SHEGUIANDAH—Fibre artist Judy Martin is no stranger to international quilt exhibitions and awards, having been invited to participate in many over the years where she has garnered quite a harvest of accolades for the glory wall.
The artist has just returned from a solo exhibition in Birmingham, England where, not only did her innovative artistic fibre creations go on display, but Ms. Martin was also one of an international group of artists asked to speak and teach at The Festival of Quilts.
Launched in 2003 in partnership with England’s The Quilters’ Guild as a hub for people from all over the world to come together and share their passion for quilting. The Festival of Quilts is now the biggest quilting show in Europe, with over 22,000 quilting fanatics from around the globe attending this year. The festival is also home to the largest open quilt competition in the world, has the largest programme of workshops and talks offered anywhere in Europe and hosts some of the leading quilt artists from around the globe.
“For nearly forty years, Judith E Martin’s earthy, understated textiles have been exhibited and loved in solo and group exhibitions. Her hand-stitched quilt, Underfoot the Earth Divine, won honorable mention in the Fine Art Textile Award Shortlist exhibition in the 2022 festival and Judy returns in 2024 with a solo exhibition of naturally dyed, two-sided quilts. A self-taught quilter and proponent of the aesthetics of care and poetry in the practice of quilting, Martin holds two fine art BA degrees (Lakehead 1993 and Middlesex 2012). Her long-lasting and popular blog, Judy’s Journal gives this artist from Manitoulin Island, Canada, an international voice,” reads her speaker’s bio for the festival.
“I had 14 pieces on display,” noted Ms. Martin. She had originally been approached by the festival for 2023, but felt she needed time to put together enough new work for the show.
“I could have entered my old work,” admitted Ms. Martin, but she decided to approach the show with new works. So it was she set about creating the collection that would come to be known as ‘Softer and Dreamier.”
Ms. Martin said she was delighted with the way her work was displayed at the show. “My work is usually two-sided,” she said. Following consultation with the curation designer for the show, he went on to build walls with hollow centres that allowed viewers to see both sides.
“Usually, quilts are hung against the wall,” she said. “He created four pieces that acted as walls but where you could look through and see both sides. They were practically floating. My work has never been so well displayed.”
Ms. Martin said that while some fibre artists who work with quilts tend toward something more akin to a painting, she wants her work to evoke the practical origins of quilting. “Originally, it was to keep you warm at night.” That is what led her to the title her show ‘Softer and Dreamier.’
The exhibition took place in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, affectionately called the NEC.
The Birmingham show is now behind her, but Ms. Martin has no chance to rest. She recently won a prestigious award that includes a one-year exhibition at the Gladstone Hotel galleries in Toronto and a modest cash prize. She is currently showing in World of Threads, and she also has a show coming up in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
Ms. Martin is fast becoming one of those ‘overnight sensations’ that has been labouring in the trenches for nigh onto 50 years. Ms. Martin says that we have great reason to be proud of the Canadian art scene.
“One of the great things about Canadian galleries is that most provide an artist’s fee,” she said. “It helps pay for the road trip,” laughs Ms. Martin.
