Pratt

Last weekend while Tom boated with his sister Christie and her husband Jim on their new 42-foot Nordic Tug, I participated in an intensive, 4-day, all-day metal jewelry workshop. In the four days, not only did I learn a lot, I bonded with the other 7 women in my class who had come from Portland, Vancouver, B.C. Whidbey Island, the Penninsula to attend the class. We "sisters" have all vowed to stay in touch and reprise our group with a wire class on Whidbey given by the same instructor.

The class at our very own Pratt Art Institute is a wonderful resource in the heart of Seattle. The artists who teach there are superb and famous in their own right. I took the class from Kristi Zevenbergen and she was the best teacher I have had thus far in four years of jewelry making classes.

The day (9-5:30) flew by and I could not wait until the next day's session. On the third day, I made a silver and turquoise ring using the stone we had purchased in Quartzite on our trip from the Grand Canyon through Arizona on the way to San Diego. The stone was from a collection (from which we purchased four stones) of turquoise representing all of the major Southwest mines, some of which no longer produce turquoise. The man who collected the stones, also cut them. I also finished a set of 6 bezel-set druzie crystals I had set in a previous class but never finished. The difference between these stone settings and my ring is huge.

My metal-smithing skills have increased ten-fold as the result of the class and I've purchased a set of tools that are compact enough that I can actually work from our very cramped office quarters. I can't wait to start creating.