GIA (February 23 – 27)
I spent this week commuting to Carlsbad (about 45 miles south of here) to attend an “Advanced Stone Setting” class at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). GIA claims, with justification, to be “the world’s foremost authority on gemology”, and their programs are internationally known and respected. It was an extremely challenging week, but also an inspiring one.
Access to the GIA campus is tightly controlled — in addition to the classroom facilities, they have labs conducting tests and grading on diamonds, colored stones and pearls, and a small but exquisite exhibition of gemstones and jewelry. The current centerpiece of their display is the Balboa Park Carousel Egg, which took a team of 5 master craftsmen 18 years to complete. It has over 5,000 pieces, made of platinum, gold, sterling, diamonds and enamel — you can find out more about it from GIA’s press release (the photo below, from the same press release, doesn't begin to do it justice:
Riga (February 29)
The Sunday after completing my GIA class, Pete and I were on the road again. This time it was a day trip to Palm Desert, to take some of my jewelry to “Riga”, a gallery featuring wearable art items (primarily hand-painted silk by the owner, Riga Sekander). So if you’re out that way, stop in and have a look at:
73400 El Paseo, #B2
Palm Desert
760-776-8121
Sawdust Art Festival Update
Things are happening at the Sawdust Art Festival, even though it’s not show time. They have the Spring Into Art program, where anyone can take a weekend workshop taught by one of the artists. And there is also an Artist Open Studio Tour, so check out the website for more information.
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