Interviewed by Georgia Straight

She thrived in the two-year full-time program, which offered three days a week of studio time back then, enabling her to learn metalsmithing, wax-carving, forging, and stone-setting. Then there was a half-day on gemology.

“To this day, I use my gemology training absolutely every day,” she said. “I still have my old textbooks and I refer to them. It’s such a valuable thing to know what the stones are and how to answer questions that people have.”

Bartram, who is held in high regard for her customized designs, also appreciated that the program covered art history and drawing. Instructors told her that she didn’t have to necessarily look at jewellery to design her pieces and that she should also be paying attention to architecture.

“Art was integral to the whole program,” she said. “I think that gave me a lot of confidence.”