isbet Thoresen specialized in all aspects of the preservation, analysis, authentication, and conservation of classical antiquities as a conservator at the J. Paul Getty Museum for over 17 years. She performed research, published papers, and lectured on topics related to art conservation, archaeometry and natural science.
Ms. Thoresen was a transition team member for the renovation of the Getty Villa Museum, Malibu and its on-site conservation laboratory. She participated in planning and mounting exhibitions and she conducted workshops and presented lectures to both professional and public audiences in the U.S. and abroad, including the Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemmological Association of Great Britain, London, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
In 1991 Ms. Thoresen began pursuing archaeometric studies on gems of the ancient world, combining analytical research with gemology to illuminate archaeological and historical aspects of engraved gems of the Greek, Etruscan and Roman cultures. Her unique expertise in glyptic art (gem engraving) of the ancient world produced a pioneering reference book on the subject, On Gemstones: Gemological and Analytical Studies of Ancient Intaglios and Cameos.
Thoresen’s work on gems entailed collaboration with gemologists, scientists, and physicists at the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California; Scanning Proton Microprobe Unit, Nuclear Physics Laboratory, University of Oxford; Gemological Institute of America, Carlsbad, California; and Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, California.
native passion for the visual arts since early childhood led to formal training in communication art and painting at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California.
hortly after completing the long-term research project to produce a book on gems, which featured the contributions of eight authors, four photographers and works of art in seven international museums, Ms. Thoresen left her museum career to work independently. Her early graphic design training complemented her experience as a content developer, volume editor, author, creative director and photographer, and so, re-awakened her interest in communication arts. Since 2000, Thoresen has concentrated on web and print design.
Increasingly, clients are seeking help with marketing and driving traffic to their web sites, paperless office solutions and a means to publish unique content on the web more efficiently, so Thoresen provides design solutions whose specifications include search engine optimization (SEO), dynamically generated, interactive pages and, frequently, content management systems (CMS).
Ms. Thoresen continues her interest in gem archaeology. She is also interested in electronic publishing for interactive and diagnostic digital imaging applications in archaeometry, as well as for promoting the accessibility and availability of scholarly work to the widest possible audience. Toward that end, she is developing her own CMS application featuring topics related to archaeogemology.