Soldering Stories

Editor’s Note: Every year, WILMA chooses a local jeweler to design award bracelets for the Women to Watch Awards winners. This year, Martha Ladd (on Instagram @mladdjewelry) is crafting the award bracelets for these winners as well. The custom design will be unveiled at the awards ceremony September 5. Info: W2WAward.com.

MARTHA LADD, an independent metalsmith and jeweler, creates pieces that are equal parts art and narrative. Her jewelry is for “people who want to wear a story or express their individuality,” she says.

The art of metalwork involves transforming raw materials into something completely different and unique. Ladd finds joy in this process and the multitude of stories contained in her pieces because of it. One thing can have a completely unknown origin and be turned into a new and different story. It’s all part of a piece’s beauty, Ladd says.

“There are a lot more metalsmiths on the scene since when I first opened shop here in Wilmington,” Ladd shares. However, “people who are familiar with my work don’t have any trouble identifying it.”

Ladd points to a friend’s description of her work as “both bold and quiet, strong and sophisticated, down-to-earth, open, and true.”

Her jewelry is intended for people who want to wear a story.

Ladd’s path to this point has been shaped by exploration and learning. Her journey into jewelry making began years ago when her Native American friend taught her about traditional beadwork. Then, she began teaching herself metalwork until she went to school to learn the art of jewelry making and metalsmithing. She was a full-time jewelry maker until 1998 when her son was born;  then she transitioned to part-time jewelry making.

Her craft ranges from beadwork to metalwork, always rooted in jewelry making. Beadwork is similar to sewing or weaving, while metalwork involves hammering, sawing, soldering, and manipulating metal to get a desired result. Both art forms involve taking one thing and “creating something that looks completely different,” says Ladd.

During the creative process, Ladd sometimes finds it difficult to spend hours alone in the studio. “I like to always leave unfinished pieces ready to pick up and go so I don’t have to know what to start with once I get in my studio,” she says. Through working on several pieces at a time, Ladd allows room for creativity and mistakes.

“I’m always surprised by how often a piece comes from a mistake,” shares Ladd. Sometimes her designs come from a stone, a dream, nature, or a mistake. “I once saw someone’s earrings from across the room at a party. Once I got closer, they weren’t at all what I thought, so I made what I thought I saw,” Ladd says.

The possibilities of metalwork give Ladd the ability to bring others’ visions to life as well. Years ago, a longtime friend came to her with a mangled metal heart found in a Civil War encampment with the words, “My heart is open to you” engraved on it. Her friend asked her to turn it into a pendant for his wife. “The found object obviously had so much meaning to someone, but we don’t know the original story behind it,” Ladd shares. “It’s all part of its beauty. I was honored to make that piece.”

Wearing a piece of metalwork is like telling many stories, “stories about how it was made or where the pieces came from,” she says.

Rather than focusing on the business of jewelry making, she focuses on the creative side.

“I like this balance in my life,” she says.

Grounded in creativity and freedom of expression, Ladd continues to find joy in her art. “I feel like right now I’m beginning again,” says Ladd. Looking to the future, she says, “I plan to continue creating and continue learning.”

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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