Marta Pia
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Marta Pia is a jewelry maker now, but comes from a ceramic background, a discipline to which she drifts back occasionally, as she uses her experience with a huge range of materials for her creations. For example, she will apply the same proficiency in clay handling to that of paper marbling. Such a vast spectrum of techniques allows her to have beautiful products of varying composition in her collection.
I visit her in her shared studio space in Brooklyn. The set up is enviable. There is a wheel to turn clay, another table space for jewelry, and all the tools and equipment to make all sorts of art. The studio is situated in the corner of the building and has floor to ceiling windows, allowing light for work during the colder winter months. Her studio mate is a Russian ceramic artist. I am able to take a peek at her pieces too, and am astonished at the quality of her ceramics.
Marta is originally from Madrid, but has lived in New York for some years now, a city where she finds she can freely promote her creative ideas, while building her brand. She travels and takes courses on subjects that deepen her knowledge of craftsmanship, and which include ancient techniques from around the world. She also teaches workshops, and is able to spread the love she feels for the many materials that inspire her.
I am drawn to a ring with an eye in opal, which she calls the 'third eye ring'. I buy it before I leave. Some weeks later I find two friends, wearing the same ring finished in different materials, one in jade, and the other in quartz. I am thrilled to know Marta Pia’s art has touched them too. I snap a picture of our hands with the rings, and send it to her. She laughs about the coincidence. I just think it was meant to be.
