Argentium Sterling, Black Resin Inlay and Pearl Drop Earrings by Joana Miranda
I’m thrilled to report that the Argentium Sterling, black resin inlay and freshwater pearl drop earrings I created especially to benefit the 10th Anniversary Piano Arts Gala on June 18th, 2009 were auctioned off for above retail price. Even better is that they were purchased as a gift for Piano Arts Founder Sue Medford! I am delighted that I was able to support such a worthwhile cause and that Sue, whose initial vision and continued energy and commitment to making Piano Arts the success that it is today, was the double beneficiary.
I’ve been working on a bunch of projects recently with varying deadlines and thought I’d share with my readers the design process, start to finish, for one of these projects.
For the upcoming Piano Arts 10th Anniversary Gala and benefit auction on June 18th, I wanted to create a unique piece rather than pull something from my stock. My reasons for this were several – the anticipated demographic of those attending the event, wanting to challenge myself, and using the opportunity to work again with resin.
My pencil quick-sketch was simple:
Preliminary pencil sketch for earrings for Piano Arts Gala by Joana Miranda
From here I continued to develop the design with CAD. I used the “sketch” tool to play around with the swirls and eventually came up with this pattern:
CAD design template for earring donation to benefit Piano Arts by Joana Miranda
The template above made me realize how great the earrings would look if they were pierced silver with black resin inlay. This seemed also like a great design “nod” to the ebony/ivory colors of piano keys. I went one step further to CAD-render the earrings with the pear-shaped pearls that I planned to use (I didn’t render the black inlay in this version):
CAD rendering for Piano Arts Gala earrings by Joana Miranda
Then it was off to the bench where I first affixed my templates to the Argentium Sterling Silver sheet, sawed out the shapes, soldered on the backing and jump rings, polished and then inlaid the resin. The final result:
Argentium Sterling, Resin and Freshwater Pearl Earrings by Joana Miranda
The Piano Arts Gala is taking place on June 18th, 2009 at the Bradley Pavillion of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The evening will feature a performance by former 1st Place Winner, Elizabeth Joy Roe, along with her duo partner, Greg Anderson. To find out more about this event please visit the Piano Arts website.
