Jim Cotter, a legend in the jewelry world, came to Dartmouth for a day and night that was jam-filled with activities. Jim is from Vail, Colorado, where he owns two galleries. He's been making innovative jewelry and sculpture for about 50 years. Jim gave a two-hour demonstration to both Dartmouth's and Hanover's League of New Hampshire Craftsmen students on entrapping objects for jewelry making with expansion cement. In the hands of an artist, cement can look like stone and is about as durable. Then Jim gave a public presentation open to the community about his long and diverse career. I found myself thinking all throughout his slide show, "Damn! That's where I got that idea!", over and over again. Jim has been so frigging innovative and influential for so long it's easy to forget where some ideas have come from. For instance, Jim was probably one of the first contemporary jewelry artists to combine rough found rock with diamonds and gold. Many people, myself included, owe a creative debt to Jim Cotter. Immediately following his slide presentation, everyone was invited to Hanover's Designer Gold Gallery for an exhibition and reception of Jim Cotter's work. It was frigging awesome to spend the afternoon hearing him Jim talk about his process in his workshop, then to see a cross section of his work and the stories behind it and finally to witness a fairly comprehensive exhibition of his recent work face to face. The Designer Gold exhibition has about 35 pieces of Jim Cotter's work. It's open for the rest of August. If you're in the Hanover area, do yourself a favor and check it out. You won't regret it. designergoldjewelry.com