a meal, or occasion. My ceramic artwork is designed for a specific purpose with the intent to be passed down through multiple generations."
Kelly Atkin-Ramsey
Kelly is the creator of Motoqua Road, which is her small business that began back in 2016. The name, Motoqua Road, comes from her second home in Motoqua (pronounced Ma-TA-qua) where she spent her childhood barefoot and mostly wild. She makes her pieces “small batch” style, which means she takes the time to craft each unique piece. She uses sterling & fine silver but will integrate gold, copper and brass when a piece calls for it. She is very particular about the stones she uses and only sources the material from lapidaries & mines that she trusts. Her designs are inspired by the Mojave Desert and her love for Southwestern style. She has been smithing for over 7 years and is still constantly learning. From implementing new techniques to the integration of different materials, she believes this art is a long-term learning process.
Allen Comer
I am the baby of four children in the family. My father was a chemist and company manager. My mother was a nurse and painter. All of my siblings are involved in music or wood carving. I myself played saxophone in bands and stage bands throughout my school years. During that time, my mother started an art shop where she sold her acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings and crafts. Throughout my life I have had many jobs from Electronic Technician to truck driver. Two years before I retired I thought I would try carving wood. Since my brother Greg was a carpenter of 40 years and carved sculptures and my brother Stephen made violins, I thought maybe there is some wood carving talent in my blood.
Three years ago I started carving wood. At this time I was living on the coast of California. I was always finding driftwood from the ocean and making things out of it. I started off with small sculptures and walking sticks. Then after moving to St George, I set up a shop and got the idea of making coffee mugs, bowls, jewelry and furniture from wood. Since then I have been selling my carvings at Tuacahn, the Farmers Market, Kayenta, and the St. George Art Museum.
Brian Knott
Brian has been making and selling pottery for close to 50 years. When he was 13 years old he saw a man on the television demonstrating throwing on the wheel and he thought that was pretty cool, but when he went to college he took his first ceramics class and was immediately hooked. In his words, he “never looked back”. To him, it is comforting to know that there is something that he created sitting in the homes of thousands of people. He is always working on perfecting his glaze combinations, and he is constantly inspired because he has surrounded himself with other artists. His wife Patricia is an accomplished art quilter, and his daughter Zahra is a knitwear designer. We can see Brian’s experience in every piece he brings to our gift shop, and any item you bring home is sure to brighten up your living space.
Lorraine Johnson
Lorraine describes herself as a curious person. She is self-taught, and attributes everything she knows to her curiosity. In her own words, “Being curious is a beautiful journey of lifelong learning and the discovery of the unknown.” In her work, she uses alcohol inks, resin, polymer clay, and acrylic paints. She loves to experiment with new mediums and techniques, but poured fluid art is her favorite so far. Lorraine is originally from Nevada, but she has been in St. George since 1999 and loves it here. She participates in local art festivals, and has exhibited in the Art in Kayenta Art Show. To her, the greatest accomplishment is when someone enjoys her artwork as much as she enjoys creating it.
Ashley Marie LeBaron
Ashley is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico which is where her passion for creating soaps began. She started out making them for her family as Christmas gifts after reading a book she got from Amazon, but after two years of continuing to hone her craft she turned her hobby into a business. She made the move to St. George to be closer to her sister and started her company, Ashley Marie Soap, out of her home. All Ashley’s soaps are made out of all natural oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, and essential oils. Her proudest accomplishment is that she created a great product that people use everyday and that she was able to start her own business from home. Right now she is working towards being able to build a workshop where she can grow her business and begin doing online tutorials. We love having Ashley Marie Soap on our shelves, and know you will love having it in your home as well!
Jerry & Marshall Locke
Jerry & Marshall are sculptors because they love stone. They are fascinated by what hides inside the stone and the process of discovery. They work in wonder of the colors and lines and textures that hide beneath the surface and are mystified by the geological processes and the length of time required to create them. Presenting their work in the form of landscape is the most natural way for them to ask you to look deeper into the world around you. Look beneath the surface for the beauty around you and understand that it might take some effort to find it. Landscape allows them to present it, and place it in a world where each stone benefits from the diversity around it. Each is made more beautiful because of the others around it. They see themselves as tour guides just as much as artists. They take great joy in sharing the special places they have found in stone and in watching you discover a world that is just under the surface.
Ken Lima
Ken has always been a doodler, since his early years. He has a passion for color. He was raised in Chicago with its vast array of color contrasts, and now lives in Ivins where he enjoys the intense blue sky contrasting with the color of the red mountains. In his words, it energizes him. Retirement has taken his passion to a whole new level. He enjoys his work using acrylic on canvas, but his newest work, “HAPPY PADDLES”, are an additional way for him to spread his love of color. His proudest artistic accomplishments so far are having his work displayed at Arrowhead Gallery, and winning two ribbons at Red Cliffs Gallery. Recently he has set up his website at kenlimaart.com and is looking forward to making the world a happier place through his art.