Curriculum Vitae of Marsha Martens

 PROFILE

The Jewellery

I work in metals; metal is primitive and organic, it is full of irregularities and imperfections. 
Metal is needy, it wants to be touched and melded with and will glow when worn. 
My work is about emotions.  I am trying to provoke a personal emotion from the wearer,
to get them to say what they feel.  People are corked bottles of mystique and
cautious optimism waiting to be opened and set loose.

I start with raw materials but the design is already there and the pieces are born,
sometimes it just needs a little nudge.  Like the wearer, the emotions are already there; sometimes they just need a little nudge. 


The Artist

I do not have a long and impressive list of educational or editorial accolades to crow about.  What you see is what you get with me.  My designs are contemporary and organic in nature
and they have a life and will all their own. 
Hand forged jewelry is prone to irregularities and imperfections which I perceive as a serendipitous opportunity to expand upon.  I am completely self taught,
all my knowledge and design skills has come from books and by trial and error.  I have been designing since 2001; I started with some simple designs and a few gemstones and then graduated into metal smithing with precious metals.  My designs are influenced by
emotion and how the metal speaks to me, telling me to bend it this way or that -
a little more flame here and there. And in the end, there is the finished piece,
waiting to tell it’s storey to its new owner.

 
Galleries/Stockists

 Silver Treasures  2919 Route 206 South Store 501  Columbus, NJ 8041

The Mole Hole  1656 Mission Drive  Solvang, CA 93463

Southern Breeze Gallery  4500 I55 North Suite 160  Jackson, MS 39211

Smart Gallery  109 North Jefferson Avenue  West Jefferson NC 28694

 Gifted Hands Gallery  1056 Mountain Road  Stowe, VT 05672

Pinnata Gallery  Regional Art of Excellence  69a Hickory Street  Dorrigo NSW 2453  Australia

Unique Art and Jewelry  170 Main Cross Street  Hawesville, KY  42348

The Attic Gallery 1101 Washington Street Vicksburg, MS 39183
 

 Associations

Member, Self-Representing Artist Jewellery Designer (SRAJD), 2006-present
Member, Wholesale Crafts Guild (#23211), 2006-present
Member, Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), 2006-present