Medicine Earth

Medicine Earth side b detail

Blanket weight wool, densely stitched with black wool thread, 

the ecological marks are outlined with red silk

Medicine Earth side a detail

Different weights of thread were used to make the straight stitches

different shades of black and dark green were used

the red thread is silk  

Medicine Earth   side a  186.6 cm x 185 cm or  73.5 x 73 inches   

Densely stitched wool cloth with a linen layer,  both linen and wool are eco printed.

Wool blanket and patchwork added to extend the size.  

Medicine Earth 186.6 cm x 185 cm or  73.5 x 73 inches    side b 

Hand stitched straight stitch using wool threads, with red silk thread around the ecological marks.

The deformed cotton string that was used to make the eco bundles is couched onto the surface of side b and outlined on side a. 

black and white cotton patches were applied to the edges.

black and white checkerboard textiles are an ancient form of protection

pieces of old blanket were added to the upper and lower edges to add weight and scale to the piece.

then they were stitched with wool thread

the artist used wool thread and her marks read as if an ancient code 

Medicine Earth side b as shown at In The Middle of the World at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum 

Judy Martin and Penny Berens, curator Miranda Bouchard

The archetypal shapes of cross and circle are ancient and evoke a sense of ritual.

 2019 - 2021

Medicine Earth was exhibited as part of In The Middle of The World, the two-person exhibition with Penny Berens (Nova Scotia) curated by Miranda Bouchard.  There is a catalogue published and it is available, contact the artist.  

In the Middle of the World showed at The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in 2021, then at The Muse in Kenora 2023,  and thirdly at Artsplace in Annapolis Royal in 2024.  

Medicine Earth is currently available for purchase.

Her Arms Wrapped Round, My Heart

My Heart, 22 x 10.5 x 14 inches, natural dyes on wool cloth over an armature made from broken willow branches and clover stalks, hand stitched, 2021

Her Arms Wrapped Round and My Heart, installation view, In The Middle Of The World, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Almonte, Ontario autumn 2021

Her Arms Wrapped Round, 30.5 x 9.5 x 8 inches, natural dyes on wool cloth wrapped around an armature made from broken willow branches and clover stalks, 2021

When my arms wrap you round I press

my heart upon the loveliness

that has long faded from the world.  W.B. Yeats  

They are each about the size and weight of a young child.  

Premier exhibition :  In The Middle of The World, Judy Martin and Penny Berens, curated by Miranda Bouchard, The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, October 2 - December 18, 2021. 

The exhibition toured to Kenora, Ontario and showed at The Muse / Lake of the Woods Museum and Douglas Family Art Centre, April 1 - July 4, 2023.

It then went on to Artsplace in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in September - October 2024.

The two bundles were also part of Judy's Northern Ontario / Time installation at World of Threads festival in Oakville Ontario, October 2023 - January 2024.  

Both bundles are in private collection in Chelsea, Quebec.   

Stardust

 

Stardust  vintage doilies, most hand stitched by anonymous women applied to hand dyed linen and hand stitched with cotton thread, hand quilted   2021  100 inches high  x  55 inches wide  (254 x 139.7 cm)

Stardust detail   The doilies were all gifts.  These were the circle ones.

Stardust verso, procion dye on linen, hand stitched.  

Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded and the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand.  It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics.  

You are all stardust.                  Lawrence M Krauss

The title piece for Judy Martin's solo exhibition in the Gore Bay Museum, June - September 2023.  

Available for purchase.