November 30, 2009
CAD of Gold Ginko Leaf Brooch with Diamonds by Joana Miranda
I was inspired to do this CAD rendering during one of my afternoon walks in Central Park this week. Even though the week ended rainy and dark, there were enough sunny days early on to enjoy being outside in NY and in the park. One ginko tree at the periphery of the Sheep Meadow section of the park had just dropped its leaves; the ground underneath the tree was a carpet of fan-shaped leaves reflecting golden in the sun. I stood under that tree for a long time taking in the sun, the color, and savoring a moment of fall that in the Midwest has already passed.
My rendering above still has issues to be solved, but I enjoy the process of CAD and find that it opens up other avenues for creative design.
November 29, 2009
The final charm in my Thanksgiving series dedicated to those I love, is my signature charm, a ladybug or “joaninha”. I lead a charmed life in many ways (if you backtrack over the last 6 days, you’ll read why), so I felt like I deserved a place on the chain as well:
Watercolor and Gouache Gold, Diamond, and Garnet "Ladybug" Charm Rendering by Joana Miranda
The bracelet in its entirety follows below:
Watercolor and Gouache Charm Bracelet Rendering with Seven Charms by Joana Miranda
The placement of each of these charms was not accidental. Neither was the fact that I designed fully 3-dimensional charms. I wanted the charms to be beautiful seen from whatever angle they fell when the bracelet was worn. And, while my husband’s “Pisces” and my ladybug charms are stationed at opposite ends of the chain when the bracelet is open, when clasped together we are side by side again.
All my gratitude and thanks go to the friends, family and kindly strangers who have made such a difference in my life.
November 28, 2009
Today’s charm is dedicated to my soul-mate, my husband Andy:
Watercolor and Gouche Gold, Enamel, Amethyst, and Diamond "Pisces" Charm Rendering by Joana Miranda
I’ve naively wondered why my husband is a Pisces when he’d rather be eating meat than fish; furthermore, water, whether it be for swimming or showering, has to be precisely a certain temperature before he’ll even test it with his little toe. Since he didn’t come with a manual when we got married, I’ve learned how to combine my sign (Taurus) with his somewhat by trial and error, the school of hard knocks, and lots of love (which has always been reciprocated equally.) Today I researched Pisces for this post and had one of those “ah ha” moments.
Traditional Pisces traits are:
Imaginative and sensitive
Compassionate and kind
Selfless and unworldly
Intuitive and sympathetic
On the dark side…
Escapist and idealistic
Secretive and vague
Weak-willed and easily led
While I won’t reveal which of these traits jumps off the page at me most, I will say that my husband is one of the kindest, gentlest, and most compassionate creatures inhabiting my earth.
(If you are curious to read more about Pisces, please click here.)
Filed under Design A Day, Influences
Tags: bracelet, charms, colored gemstones, diamonds, enamel, fine jewelry, green amethyst, New work, Pisces, Watercolor and Gouache Renderings, wisdom, zodiac
November 27, 2009
This charm is dedicated to my father, Gil, who also happens to be celebrating his birthday today. I designed the charm as a top since my Dad has a fabulous collection of spinning top toys:
Watercolor and Gouache Gold, Enamel, and Diamond "Top" Rendering by Joana Miranda
My father, who often comes across as very serious (degrees in law and music, a European upbringing, and years spent teaching as a professor in academia certainly foster that image), has a very impish side as well. He has played his share of practical jokes on his family, and I never tire of hearing of the funny escapades he had with his Portuguese nephews and nieces when they were little.
One of my favorite stories?
One summer when the family was traveling to the south of Portugal to vacation, he stationed each little nephew and niece at one of the windows in the train compartment. When the train rolled into the stations along the way, he coached them all to yell out the windows to each other (in Portuguese), “Oh no! you spilled the wine!”, “Pass the chicken!”, and other such rowdy comments. Like this, he insured that the family had the entire train compartment to themselves for the trip!
Happy Birthday!
November 26, 2009
One Thanksgiving when I was still living in the Twin Cities, I found myself in the city without any place in particular to go for the holiday. It occurred to me that I might find a new way to celebrate the meaning of Thanksgiving. I decided to see if I could volunteer for the day at a soup kitchen or battered women’s shelter. While those places didn’t need my assistance at that time, the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly program did need drivers to take some of their elderly members to a Thanksgiving church dinner. I was sent detailed instructions not only with the names and addresses of the three elderly ladies I was to drive to and from the dinner, but also directions for how to prepare my car, what to do in an emergency situation, and other precautions. Needless to say, I started to feel trepidation about what I had gotten myself into!
