Cluster of Dragonflies

A flock of dragonflies?

While birds of a feather may flock together this is not the case for dragonflies. While they may gather as a group over a  pond this is a fleeting scene that happens during mating when males compete for woman and afterwards when females deposit their fertilized eggs.

While they do not flock together they do make for a wonderful display and a recently completed order for 30 grabbed my attention when walking though the patina room.

The castings below were first “chased” an odd term meaning to remove metal burrs, scratches and other imperfections using grinders and sanding disks. After the metal surface is chased we apply the patina and once dry buff  the wing veins and other raised areas to remove it and re-expose the bronze.

Looking back over my collection of dragonfly photos I came across the common hawker taken when visiting England and the flame skimmer and blue dasher dragonflies taken in my garden pond in Los Angeles. The male hawker pictured below is distinguishable by it’s black abdomen with blue and yellow spots. The female has a brown abdomen with similar markings. One fascinating talent the female has to avoid copulating is to fall from the sky as if in the throes of death,  an act that effectively deters most suitors.

The common hawker, hawks for mosquitos, flies, lacewings and small flying insects and can be seen doing so around hedgerows and over still water.

Some of the flying insects they hawk for can be seen in bronze

The blue dasher can be seen in much of North America and was the model Martin Pierce used to formulate his blue patina

The flame skimmer is perhaps the most frequent dragonfly  attending our pond and together with our mosquito fish helps reduce  the mosquito larvae  population around our home.

Pairing Beauty with Beauty

Turning 50 can be a challenge but when tempered with a beautiful birthday present the experience can become a happy one.

Back in 2009 a close friend was facing this significant birthday so being  both a designer  of furniture and hardware, Martin Pierce decided to make a significant jewelry box.

As a furniture designer, Martin designed the Ascot series, a collection of  pieces using the Japanning technique to add gold and silver leaf to create Aspen trees  and vine leaves on his buffets and armoires. As its name suggests, Japanese artists and furniture makers developed Japanning to add richness and depth to their work using the reflective luminescence of gold. While the technique also became established in 18th century English furniture making, Martin only became aware of the technique while in  Los Angeles in 1996 making his furniture pieces.

For the 3-tiered jewelry box, Martin used solid cherry with silver and gold leaf. To add texture to the rim of the top Martin used a chip carving technique which he then gold leafed. Each side of the box has a silver leafed tree that is glazed with pigment to create highlights and shadows and to add a  more three-dimensional appearance. In the center of the top and on each lower tier a small butterfly from Martin’s cabinet pull collection is used as a pull.

Small Butterfly from the Insect Flying Creatures Collection of Pulls

Fine furniture making requires a knowledge of wood varieties and of ways of using these to advantage. In the Ascot collection plain sliced walnut and book matched English oak both with limited figuring were used as backdrop to silver Aspen trees and gold leafed autumnal vine leaves.

Open and closed wing moths from the collection of Flying Creature Cabinet Pulls

Carpathian elm burl and walnut burl are heavily figured veneers whose intense patterns require little adornment. In the piece below 1/32” layers of veneer were applied to a pre-shaped curved box made from medium density particle board (MDF). While not a fan of MDF it is a perfect substratum for veneers as it is stable and not prone to shrinking or expansion when there are changes in humidity. To achieve a tight bond the veneer was applied under pressure in a vacuum press with a  polyurethane-based adhesive glue.

Large Butterfly Cabinet Pull

Plans for 2025

The final quarter of 2024 was action packed with fresh patinas for candleholders; Katydom making the cut for the Culver City Film Festival and the decision to make specific art pieces available for sale from our website.

So,  continuing with this artistic vein,  Martin Pierce we will be adding more art works  to the Katydom Kingdom and Anne Pierce will be adding content to the story line that some may have previewed at the Regal Live L.A. when Maria Ramirez-Adams short was screened.

