Martin Pierce is a wood carver and furniture and hardware designer born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, England. It was here he began his career as a wood carver, working for
businesses
an

in the surrounding area. He has been a resident of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

since 1980 and, during this period has developed several unique styles of furniture, which include his signature ''Hedgerow dining chair'' and ''Hedgerow bed''.InteriorDesign.net
"New Products: Martin Pierce Furnishings - Hedgerow." Other unique furniture styles include the ''Ascot'' and ''Seicho'' lines. Many of these pieces are ''japanned'', or

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

, with vines and aspen trees and are part of a limited edition that is both numbered and signed. In 2004, Martin Pierce began work on an extensive range of cabinet and door hardware Decodir.com
, "Stylish Pulls and Knob Design by Martin Pierce," 2010-11-09. which includes the ''Willow'', ''Ergo'',
, "Ergo Cabinet Hardware from Martin Pierce," 2007-04-03. ''Netsuke'' and ''Hedgerow'' styles. These collections are all cast using the

lost wax casting Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) i ...

method and are cast primarily in

silicon bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

although the ''Ergo''InteriorDesign.net
"New Products: Martin Pierce Hardware - Ergo." and ''Morphic'' styles are cast in 316 stainless steel.
, "Stainless Steel Door Knobs and Pulls by Martin Pierce - New Morphic Luxury Organic Hardware Designs," 2010-11-04.

Techniques

In the ''Ascot'' buffet, armoire and tallboy, Martin Pierce uses gold and silver leaf to create scenes that appear three-dimensional. The technique he uses is one that combines aspects of ''japanning'' with

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

.Salant, Katherine. "Posh Bathing for Your Pooch, Hand-blown Sinks, and Architectural Delights", ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', 2006-06-17. In England in the 17th and 18th century, ''japanning'' became very popular and it was used extensively to decorate furniture with raised scenes of birds, flowers and pagodas. At that time, a type of glue called

sizing Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...

and ''whitening'' were applied in successive layers onto a wood surface, which was then blackened or colored before being varnished and polished. Designs were then traced onto the prepared background where they were either decorated by color or with gold. The artisans would add further interest to these scenes by raising the decorated areas. This was accomplished by applying a thick compound of sawdust, whitening and gum Arabic. Martin Pierce has borrowed much from the technique of ''japanning'' and the style of

Chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French ''wikt:chinoiserie#French, chinoiserie'', from ''wikt:chinois#French, chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of China, Chinese and other East Asia, East Asian artistic traditions, especial ...

but he brought them into a modern context, substituting easier mediums for the traditional varnish, size and gum Arabic. Since Martin Pierce creates his designs over a beautiful background of walnut or English brown oak wood, he does not blacken or hide the wood. Martin likes the raised textural nature of ''japanning'', but he substitutes

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

, which is a white paste made from milk by-products for its 17th-century cousin.

Casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

is easily applied either as a thick coat with a hand trowel or, for delicate thin leaf stems, with a fine brush.

has the advantage of drying quickly and affords a soft enough surface that can be sanded smooth with 220-grit sandpaper. Martin applies successive coats of casein until the design is sufficiently raised and then seals it with a water-based lacquer. In traditional

, the gilder applies his gold over a surface of firm clay that provides a solid surface that he can burnish and thereby make the gold very bright and brassy. Martin Pierce omits this step, as he feels the gold and silver are sufficiently

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

and because he prefers a more muted appearance. He also substitutes a modern product called ''wonder size'' for the traditional gold size, as he also prefers its cold application making it easier to control. Once the size is dry, he carefully applies the wafer thin gold which he presses down into place and carefully rubs with fine wax paper. Now the real art work begins as he applies different colored glazes over the gold scene. The glaze is made from a mixture of oil paint diluted with paint thinner, and the glazes vary in consistency depending on how much of the gold Martin wants to expose. Martin also uses ''water spotting'' to create a natural age to his leaves and stems, which dulls down their pristine appearance. Each of these pieces is signed, numbered, and dated and forms part of a limited edition available throug
Martin Pierce
or through a design professional.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Martin English furniture designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)