January 2011
21 posts
Martin Guitar to Launch 'Martin Artists' Series
Martin Guitar will launch the ‘Martin Artists’ series on Monday, January 31, 2011. This series will include some new and exciting digital video content, such as:
“One-on-One with…”
“Artist Performance Series”
“Martin Chronicles: What’s Your Martin Story?”
Be sure to check our Facebook Page often to see who we are featuring next!
ONE-ON-ONE WITH MARK BALLAS
Chris Thomas, from Martin Guitar, recently spoke with Mark Ballas in the Martin Guitar Museum. Ballas, an accomplished singer/songwriter/musician and professional dancer on ABCs ‘Dancing with the Stars’ provided some insight into his musical journey.
So Mark, how long have you been playing guitar and have you always been a songwriter? MB: I have been playing guitar since I was ten—so...
UMGF Celebrates Another “Ed-apalooza”
Yesterday marked the annual get-together for twenty or so Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum acquaintances. Affectionately named after a member whose birthday usually coincides with the annual event, “Ed-apalooza” is a gathering of UMGF friends who assemble at a local hotel, play guitars, and talk about Martin-related topics.
The event included a visit to the Martin Guitar factory, where these...
Many Thanks to All Customers and Guitar...
“Many thanks from all of us at C. F. Martin & Co., Inc. to the customers and Martin guitar enthusiasts who responded to our surveys in 2010, the Customer Experience Survey and the UMGF Survey. We’re using your responses to improve and enhance our customers’ experience. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.”
—Martin Guitar
Martin Guitar’s Director of Artist and Public...
Martin Guitar’s Director of Artist and Public Relations Dick Boak jams with former Governor Mike Huckabee at the NAMM Media Preview Day from Anaheim, CA, Wednesday, January 12, 2011. The Media Preview showcased the newest musical instruments and tech applications being released in 2011. The NAMM Show is the world’s largest musical instruments and products trade show. (Credit: NAMM)
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Da Vinci Unplugged: Unveiled
Alongside an ambitious slate of new, innovative products that continue to push the largest producer of acoustic guitars in the U.S. to new heights, C.F. Martin & Co. (www.martinguitar.com) has unveiled the 1.5 millionth Martin Guitar at the 2011 NAMM Show.
Dubbed “Da Vinci Unplugged” over the past year and a half, the parts of this milestone guitar were carefully crafted at the Martin factory...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Vitruvian Man
When I pulled the body of this Martin masterpiece from its case and put it on my couch, I nearly cried. I was awestruck. The Vitruvian Man stood in a background of Brazilian rosewood of such beauty that I felt God himself was telling me that anything I would ever do could not match such creation. The grain was a goddess’ auburn hair. It shimmered in the light. It brought me to my...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Vitruvian Man
In many ways, the Virtruvian Man was the easiest part of this project. The actual inlay is made up of only 10 pieces, which just happens to be the same amount used to create Jesus’ feet on the pickguard. The real challenge with this inlay was that I would need to work over the back of an existing guitar. I would normally prefer to inlay the back prior to building the guitar so that I don’t have...
Da Vinci Unplugged: Finishing Touches for The Last...
Bob here! Time for some more scrimshaw…
Leonardo’s experiment with oil on plaster, a failed experiment, still remains a tour de force. Its faded deterioration can’t hide its genius. Harvey translated it into a modern marvel. I did nothing more than add faces to the thirteen, and add some fingers and toes. I had never studied the painting closely before, and I’m not much of...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Pickguard, Last Supper...
The tapestries and right wall are cut from dark green jade and grey Corian:
The left wall is created using the same materials as the right wall:
The window scene behind Jesus is cut from turquoise, sugulite, gaspeite, green recon and dark ivory:
The background comes together nicely just before Bob goes back to work on the Scrimshaw. Take a look…
Harvey Leach, on behalf of Martin...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: Jesus and the Apostles
The first Apostle on the left side of the table has pipestone recon for the hair and beard. The robes are cut from red, green and blue Corian. The robes of the second Apostle are cut from spiny oyster:
The second Apostle’s hair and beard are cut from Bastogne walnut:
The third Apostle’s hair is cut from walnut and his robes from blue Corian:
Click here to see how the rest of The Apostles...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Last Supper, Table Manners
A drawing is scaled to fit the pickguard outline:
Two variations of granite Corian are used to create the tablecloth. The two colors create a lighted surface and a shadowed surface:
A pattern is carefully glued in place matching the fold in the tablecloth to the seam created by the joint line of the Corian:
How does the rest of the table come together? Click here to find out.
Harvey...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Last Supper Inlay
Harvey here!
With different inlays different challenges are presented. With Mona Lisa the challenge was to recreate an inlay so it had the textures and transitions of a painting. With the Last Supper the painting techniques are less defined, and because the original is in such poor shape, many artists have put their own spin on what the original might have looked like. These representations...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: Fret not, Teenie-Tiny Fat...
As the markers got smaller and wider going up the neck, I had to choose images that tend to be more horizontal than vertical. Position five is a helmeted figure. I showed the piece to an artist friend and he called him a “fat guy”. I had to laugh at myself, because I was so caught up in the details I didn’t even notice he had a double chin!
To give you sense of the scale of...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: There's Something About Mary
In the early planning of the guitar, I was planning on using the Mona Lisa for the third fret marker. Then Harvey wisely stole her away to use on the headstock. I wanted to do a face to fill the shape, so I found a painting of a young Mary from an Annunciation scene. Maybe the most difficult single piece I did. To keep the look of innocent beauty at that scale tested every skill I hope to possess....
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Da Vinci Unplugged: The Bridge, Da Vinci Self...
Choosing images for the fret markers is the fun stuff. Poring over Leonardo’s notebooks, studying his sketches, trying to dissect his soul. For the first marker I chose his (probable) self portrait as an old man. I’ve drawn hundreds of faces, likely thousands, but at most a handful from another artist’s drawing. Da Vinci worked a lot in fine lines of chalk or crayon, along with...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: Enter Bob...and The Bridge
When I work a smaller piece, I attach it to a brass sheet with sealing wax. Here is the bridge. I first taped the back with masking tape for easy removal from the wax.
Next, I tape the original drawing to the surface of the ivory:
Now I use my scribe to poke through the drawing, resulting in the dotted outline you see here. Though this technique seems simple, it isn’t. Sensing the right...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: About Bob Hergert, Master of...
Bob Hergert has been a scrimshaw artist for over 30 years. He came naturally into this medium of incising ivory with intricate designs. He had drawn in pen and ink since the age of 10, eventually creating works in the stippled technique (images made up of thousands of dots). A jeweler asked him to work on some pendant pieces he’d made from fossilized ivory. It was a perfect match. Bob could...
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Da Vinci Unplugged: Pieces of History
The background is combined with Mona Lisa:
Click here to see how the rest of the headstock pieces combine to look like this:
Remember what our original rendering of the Mona Lisa headstock looked like? Not bad, eh?
Now she is ready for Bob to work his scrimshaw magic!
- Harvey Leach, on behalf of Martin Guitar
