It’s Your Life / People, Places and Things to do. : ARTIST’S SHOWCASE : Shark-Tooth Jewelry Is Doing Swimmingly

You have entered the Zander Zone, a dimension of sight and sound, antiques stores and off-the-wall galleries. Meet one Dawn Wilson, 19, struggling art student.

Wandering down Ventura’s Zander Building, a ‘40s-era gantlet of shops, Wilson found herself facing the future. “I want to make a living as a fine artist, but I’m studying marine science just in case,” she said.

Hoping to raise tuition, Wilson approached the Artists at Work gallery with her wares and got more than she expected: a showcase.

Wilson’s unusual jewelry--fashioned from silver wire wrapped around prehistoric shark teeth--is making a big splash. Hanging from the artist’s neck is a tooth as large as a human palm and 200 million years old, give or take a millennium.

Her exhibition credits include Gucci’s in Beverly Hills and the Buenaventura Art Assn. Gallery. Wilson won the 1993 Ventura County Fair youth department art sweepstakes and 1994 Bank of America special achievement award.

“One of my paintings got stolen at a local gallery. I suppose that’s sort of an inverted compliment,” Wilson said.

* Reception for Dawn Wilson, 1-4 p.m. today at Artists at Work, 433 E. Main St., Suite 8, Ventura; 653-1460.