Candle Holders

Hot red and green patinas are applied to heated bronze frogs to create a mottled finish similar to the coloring used by poisonous South American dart frogs to ward off predators. A more muted oil rubbed patina is available for those looking for less drama on the dining room table.

Katydom Characters

Seeing Martin’s sculptures come to life on a big screen and writing the narrative for Katydom has helped me focus on the roles and talents of the characters in this fictional kingdom. Specifically, I will be focusing on Katydids and the history and lore they inscribe as symbols on the fossilized wings shed by Katydid elders.  Wasps, with their  mud dauber masons will be added to the content and the structures they build will be captured in bronze.

Wasps in 2025 will be explored with emphasis on their craftsman skills, a departure from the current emphasis on athleticism.

Our mainstream occupation continues to be in creating unusual and beautiful door and cabinet hardware. We work with many designers helping to realize their design concepts with our designs and with custom designs fabricated for their projects. This will always be our creative core.

Finalist at Culver City Film Festival

Martin Pierce’s venture into the kingdom of Katydom has not gone unnoticed and has been documented by Maria Ramirez -Adams in a short film “Katydom”  that debuts at the Culver City Film Festival on December 12th at the Regal Live LA at 6pm

In Ramirez-Adam’s film she beautifully documents Martin’s surreal bronze sculptures and paintings that together set out the story of the Katydom. In this imaginary world we see that the scale of insects and humanoids has been seismically changed with very large insects and very small humanoids, each rendered in bronze or in oil on canvas. As the video plays we learn about the Insect Race and how the sculptures come to life once a year to compete in this playful sport. We see through paintings and drawings how these sculptures evolved and we get a behind the scenes look at Martin as he TIG welds insect body parts and then applies his hot patinas.

Sunset Rider - Limited Edition Print

While this post is subjective I think you will enjoy this wonderful 7 minute short, it is beautifully filmed has keen production values and it is showing at the Regal Live LA a perfect venue. Admission is a modest $ 15 and you get to see other films that have made it to the finals at this years Culver City Film Festival.

HAPPY 4th JULY 2024

From all the creatures of Katydom to all of you, may you have a happy and fun July 4th.

Some of the large insects shown here also participate in the Annual Insect Race that happens in Katydom, a fictional world where humans are small, and insects are large. The rules that govern this annual event ensure that all contestants compete on an equal footing and accordingly all are restricted to ambulatory rather than aerial participation. The Katydids are the custodians of these rules and of other historical matters that are recorded on the wings of the Katydid elders.

The story of Katydom is evolving and we will be providing updates during the year as well as when we celebrate July 4th.

The Stag Beetle below is a major force to be reckoned with in the annual insect race.

The Katydids are custodians but also competitors in the Annual Insect Race

Small fine art sculptures

In the world of Katydom, Martin Pierce has been focusing on the dung beetle, a central character in his fictional world of  large insects and small human-like creatures. In the most recent piece, the dung beetle’s ball is repurposed as a climbing frame by a humanoid seeking to mount the thorax of the beetle so they can compete as a team in the Annual Insect Race. It clearly takes practice to achieve a successful mount which explains why the piece is partly named “Fallen Rider”.

 In Katydom neither species nor scale are the source of power or wealth   and coexistence is the social norm. Thus, while the new dung beetle and his ball are smaller than other beetles  in Katydom they are no less valued. By contrast in the present world of commerce scale generally determines weight and when this comes to bronze explains why the smaller sculpture at 5 lbs is less expensive than it’s much larger 12 lb relative.

The dung ball’s organic appearance is reminiscent of the Morphic collection of door handles, but the uneven surface and imperfect edges give it a clay like appearance.  The dung ball will be the focus of other pieces to follow with plans to repurpose it as a fitness center or learning room or summer lodge. 

The current piece is finished in a combination of hot and cold patinas with a  green thorax and head and  dark bronze beetle body and satin brushed light antique ball and polished humanoid.