Donna Armstrong was a bookkeeper already planning her second (post-retirement) act, but her epiphany came when her Brazilian exchange student gave her an amethyst. A follow-up trip to Oro Preto, a Brazilian village in the heart of the gem trade, put Donna on her new path. Studying at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) she earned diplomas as a Color Stones Graduate, Diamonds Graduate, and a Graduate Gemologist; she also belongs to numerous metal guilds—and her work in reticulated silver is second to none. Her pieces are clean, simple, and eternally elegant, inspired by her pristine Idaho surroundings and showcasing some of the world’s most beautiful stones. Come to Third Thursday and hear Donna explain the intricacies of fusing metal, along with some secrets of the gem world…