Darn good advice, George! The resident course is about 3 times
as expensive as the study at home alternative. Then there’s
being away from home for six months and additional living
expenses for the same period. It isn’t a cheap proposition.
On the other hand, the “total immersion” of the resident course,
and the daily interaction with the instructors has got to be
invaluable. I have so many distractions/demands at home, I
don’t know how long it would take me to complete the home
course. I also have to question how my retention would be
compared to the resident course.
Then there’s your question of, “what do you want to do with the
knowledge?” First, is personal knowledge and satisfaction. At
this point I’m somewhat intimidated by faceted stones. I’ve set
a handful as necessary, but I tend to avoid them. I’d like to
feel comfortable using them and buying them so I can elevate my
work to a higher commercial plane.
But, as with you, my main interest is in jewelry making. Maybe
I should just take a good stone setting class (I’ve taken a poor
one). I’ve been thinking about moving into the jewelry field
for a career, but haven’t really pared down my choices about
what kind of job. Sure I’d like to be a gem buyer, but I assume
that requires some sort of professional experience. I could
sell stones for a dealer, but I suspect that’s very much a price
driven commodity market.
Having been an independent jewelry artist for my whole jewelry
“career”, I don’t think I have a realistic chance of being
employed as a bench jeweler. A highly qualified apprentice…
maybe. My thought is a G.G. diploma would round out my skill
set and allow me to wear a couple of different hats in a small
operation. Add to that my management and computer experience,
and I think there might be a position/company out there that
needs me. A big part of that question is whether said company
is located in Charlotte, NC!
I’d be interested in your feedback, and that of any commercial
jewelers who may have a perspective on the situation.
Thanks for your input!
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.sebaste.com