The Shedio/Ed and Martha Biggar

03/25/2026

Well, last week was the third week of March, still working on . So many firsts this week: I made it into our studio, our sweet Shedio, for the first time in two months, I am now driving, I tried a cane but am not ready for that yet. I am so excited to get back to making: one of my favorite parts is finishing. Did you know I finish all the edges of my pieces, even the smallest ones, to at least four levels of smoothness. And, I include a finished texture or design on the backs of all my pieces. I love that smoothness, that almost secret part of the backs of my pieces; the part no one might see. Craftsmanship is so important to me!

03/17/2026

Catching up with week two of with an image from my bench. Glass has always fascinated me even before I met Ed. Growing up in an old house with lots of old stuff meant seeing glassware in so many different forms. When I learned about fused glass, it was just the thing to add to my silver jewelry to make it my own, my personal touch. As time went on, I experimented with different colors of glass and became enamored with clear and opaline glasses, that changed with the background: the color of your dress or hair, even your skin. Glass is ever changing, my favorite element to add to my work.

03/16/2026

March is halfway over and I’m just starting with . I’m learning how to walk all over again in the midst of jewelry and glass. So here is week one in a nutshell: my husband Ed and I create glass and jewelry in our little Shedio. We live on part of the family farm in Southwest Virginia. I’ve included here a photo of us as well as a couple bench shots.

03/03/2026

Hi metal clay friends! Ed and I are working on our presentation for SINTER, Beyond the Bling, which features glass without dichroic coating. We would love to feature both your blingy (and who doesn’t love bling?) and non-blingy glass and metal clay. If you are interested, please send high quality photos, no limit on numbers, as a message or you can email to marthabiggar at yahoodotcom. Even if you are not going, your name and work will be up in lights! Blingy pic for your notice…

11/28/2025

“Never satisfied with superfluous decoration, Calder used jewelry as an alternative way of communicating his artistic ideals,” writes Alexander S. C. Rower. “He developed a direct process using honest industrial materials such as brass and steel wire that he bent, twisted, hammered, and riveted in an immediate way. At once primitive and refined, the resulting works show the eccentricities of his hand expressing subtly tactile qualities.” Morning Glory, the brooch pictured here, was gifted to the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, by Calder’s sister, Margaret “Peggy” Calder Hayes.

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/y93uycc9

[Image: Morning Glory (c. 1938), sheet metal, brass wire, and safety pin. Photograph by Maria Robledo. © 2025 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York]

11/25/2025

11/21/2025