Mio Studio

The jewelry of Mayra Orama Muñiz and Erica Millner is another welcome stirring of the pot. Their geometric, architectural work seems like it would be made with metal, but in fact utilizes a combination of precious metal and wood. Their bracelets have sculptural elements, such as a three-part bangle that features each of the three curving arches interlocking into a single smooth piece that has a sense of rotational power. Their geode-like necklace has a satisfying heft of shape, with each wooden “bead,” matte charcoal black, populated by dots of silver to break up monotony. The use of wood stems from their first craft fairs in Puerto Rico, where they began their career. “There were many ‘rules’ about making crafts that reflected the historical crafts of the island. Artisans were accepted to craft fairs based on their use of traditional materials. We started using seeds from palm trees and vines to create our jewelry. Many people were doing the same thing so we started using exotic woods that were readily available. We would go to the local wood mill and select the pieces that would otherwise be burned or discarded. The wood was so unbelievably beautiful that we were inspired to use its grain, tone and color to create sculptural jewelry.”


Muñiz and Millner have been doing art fairs for years in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Having begun their jewelry careers in 1998, they attended roughly fifty art fairs every year in a wide range of locales, from the Museum of Art in San Juan to “a dusty field in Moca.” As with Kaoru Izushi, Muñiz and Millner show that there is a sizeable pool of artists who have plenty of experience in shows yet only now have gained the opportunity to attend a higher venue, about which they are similarly enthusiastic. “We are very grateful and excited,” Millner says. For Millner and Muñiz, the Smithsonian Craft Show gave them an excuse to experiment with their work and push the edge of their artistic envelope.
-Patrick R. Benesh-Liu
Ornament Magazine

Woods that we use
Cocobolo
color: the heartwood is a mix of brilliant colors ranging from deep reds to an attractive mix of streaks and markings of red, black, purple, yellow and orange. Cocobolo is a member of the Rosewood family. It grows in the drier uplands on the Pacific side of Mexico down to Panama. Cocobolo is so rare, very little of it reaches the world market. Because of its great beauty and high value, Cocobolo has been heavily exploited and is now mainly harvested from private finca's where the 80 to 100 year old trees have been able to mature.

EBONY, GABOON COLOR: the blackest wood in existance, although it can have subtle lighter colored streaks and in some cases can have as much contrast as its sister wood, Macassar Ebony, although that is rare. Generally it has an almost uniformly black heartwood with yellowish white sapwood. Includes varieties from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kribi, Gaboon, Madagascar, and Zaire and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Macassar Ebony which is a different wood although somewhat similar in appearance and related botanically.

IMBUIA Ocotea porosa
Ocotea porosa (syn. Phoebe porosa) of the family Lauraceae, the Laurel family
variously spelled embuea, imbuia, imbuya, embuia, and imbulia, I have seen botanical names of Ocotea porosa and Phoebe porosa both given for this species.
This species grows in Southern Brazil and is sometimes called Brazilian Walnut (but it is not a true walnut). It is a colorful, fine textured wood, prized by woodworkers. The heartwood is yellow-olive to chocolate brown, sometimes gray-brown, with variegated streaks and stripes. Grain pattern varies widely, with many different figures occurring in individual boards. It is hard and moderately heavy (about 42 pounds per cubic foot). Heartwood is durable. Emits a spicy, resinous scent and taste. It is easy to work with hand and power tools, although grain tends to pick up when planing. Finishes to a high luster.

PADAUK COLOR: Heartwood colors are variously described as including rich red, blood red, brick red, purple red, reddish orange, pinkish red, and sometimes with dark streaks SOURCES: "Central and West Africa" is most commonly mentioned, but I've also seen specific references to Cameroon, Zaire, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria
REDHEART Alternate common names include chakte kok. The wood is dull pink to moderately bright red.

Z EBRAWOODCOMMON NAMES: zebrano, zingana, allene, ele, amouk
The dark stripes range from dark brown to almost black and the lighter portion ranges from light tan to golden yellow.
SOURCES: West Africa from Gabon, Cameroon, and Congo --- gregarious, sometimes in pure stands along riverbanks.

Maga Colorada
Color: Wine Colored with dark brown sapwood. Found in the Caribbean. The tree has beautiful red hibiscus like flowers.