Reservoir 4 Jewelry

Small business

2009-02-10T10:52:00.001-08:00

Hi, All! Here is a video piece that I was featured in about small business branding. Once you have a moment to take a look at it let me know what you think!!

http://video.about.com/

Tension

2009-01-31T11:18:00.001-08:00

Architecture grad school has been very busy. Here is one project that I am pretty proud of. Here I am experimenting with different ways to deform plywood using tension.

This is what happens when the plywood has too much tension and fails.

Here is the finished structure. Wires instead of wedges of wood were used to create tension in the final piece.

The structure being assembled, late night.

The grad school condition

2008-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't been keeping up with this blog. The main reason is that I decided to go to grad school. I am learning so many new things, especially new phrases and ways to use words that I already know. Did you know that a skylight isn't a skylight but a light portal? Windows are apertures. Doorways are threshold conditions. In fact the word condition seems to be a good one to describe a myriad of things. In the previous post I showed pictures of little paper and stick models. A teacher pointed to a huge, ugly blob of glue and told me that I "might want to rethink the glue conditions." Well, it's all very fascinating to you I'm sure. I'll try to post as I have time.

It has been a while

2008-08-20T14:04:00.001-07:00

It has been over five weeks since my last post. Here's some of what has been taking up all of my time..

Absinthe Grille

2008-06-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

A spider web absinthe grille. Place a cube of sugar on the grille, pour cold water through till the absinthe becomes the appropriate cloudy color. Drink.

Just Because

2008-06-26T10:44:00.013-07:00

A birdie and a ring

2008-06-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

Little bird pendant

Married metals ring:

Both items for sale now on rachelmira.etsy.com

Olive Branch

2008-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

An olive branch brooch. New, and for sale.

new in my shop

2008-06-04T11:42:00.001-07:00

Apricot Blossom Pendant.

Another etsy front page.

not a front page but an extra fun treasury:

The Chola Flower Collection

2008-06-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is the ring that inspired the Chola Flower collection. The Chola Flower is represented on this ring with three sparkly, tough diamonds. For those of you not in the know the three dots stands for "Mi Vida Loca." The ring itself is inspired by the pinto bean shape.

Chola Flower Necklace.

Pinto bean pendant with a diamond on both sides.

Chola Flower lite.

Double pinto drop.
All designs for sale at www.rachelmira.etsy.com

Etsy Front Page

2008-06-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

Melting

2008-05-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a hot few days in Los Angeles. This weather does not inspire me to spark up my torch and melt metal. Instead, I've spent some time reminiscing about my trip to Athens and my dramatic visit to the Acropolis.

A quarter for your thoughts

2008-05-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

I spent my 30th birthday in Jerusalem. I snapped this picture while in the Arab Quarter a beautiful and intense neighborhood. The stripes lead you to the ajar door, I love the faded color of the plaster.

This is one of the first pieces I made when I got back from my trip. It is a mens bracelet, sterling silver, handmade and one similar will be for sale soon.
I gave this bracelet to my uncle Rene, for photographing my jewelry. Thanks Rene!

Sprite Leaf

2008-05-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

I can imagine a sprite wearing this necklace as a good luck token. It has a subtle bluish, iridescent tint to ward off the evil eye. The Sprite Leaf is now for sale in my etsy shop.

A trip to Judson Studios

2008-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

About a year ago my husband and I were driving around Garvanza, just a few blocks from our house, looking at the old and mostly decrepit Arts and Crafts and Victorian mansions along the Arroyo. Sandwiched between two hideous apartment complexes we came upon an intriguing building that was different than everything else in the neighborhood. We parked, and as we walked up the circular driveway a flock of hundreds of parrots flew by. It turned out the building was Judson Studios. I then signed up to take a studio tour. Last week I received an email that a spot had finally opened up a year later! Today, Los Angeles was overcast, cold and muted, I swilled my coffee and as I walked up the circular I once again heard the loud squawking of the parrots. Judson Studio is a working stained glass studio, it has been in business since 1897. Before this building housed The Judson glass studio, when the glass studio was in Downtown, it was The Judson art school where painting, drawing and architecture were taught. It became the glass studio in 1920 when the art, architecture school moved to the USC campus.

