Martha Allen moved to West Cornwall from Bristol in the late 1980s, and established her own pottery at Marazion.  She showed work from home-studio and also in many mixed exhibitions, creating large platters, bowls and ceramic masks in stoneware, on classical and cultural themes primarily referencing feminism and her love of animals.

For the Jamieson Library at Newmill, she created a remarkable wall mural in sculpted stoneware tiles on the theme of the 4th century heroine, Hypatia of Alexandria, in her chariot being driven through the marketplace. An archive of her personal writings is kept in the collections of the Library, and several distinguished pieces of her domestic ware are part of the Hypatia Collection of Women's Art.

Allen and her partner, both being musicians, now live and work in Yorkshire.