I learned geological field work in the rugged backcountry of San Diego. Large bodies of molten rocks crystallized beneath the earth’s surface, later forming mountain chains along the state’s notorious faults. The rocks I roamed were sliced by series of “cracks,” called joints. The rocks weathered along those joints, eventually opening enough so the sky could be seen between the cracks.

I made the Pietra Ring (rock, in Italian) to call to mind my backcountry field work. The sides of the ring are textured and curved with a feeling of the granitic boulders. The side-view of the V in the middle, where the gem can be seen, represents the glimpses of sky seen through the cracks in the rock.