This is the room where all of the windows begin. First they are drawn on paper and painted with watercolor. These first drawings are called cartoons.

Once the windows are approved the small pieces of glass are cut in this cutting room.

It was overcast but the light still shone through these are color swatches.

A work area, I love the looking glass.

Here is a giant kiln where glass is fired. When a face, hand or other detail is painted with a glass based paint, firing makes the image permanent. More on this later.

Restoring an old Judson stained glass window from maybe 80 years ago.
Windows waiting restoration.
This artist paints the fine details onto the glass. The paint he uses is actually very fine glass, it is fired so the image becomes permanent.
Lots of faces.
A lot of the work Judson Studio does is for churches. This is a finished face, two identical ones were made. The twin is in a church, somewhere.
Rays of paper rolls surround the face.

Sweet creatures

2008-04-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have recently started fabricating spiders and other small creatures in my studio. So far this is one of my favorites, because he looks as if he's in motion. The delicate little animal is in the process of stepping to the next branch to return to his web. His body is 10k gold and the rest is sterling silver. I'm not ready to list this one for sale just yet.

Are you tough?

2008-04-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Whether you are or you aren't, if you wear one of these sterling silver, hand-fabricated nails, somehow, it will be irrelevant.

Select preview pieces available now.

Pomegranates and spiders

2008-04-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Garden spider pendant new to my etsy store.

New pomegranate blossoms on my pomegranate tree.

Pomegranate pendant from my etsy store.

Ceilings, rooftops, doorways and walls of Jerusalem

2008-04-25T11:39:00.001-07:00

Dreaming of the past.

A visit to a district, in pictures

2008-04-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was very lucky on my recent trip to Washington D.C. that I got to hear Justice Stephen Breyer give a speech. I sat in the front right near the podium, he was charismatic, interesting, and fair, I will remember his speech for a very long time.

The building of the Renwick Gallery, it is impossible to read from this photograph but the top of the building reads: Dedicated to Art. I saw a beautiful show at the Renwick called "Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Druitt Collection." If you love jewelry I encourage you to visit this inspiring exhibition.
Two sweet lions outside of the Corcoran School and Gallery.

The grounds around the Capitol building are beautiful. Here were some people doing something, I don't know what.

I'm not sure what this structure is.
This beautiful brick structure reminded me of a hobbit house. When I went inside there was a fountain in the middle and four drinking fountains.
Here is the gate that lets you into the drinking fountain hobbit house
One of the four windows.

Here is a flowering magnolia tree

The steps of the Capitol building reminded me of this song.
beautiful wrought iron lamp post

tulips
There are many beautiful flowering dogwood trees
And of course, cherry blossoms

Ceiling of the infamous Mayflower Hotel...
A peaceful protest outside the White House a day before the arrival of the Pope. The signs read: "celibacy has failed," and "catholic priests are predators."

flowering trees along the reflecting pool

Interesting ceilings of D.C.

2008-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

Exterior doric, ionic column and lion head, Lincoln Memorial

Statuary chamber; bronze, marble ceiling, Lincoln Memorial.

The marble ceiling is translucent, light shines through it giving the effect of stained glass.

Metro

Waking up

2008-04-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Etsy Front Page

2008-04-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is (for the Etsy uninitiated) a screen shot of the Etsy front page today. It is quite exciting for those of us lucky enough to be featured.

olive leaf, olive silver

2008-04-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

sterling silver scatter pins

test run

2008-04-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Lyla tests out the new dining table.

"It's acceptable."

Spring in the City

2008-04-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

It is springtime here at the Urban Hacienda.

