Cruise with me through time and history in the Baltic Region while creating a premier project, designed specifically for this cruise. For two days, while at sea, create an elegant three-dimensional hinged gem box, inspired by the Russian onion dome cathedrals and the Renaissance Style Fabergé Easter egg.

The characteristic onion dome first appeared in Novgorod on the Cathedral of Sancta Sophia, in the eleventh century. The aesthetic feeling of the dome is finely expressed by a folk saying, "glowing with fervor," when people speak about church domes.

The Renaissance Egg was the last one made for Czar Alexander III to present to his wife, Marie Feodorovna, in 1894. The eggs always had a 'surprise' inside with the intention of providing a frisson* of pleasure, the memory of which would persist for the rest of that day. The surprise in the original Renaissance Egg has been lost to time. To fill the void and create a new 'frisson,' students will receive a special treat! Instructions and kit for a second project to be completed later... a contemporary/old-world-style bracelet ornamented with a 23mm Swarovski crystal triangle. This bracelet nestles inside the gem box.

*Frisson: a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion or thrill.