Artist Profile: Martha Wolfe

Martha Wolfe

Davis, CA

www.marthawolfe.com

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table? Lots of fabric scraps and a pile of things for my current project. Odds and ends that I deemed too important to get rid of but haven’t found a home for and an odd assortment of trinkets from my childhood.

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you? I’m the administrator of the Sea Bean Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/48783032705/ - a group of nearly 3000 members (and bots) that, like myself, are fascinated by drift seeds. Sea Beans, in short, are seeds and pods that travel on ocean currents and wash ashore on beaches around the world, thus someone in Cornwall, England can find a seed that fell in the rainforest in South America. Pretty cool stuff….and I have some of them on my work table, too.

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table? Theoretically just carpet with an occasional cat.

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life? That is a really difficult question! Probably the biggest turning point in my artistic life was becoming friends with Betty Busby at a critical time almost 10 years ago now. I’ve learned a lot from her.

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio? That would be a good idea, but not currently.

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you? I’ve only participated a couple times prior to this year, but I liked my “A Time to Sew (Tern, Tern, Tern)” piece. I always enjoyed the terns on the beach - so serious and comical at the same time.

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work? Birds, bicycles, fish. Nature. In no specific order...

8. What kinds of patterns do you use in your work to create interest and texture? I always prefer hand-dyed fabrics, particularly low immersion, batiks, and some commercial prints over solids, to bring things to life. I use silk organza, sometimes painted and/or printed, to separate background and foreground, layering things on top, below, or passing through the surfaceI to create depth and interest. 

9. What personal iconography is identifiable to you exclusively in your work? There is usually a lot of narrative in my work, personal stories of celebration, family, loss, aging and so on, told with bicycles and birds. Sometimes they are obvious and intentional. On occasion, I recognize them after the work is made.

10. What was your inspiration for the Best of Dinner at Eight? When I was in Japan this past January, I was shooting little 10 second videos of tranquil moments - silent snow falling, a waterfall, and so on. My favorite was the rain gently falling on the pond filled with koi in Ritsurin Garden. I remember the perfect joy of being there in that moment.