Baby apricots grew quickly from those beautiful white blossoms.
Springtime means that I will soon and often need to cut the grass with the weed-wacker.
A view of the new stone steps being installed and of the neighbors car. Soon a trumpet vine will obscure this view.
Baby pomegranate tree and a new garden.
Of course, the Urban Hacienda always has it's fun mix of the purposefully planted garden and mystery plants. Maybe somebody planted them long before I lived here or maybe they were seeds from the old chicken coop. They spring up and create their own form of beauty.

Bath time for doggie

2008-04-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tito Pepino senses that something unpleasant is about to happen.

Into the special chihuahua wash basin he goes
The water is warm and the soap is gentle.
"Aaaah, that wasn't so terrible."

Tito Pepino re-dries himself.

Feeling a little bit better.
"I don't know if I like this new sweater."
"Oh, Well. At least I'm warm."

treasure

2008-03-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up extra early to visit an estate sale that I read about on another blog. It was on a street that I have driven on and wondered about often. One of the last remaining streets in Highland Park, CA that still has some of the original grand victorian homes all overlooking the arroyo. Here is one of the things that I picked up. It's real bronze...

function vs. fun

2008-03-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

In High school when I was 16 I took my first jewelry fabrication class. This is the first piece that i ever made using fabrication techniques.

It is a box bracelet meant to store solid perfume. I imagined wearing it during the hot summer.
One thing that was so wonderful about my awesome high school jewelry teacher Mr Gatto, was that he stressed design. I actually made this bracelet in paper first to see if it would work.
My parents bought me a small butane torch. At my home I fabricated the rails for the lid to slide on and an invisible locking mechanism so that when the "lock," slides up it will stop at a certain point and not fall off. I didn't have pickle at home so I took the flux covered pieces to school to clean them.
Although I loved the idea of having a piece of jewelry that was also a vessel for perfume I realized that the box on this particular bracelet was a bulky and therefore difficult to wear. This realization created a considerable amount of frustration. Since making this bracelet 14 years ago I try to balance fun design with wearability. However, trying to think fun and function as I create new designs continues to be a challenge and sometimes fun wins out.

An homage to my Goldye

2008-03-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

More inherited objects...

baby olive

2008-03-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

for sale soon...

the gentle garter

2008-03-21T17:13:00.001-07:00

A gentle garter snake to wear around your neck and remind you that you can be wise, peaceful and intimidating.

cement flowers

2008-03-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

When we purchased our house it had been neglected for over 40 years. It feels very satisfying to create new gardens from what were just dirt patches four years ago.

Above are lavender and wormwood. Below are some bulbs that seem to pop out from the cracks in the driveway every spring. If you know what type of flower they are let me know.

good morning

2008-03-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

I woke up today to a fun email. I'm featured on the Punkin Card Company blog. How flattering!

GOLD!

2008-03-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Gold, gold, gold. I love gold when it is all by itself and I love the look of blackened silver and gold together. Here are two new pieces for sale on my etsy site. I don't really want to sell them, I like them so well... But that is how it goes. Hopefully, if they are purchased the buyer loves them as much as I do! By the way, gold closed today at about $1000.00. So if you purchase one of my gold pieces consider it a bargain as well as investment, as I did not take current gold prices into consideration when I priced the pieces.

some tools

2008-03-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some tools, I love my tools. Even if they are in need of organizing. I really enjoy using the various hammers, the two riveting hammers and planishing hammer are favorites. My super, extra favorite tool of all though is my rolling mill. It is temporarily out of order as I need to bolt the base to my cement floor. Maybe this weekend...

silver flowers

2008-03-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

I made some silver flowers. They are in varying states of disintegration.

apricot blossom

2008-03-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

One thing that pleases me a lot is my apricot tree!
Tito Pepino likes it too.
The bees are happy.
In a few months when the apricots are ripe the squirrels and raccoons will be happy as well.

cab challenge

2008-02-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

I am issuing myself a challenge. I will use one of my grandfathers cabochons in a piece of jewelry every month. Every month I will post a picture of the piece that I make! I already have an idea for March...

