MBHS grad creates jewelry from Toomer’s trees

Special jewelry made from the Toomer’s Corner oak trees in Auburn debuted at A-Day on April 18 thanks to the artistry of a Mountain Brook native.

Andrea Buchanan Marty, a 1989 Mountain Brook High School graduate, was selected by The Oaks Committee to create jewelry to be sold exclusively through Auburn’s bookstore.

“It is amazing to see Andrea take a tree limb from a dead tree and create an exciting piece of jewelry,” said Marty’s mother, Judy Buchanan, who still lives in Mountain Brook.

A longtime painter and 1994 graduate of Auburn’s fine arts department, Marty started painting wooden pieces to create jewelry after her second child was born. She was looking to paint something smaller and easier to do on a kitchen table. When news came of the Toomer’s trees’ destruction a few years ago, her husband encouraged her to contact Auburn about using the trees to make commemorative jewelry. She reached out to her ceramics professor, now the chair of the art department, Gary Wagoner, and eventually Marty began her line.

Using oak pieces shipped to her from Auburn, Marty cut them to size and painted them orange and blue hues specified by the university. From there, she sanded them down to reveal more of the natural grain and coated them with a high-gloss resin to make them shine. All the pieces were finished with a stamp of the official Auburn Oaks logo.

Necklaces and key chains are in the final collection. Marty originally created more pieces, and student focus groups narrowed them down to those selections. They run from $25-50. At A-Day, 100 pieces sold out in three hours. 

Marty said she is proud to be part of a project involving Wagoner and her alma mater.

Future Auburn Oaks jewelry can be ordered from University Bookstore at aubookstore.com or by calling 334-844-4241. For more information on Marty’s work, visit the Anchor and Daisy page on Facebook. She also sells her work through Etsy and at a store in Austin, Texas, where she and her family moved last year.