In 1957 to 1959, Martha Pike had the opportunity to attend an Art College at the University of Neufchatel, Suisse (Switzerland). In Neufchatel, she learned how to draw using charcoal. In a class that was totally in French, she used charcoal for sketching female and male nudes for series of 5 to 10 minutes.

The following summer, in 1959, Martha attended classes at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL, for three months, where she studied oil painting and clay sculpture.

In 1961, she attended Fine Arts and Art classes at Harvard University Extension School in Cambridge, MA, for two years. The media was oils and the subject was female nudes. Martha recalls her professor in Suisse stating to her, "If you can draw the human figure well, then you can draw anything."

Her passion for painting became dormant in 1964 after she married and raised two sons. For 17 years, Martha lived in the New England area. She moved from Old Lyme and Storrs, CT to Knoxville, TN in 1974. During that time, Martha returned to the nursing profession and then on to graduate school at UT Knoxville, where she became qualified as a psychotherapist, health educator, and teacher of psychology. She practiced as a nurse/psychotherapist for over 18 years. In April of 2003, her husband, David Pike, retired and they moved permanently to Bakersville, NC. A primary reason for retiring to this location was its proximity to the Penland School of Crafts and the arts community of Mitchell County.

In 2001, Martha started to study under renowned a master iconographer and Orthodox Byzantine priest who taught Greek Icon painting. She continued to study under this iconographer for years. Martha has developed a deep passion for this 2000+ year old technique. Recently, she studied under a different iconographer who taught Russian icon painting. Russian icons are more appealing to her because they are more transparent and less opaque. Icon making is an old technique that is rich in history, spirituality, and a form of meditation.

In February of 2004, Martha took her first Penland Workshop on making Pysanky Eggs. This is an ancient process that uses the skills of working with hot beeswax, pencil and special dyes on hand-blown eggs. Martha began personal research into the ancient customs, symbolism and culture of the Ukraine, Russian, and American Indian peoples.

In 2008 at Penland she studied a rare skill known as "Repouse". It is an ancient technique used by the Byzantine monks in Russia and Spain. Repouse is working with silver, gold or pewter to draw designs on frames, books or boxes. The tools used are unique in that one doesn't use hammers, nails or torches, jewels are bezel in by hand.