Marvin starts with tuffa and picks a relief into the stone. A ancient Navajo style of working with stone only known by a patient few.
His wife says “when Marvin gets an idea for a new piece he enters an entranced state becoming one with the ancients, detached from this present time”
Example above is Fremont Pendant
Below is Belt Buckle from same design
The Art of Tufa
CastingTufa is porous rock made of volcanic ash used to
form a casting mold. The Tufa Stone is cut to the desired size and shape which
often resembles a brick. It is then sliced in half. Usually, a design is carved
into just one of the interior sides of the Tufa Stone. After the carving is
done, the two halves of the Tufa Stones are rightly joined. This is tied
together with a strip of rubber. A "sprue hole" is carved into one end. The
joined and decorated halves then become the mold. Finally, molten sterling
silver is poured through the "sprue hole" into the mold. After the sterling
silver cools and hardens, the carved design is visible and the Tufa leaves a
textured surface on the metal. Jewelry such as a bracelet is cast flat and then
hammered into shape.
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