Arrows and Mockingjay

Posted on April 3, 2012 by marty

I just completed carving two Hunger Games inspired jewelry designs. Each design that I create begins with a wax carving that takes me many hours to sculpt, carve and engrave. I use a soft green jewelers wax, numerous dental tools, an alcohol lamp and a heated wax sculpting pen. I listen to books on tape while I work. The Postman Never Rings Twice, written by James M Cain is what I am listening to now. I have probably spent 20 hours sculpting the Mocking Jay and a book on tape helps to pass the time. I find the carving a meditative process but I occasionally catch myself taking longer on a design than is needed, just so that I can finish listening to the story.

I’m planning on creating an ear cuff version of both these charms.

Wax carving for the Sheath and Arrow Charm

 

Wax carving for my Mocking Jay Charm

Posted in Jewelry | 5 Comments

Mavericks Wave Ring

Posted on March 29, 2012 by marty

I recently carved an powerful “Wave Ring”  in green wax.  This design concept has been in my heart and mind for some time and will soon be available in sterling silver.  My quandary is what to name this new piece? Initially, I thought to name it Tsunami, but with the recent tragic events, that name might not be ideal. I could name this ring “The Big Wave” in harmony with the Japanese motif of the wave, but I was born and raised in California and live in Santa Cruz which is famous for its waves.  One of the most legendary surf spots locally is called Mavericks, famous for its huge swells. What do you think of the name Mavericks?

Wave-ring

Wax carving of wave ring

Posted in Design projects, Jewelry | 8 Comments

Dragon Opal Ring Commission

Posted on March 13, 2012 by marty

I received a commision to create a large dragon ring featuring two Australian opals.  My client choose from my collection of opals and directed the design. I worked on this piece on and off for several months.   The ring will be cast in platinum.

dragon opal ring 1

dragon opal ring 2

dragon opal ring 3

 

Posted in Design projects, Jewelry, Stones | 2 Comments

Customer Request: Amputate my cat ear cuff

Posted on March 13, 2012 by marty

Last year I received an unusual request regarding my Crawling Cat Ear Climber Cuff. A woman emailed about purchasing the cat ear cuff with a modification. She wanted my cat cuff with a paw removed. Her beloved pet cat had lost a front paw in an accident and she wanted the ear cuff to be a small wearable sculpture of her cat. I performed surgery on her ear cuff and shipped it. I received a note that she was delighted. I don’t know how her cat felt.

You can order the Crawling Car Ear Climber Cuff in bronze, silver or gold. Surgery is extra.

Purchase theCrawling Cat Ear Climber Cuff from my Etsy shop or martymagic.com

cat ear cuff

surgery on a cat ear cuff

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Lizard Love

Posted on February 12, 2012 by marty

Wishing you a Happy Valentines Day!

Love, Marty and Show Off

(a most magical bearded dragon with red gossamere wings.)

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Opals and Fire Agates

Posted on February 5, 2012 by marty

Opals and Fire Agates

Art and I  just returned from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, triumphant with a small collection of exceptional Arizona fire agates and Australian and Mexican opals. The Mexican fire opals are from the mines in Magdalena and the Arizona fire agates are from the Slaughter Mountain Apache Indian reservation. Most of the Australian opals are from Lightening Ridge.

 

Continue reading →

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Tucson Gem and Mineral show 2012

Posted on January 28, 2012 by admin

Art and I are flying to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show tomorrow for 4 days of shopping for opals and tools. The event is a two week marathon consisting of dozens of overlapping shows. The venues range from high end convention center exhibits to parking lot flea markets and everything in between. It is an international extravaganza with most every downtown hotel room transformed into a show room.  I won’t be able to see everything in 4 days or even a week, but I will be inspired and I expect to return home with many remarkable Mexican and Australian opals.

In the past I’ve taken my son, John, who has developed an excellent eye for quality stones.  It will be interesting to see if Art has the stamina to withstand the next 4 days of visual overstimulation.

 

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Marie Claire magazine called this week

Posted on January 28, 2012 by marty

Thursday I received a call from a stylist at Marie Claire magazine asking if I could overnight them a spiro ear cuff for a photo shoot the following day.  I had not heard of the magazine, it was already late in the day and I didn’t want to drive across town in rush hour traffic.  In retrospect, I think the stylist was a little surprised that I was not jumping through hoops and fortunately, my daughter Alisha was helping me in the office.  After I had hung up Alisha told me that Marie Claire was a big deal and that I was being lame. She quickly pulled the phone number back up and I returned the call, this time in a more accomodating mode. I was to use their shipping number and I drove across town and sent the ear cuff overnight.  Perhaps we’ll see a Marty Magic Ear cuff in a Marie Claire beauty story.

Spiro Ear Climber cuff

Spiro Ear Climber cuff

Posted in Jewelry, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Victoria Falls bungie jump fail

Posted on January 8, 2012 by marty

I just heard that a woman plunged into the Zambezi river after the cord broke on her bungie jump of Victoria Falls bridge. My son John and I were on that same bridge this past summer and John made the jump. The jump is 364 feet (111 meters). Here’s the video of John’s jump.

My son is a Santa Cruz skateboarder and is unfortunately stupidly fearless.What’s interesting about this video is that it’s the first time, I’ve seen John show any sign of fear. You can tell he’s a little nervous. I feel better that there may be limits to his daring.

BTW, the woman miraculously survived with minor injuries after swimming to shore.

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Escape to Baja Mexico

Posted on January 8, 2012 by marty

This coming Tuesday, I will fly to San Jose del Cabo, Baja, with Art and John for a two week escape. We will be staying in our simple beach bungalow,  a 30 minute drive on unpaved roads from the charming town of San Jose del Cabo.  Although our accommodations are simple, the desert and ocean views are spectacular and the beach is just  steps away. There are no stores and just one restaurant in the community. Assuming Art can get the solar batteries running, I will be working on new jewelry designs, and watching the whales swim past from the solitude of our balcony.

Baja beach

Alisha and Kat will mind the business while I’m gone.

Posted in Travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment