Friday, February 08, 2019

my life work

counting my blessings 1999
about my children
cry me a river 2001
about my mother
hold me 1993
about my husband
thunder and lightning 1989
about my  work
order belies chaos 1990
about my marriage
fragile as a leaf in autumn 2004
about my husband and about the earth
between the leading note and the tonic 1998
about teaching
something more magical than it ever was 1991
about memory
Gaea Enthroned 1992
about spirituality and mother earth



My roots are in the grand narrative of traditional quilt pattern and symbolic language.
My subject is our relationships to each other and to the earth.

These quilts were made when the kids were still at home, minutes here and there over months and years, I needed to get them out of me and into the world.

They are on my  mind today because a new website,is under construction and decisions have to be made about content.  These pieces will be in a folder entitled Story Quilts.

mysterious
whirling
gentle
felt in the body

11 comments:

Mo Crow said...

love seeing these early works!

Judy Martin said...

love you MO ! x

Judy Martin said...

these are story quilts
the stories are about relationships
1. about having four children
2. about my mother
3. about having to move away from Kenora because of husband's job
4. about sitting as a juror for ontario arts council
5. about love
6. about my husband's illness
7. about the anxiety of not having enough time because of teaching
8. about memory and how it is different for everyone
9. about mother earth and how much we love and need her

Helen said...

Love your stories/quilts.

Tina said...

Love the stories

Mystic Quilter said...

Beautiful, beautiful quilts Judy!! I love story quilts, I am making a few quilts with a similar theme but I have mine down as Memory Quilts, as yours do, they tell a story.
It is fascinating to see your early quilts, so rich in colour and then your step away into the softer work of the present.

Judy Martin said...

thank you for noticing that shift into softness...
I am using natural dyes now rather than the procion ones I used in my early work. Early work was very connected to the bed - birth, sex, death, fertility.
now, I am more concerned with the other thing we do in bed, and also during the day time, while looking out windows. Dream. xo

Sujata Shah said...

I sit here in silence thinking of every word I read. A thought provoking post for me. Outside noises over power everything that is inside. You have made me want to go inward. Judy, such beautiful work, I am simply honored to be in this space with you. xo

Nifty Quilts said...

I love all of your work, Judy. It seems to always come from a deep place in your heart. The same is true for these earlier works. Thank you for showing them!

Mariss Stevens said...

Breathtaking work

Penny Berens said...

So wonderful to see these again. Deep bold colours of old and now gentler natural shades....do you think it is our age?! In an earlier comment someone wrote that you made her want to go inward and she hit the nail on the head. Your marvelous work has always done that because they are so much a part of your being. You have such a gift dear friend🥰