In the News

Excited to share a wonderful article in Bold Journey, an online  space devoted to story telling where the interviewees share their experiences and challenges in a question-answer format.  In the interview I discuss the winding road that has taken us from England to Los Angeles and from making furniture to making hardware and to arriving now at the start of Katydom and the sculptures therein.

Anne and Jackson Martin creates and I begin to imagine the story line

In the interview we discuss the Katydom trailer by the talented filmmaker Maria Ramirez-Adams and her soon to be released short documentary.

Bold Journey for those unfamiliar with the site has continued on from Voyage LA  a online magazine focused on trends in Los Angeles and that featured Martin Pierce when his focus was developing original door handles.

A new sculpture compliments Martin Pierce's original door hardware

To date Martin Pierce’s collection of fictional insects and entomophile humanoids sculptures has introduced us to stag beetles, wasp, hornets, and Jay birds, today we introduce the dung beetle.

Edition Size 30 Dimensions 10 1/2”W x 6”D x 9”H Price $ 2,600

The piece has moved from pattern and mold making to bronze and to a discussion of appropriate patinas and new pieces that will be associated with the dung beetle. The story line is developing to include family members and to a fictional portrayal  of this scarabs dung dwelling. Artistic license is playing a  role, so Martin is giving all adults horns even though in reality this attribute varies between species. The dung beetle is a semi-fossorial animal meaning it is a creature that has developed the skills and anatomy to dig and live some of its time underground. Consequently, the beetle has a strong compact body, bulldozer shaped head and 2 stout tooth like front digging legs for burrowing into dung. The remaining 4 legs are longer, more segmented and end in a serrated saw-like claw. This complicated organism is extremely dexterous and able to coordinate all 6 legs to walk, to  create a dung ball then manipulate and roll  the ball backwards and even bury the ball for offspring in the case of a brood ball. If that is not it enough, consider that it can also fly and that below the polished smooth wing casings are 2 powerful wings that can lift this small but heavy creature taking it to new feeding grounds.

Edition Size 30 Dimensions 10 1/2”W x 6”D x 9”H Price $ 2,600

In Martin’s fictional world the dung beetle co-exists with humanoids and when not caring for his family members helps till the soil and aerate the fields for seasonal crops for humans. The 2 species also collaborate in the annual insect race where humanoids act as riders and navigators to steer the backward moving beetle to the finish line. These scenes as well as other family members are hopefully going to take shape in sculpture and paintings over the next few years.

Insect Art - Next Stage For Beetle Panels

Martin Pierce begins his scarab panels by using the sketch shown in the last blog which he traces onto the surface of a paint primed plywood panel.
Using the same sketch Martin traces the body of the beetle onto a 1/8” thick of basswood which is then cut out using a scroll saw. Martin then rounds the edges of the beetle outline using a chisel which he also uses to add lines and indentations to the wing casings which gives the beetle a more 3-dimensional appearance. The beetle is then finely sanded and glued onto the primed panel and clamped in place to form a secure bond. After the beetle is firmly attached any excess glue is scraped away with small chisels.
Using his finger Martin smooths gesso onto the surface and into the pores of the basswood and working with a damp cloth removes any unwanted gesso as he goes.

For the legs and antenna Martin has made a small tool using a short piece of 1/8” round dowel with a chamfered end. The tool is similar in function to a pen quill and fine enough to be used to spread very small beads of thin gesso onto the primed panel to simulate the sections of the beetle’s legs and antennae. Once set any excess gesso is removed with a chisel and then the completed beetle and panel are sanded with very fine 400 grit sandpaper. The panel is then sealed with sanding sealer and is ready to be gilt and glazed.
Insect themes are also used by Martin as cabinet pulls and thumb latches and are central to many of his hardware designs.

Insect Art by Martin Pierce

The technique of Japanning is one we used extensively as furniture makers to adorn our case-goods with natural themes. We have also used this technique to create an animal carnival on a commissioned toy chest and more recently to create smaller scarab wall tiles which will soon be available for purchase.

In the scarabs depicted in our wall tiles the body shape is based on the gymnetis family of beetle. This class of beetle has large wing casings which provide a prefect natural canvas for bright iridescent colors.
For our ongoing home remodel we will be using the scarab tiles to add an artistic touch to our front door where 18 tiles will be laminated to the 18 raised door panels. We have chosen 5 distinct bugs ranging from the round from of the lady bird to the elongated shape of the buprestid and will be using an abundance of artistic license to paint them in a variety of colors.
The beetle shapes will be cut from 1/8” Masonite and then built up with a thin layer of casein to form a smooth surface which will be gilt with gold leaf. The gold leaf once sealed will provide the backdrop for the beetles markings which be created with oil paint diluted with a solvent to create a thin translucent color. Once applied the oil paint will be sealed with lacquer so that successive layers of color can be added. As the layers of color are heavily diluted the lustrous gold shines through to create an attractive iridescence albeit one that is vastly inferior to that seen in nature.

Insect Art Sculptures - Stag Beetles by Martin Pierce

We are focusing some of our design and casting energies on smaller terrestrial creates that arguably take on an extra-terrestrial persona when they are portrayed as larger than life subjects.

Beetles and in particular stag beetles have been inspiring awe in Martin Pierce since his early childhood but only now is he able to capture their majesty in bronze. The first sculpture of 2 fighting stag beetles was completed in the late 1970’s when Martin carved a pair in Ebony, a very hard wood that can be polished to a high sheen.

Stag beetles are part of the Lucanidae family of beetles of which there are several hundred different types. The stag beetle that Martin saw in England was probably the Lucanus Cervus so named for it’s very large mandibles that clearly reminded early botanists of stag antlers. The stag beetle is aptly named and like the male deer the mandibles are used like antlers to establish male rank and priority in everything from mating to food to territory.

The bronze beetles that from part of Martin’s collection of art works were loosely modelled on the Japanese Miyama stag beetle. The original pattern was carved in wood and 5 molds were made for the head, body, left and right legs and antennae. As the 6 legs (3 left,3right) are separate castings this allows Martin some leeway in how he welds and positions the feet and enables him to create a more animated sculpture.

The size of the sculpture 20” (from antler to toe) and the polished patina on the bronze metal allow the ridges and indentation of the wing casings and knuckles of the legs and serrated jaw bone to be appreciated as both tactile and visual experiences.