To my delight, all three ladies, though fragile, were wonderfully lively companions – one even corrected my driving when I made an illegal U-turn – and they regaled me all afternoon me with fascinating stories. When I dropped them off at their individual apartments late in the afternoon, one of them gifted me with a two-dollar bill.
That day I felt gifted with much more than two dollars. Perhaps, for the first Thanksgiving ever, I felt truly thankful…thankful to be able to help someone else and to bring joy and companionship to others. This charm therefore is dedicated to the spirit of Thanksgiving:
Watercolor and Gouache Gold and Diamond "Wishbone" Charm Rendering by Joana Miranda
May all of your hopes, dreams and wishes come true.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 25, 2009
Today’s charm is dedicated to my sister, Marta:
Watercolor and Gouache Enamel, Diamond, and Gold "Earth" Charm by Joana Miranda
My sister has traveled the world, seems to survive any difficult situation she encounters, has an uncanny knack for picking up not only the customs but the specific accents of different regions, and is fluent in three languages. Some people say we look like twins; others, that they can’t tell that we’re even sisters. The way I see it, she is a uniquely beautiful, intelligent and very special person.
November 24, 2009
Day 2 in my week of dedicated Thanksgiving posts was designed in honor of my dearest friends near and far:
Watercolor and Gouache Platinum and Diamond Heart Charm Rendering by Joana Miranda
This platinum and diamond heart pendant is symbolic of the strength your support and love gives me. Thank you for listening, for being there, for cheering me on and for laughing with me!
(For those of you who are paying close attention, you may have noticed that the light is coming from the right in this rendering rather than from the customary top left of the page. At the end of this week, I’ll be posting the charm bracelet in its entirety. You’ll find out the placement of each charm then…or you can see if you can put the puzzle together on your own before then!)
November 23, 2009
As I was musing on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, it occurred to me that it would be nice to pay tribute with a dedicated design to the people whom I love most dearly. Conveniently, there are a week’s worth of you…ok, I admit I am lumping all of my dearest friends into one group. For my design, I settled on a charm bracelet. You each bring charm and blessings into my life for which I am so grateful. Much as the chain binds together these charms, I am linked to all of you by our shared love. When we are together the circle is complete, but even when apart, our ties can never be severed.
The first charm is dedicated to my mother, Sharon:
Watercolor and Gouache "Fuschia" Enamel, Gold and Amethyst Charm Rendering by Joana Miranda
As my college roommate used to say to her mother, “Thanks for laying me when I was just an egg!” A few of my mother’s charms are an exuberance for life, a very generous heart, and a love for nature – in particular, flowers and her gardens. (She also is one of my biggest fans and reads my blog religiously.)
November 22, 2009
Colored Pencil and Gouache Art Deco Style Brooch Rendering by Joana Miranda
This is one of my very earliest renderings done in 2006 in my design class at GIA. I enjoy seeing the evolution of both my design ideas and technique, and for this reason alone, I’m glad I’ve saved all of my renderings.
Tomorrow I’ll be posting the start of a seven day Thanksgiving project featuring a charm a day dedicated to those I love and give thanks to in my life. That includes you, my readers. Stay tuned!
November 21, 2009
Watercolor and Gouache Brooch Rendering Inspired by Nautilus Shell - by Joana Miranda
My husband suggested today that I go back to one of my favorite design books, The Art of Jewelry Design, and do one of the design exercises from that book. I chose to focus on the sea shell for design inspiration. As the authors Galli, Rivière and Li point out, some of the earliest body adornments were artistically varied shells strung together.
To do my rendering, I first searched for seashell images in Google Images, then sketched a nautilus shell in the top left of my paper. From there I played around in my sketch book with motifs inspired by the shell. I chose to focus primarily on the interesting coil. Surprisingly, this motif does present design challenges since the coil alone can look very uni-directional and unfinished. I found a balance for this by mirroring the coil and giving the ends an artistic, yet organic flare in keeping with the natural feel of the coil. Binding the two coils together with a diamond tie helps to create a third balancing element. Here is a close up of the finished brooch:
Close up of Sea Shell-Inspired Gold and Diamond Brooch by Joana Miranda
Filed under Design A Day, Influences, New work, education, techniques
Tags: design inspiration, fine jewelry, designers, pencil drawings, Watercolor and Gouache Renderings, Brooch, diamonds
