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especially dramatic when they were cut from large stones of rutilated crystal. As Yoshiko Uchida commented, these inclusions could have great impact as they "could be reflected, distorted, or multiplied as a controlled design component." (Excerpted from the catalog essay of De Patta's 1976 retrospective exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California.) Depending on how the stone was cut, the inclusions would produce sloping lines along the facets that would create prism-like patterns with the movement of the wearer and the faceted gems could even appear to alter their shape depending on the viewer's perspective. This artistic partnership produced advanced stone-cutting methods and original concepts in gem- setting. De Patta and Sperisen began to receive recognition and praise for these signature gemstones. Hence, the synergy between jeweler and stone-cutter elevated the creativity of both. In the summer of 1940, De Patta enrolled in a summer course at Mills College taught by László Moholy-Nagy, the acclaimed Hungarian-born, Bauhaus master-artist, and then director of the Chicago School of Design (now part of the Illinois Institute of Technology). Moholy-Nagy, along with other renowned faculty of the School of Design, were invited to teach studio courses in fine art, industrial design and craft in conjunction with the New York Museum of Modern Art's traveling exhibition The Bauhaus: How It Worked. Courses were offered in drawing, painting, photography, weaving, paper-cutting, metalwork, modeling, and casting. According to co-curator Ursula Ilse-Neuman, De Patta's experience studying with Moholy-Nagy at Mills was a revelation, and a reaffirmation of her design direction: "Moholy-Nagy recognized that De Patta's work with transparent stones altered visual perception and exemplified his own concept of 'vision in motion.' He told her that she was already putting into practice many Bauhaus and Constructivist principles, as can be seen in her works of the late 1930s and early 1940s." De Patta continued to expand her critical learning during the school year of 1940-1941. Having been inspired by Moholy-Nagy's teachings, and seeking more formal training, she decided to travel to Chicago to attend the School of Design and enroll in photography and sculpture classes. It is during this critical year of study with Moholy-Nagy that he uttered to De Patta the now prophetic phrase: "Catch your stones in the air," he had said to her, emphasizing his constructivist concepts of light and motion. "Don't enclose them. Make them float in space." De Patta obviously thought about the PIN of sterling silver, quartz, epoxy enamel paint; 4.8 x 9.5 x 1.3 centimeters, 1956. WATCH of sterling silver, onyx; 6.4 x 5.4 x 2.5 centimeters, 1960–64. For the design of this watch, De Patta looked to the Art Deco movement for inspiration. Stylistically, this can be seen in the sleek and elegant lines of the silver bracelet that holds the onyx in which the watch-face is inset, and also in the palette choice of silver and black. PIN of gold, topaz, peridot; 7.6 x 6.4 x 2.2 centimeters, 1960. 36 ORNAMENT 35.5.2012