etsy see, etsy do

2008-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

I've added two more pieces to my etsy site. Here are close-up pics. To see the full, picture go to the site!

ovals

2008-02-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

I made a big serving spoon. The top part is inspired by the wrought iron in Westminster Abbey(see previous post). The bottom is inspired by vintage Georg Jensen. Here is the back of the spoon:

Here is the front:

My Grandfather was a gemologist. Here are some of the cabochons that he made:

I plan to use all of these cabochons in jewelry. It will probably take me a few years.

inspiration

2008-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some really, super inspirational pieces:

My grandma Goldye had an impressive jewelry collection. How could she not? With a name like Goldye. I LOVE this handmade pomegranate. She purchased it from the artist in NYC probably in the 40's or 50's.
Here is an over the top faux bois, bird pendant that also belonged to Goldye. It's probably from the 70's. I love how the striations on the stone mimic the rings of a log. I also find the bird to be so sweet.
Here is a piece from Goldye's American Indian collection. A completely handmade inlay, fabricated bolo tie. The workmanship is awe inspiring. It's equally beautiful on the back.
I love the iron work and arches. Westminster Abbey
Here is a solid gold greek tiara. This tiara is in the British Museum.
It's a full, fluffy tiara. I find it very impressive that it is in such impeccable condition. The leaves are paper thin and appear that they are moving. Notice the acorns...

etsy items

2008-02-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've posted some new items in my etsy shop.

work hard

2008-02-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

here is my tumbler. i was work hardening and polishing poseidon trident earrings
pouring out the water and polishing chemicals
pile of stainless steel shot and a tangle of earrings
polished and work hardened

2008-02-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Still life from my studio.

extra virgin, first press

2008-02-06T12:17:00.001-08:00

WOW!!!!! This is my first press. To view the real, beautiful, shiny pictures in person pick-up the Feb, 08 issue of 944 magazine. Two of my pieces are featured in the All That Glitters, spread. I was lucky enough to get two pages!!! I am so pleased that my two most fun, handmade pieces were featured. Yay Athena Necklace and Siren Tiara!!!!! If you are an urban siren or a modern day Athena, I'll custom make you either one of these two pieces. Keep checking back, i'll soon be posting pictures of the Poseidon Trident collection. OF COURSE the Poseidon Trident collection is made to be worn by the urban Athena.

magical tiaras and dangerous urban sirens

2008-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my latest pieces. It as you can see is a tiara, The Siren Tiara. It is made to be worn by the beautiful women who live on Sirenum Scopuli, an island in greece. If you are in Greece and happen to sail past this island make sure to cover your ears. Otherwise, you'll wreck your ship and be stuck there forever. If you yourself are an urban siren and are in desperate need of a solid sterling silver tiara to make yourself even more dangerous and magical I'd be honored to make you one. For a small fee, of course.

24k, .999

2008-01-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

Gold closed today at $927.10 and silver at $16.69.. A year ago we were complaining about how expensive gold was at about 600 an oz and silver at 13. I may need to re-think some of my prices.. does anybody want to fill me in on how gold and silver are priced?

about.com

2008-01-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

I was featured in a few "how-to" segments for about.com

So if you want to see me being perky and silly check out the above link. This particular clip is me making a pair of hammered hoop earrings that i will be selling on my etsy site!!!

jewelry preview

2008-01-27T11:52:00.001-08:00

here is a preview of some of the exciting jewelry you will be able to purchase on my etsy site!!!

etsy

2008-01-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

i am working on putting together an etsy site where you will be able to purchase my jewelry. how exciting. will post more info about said site very soon.

echo park ducks

2008-01-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

This picture reminds me of a memory. Night: Driving on Echo Park Blvd. along the lake. In my rearview mirror I see a beautiful, smiling mallard waddling across the street, and a cholo driving an old primer grey jalopy. Once he sees the duck he speeds up the duck doesn't make it across the street . . . this neighborhood is filled with contradictions. Some bring life and others take it away.