Martha Cole defines herself as a landscape-based artist with roots deeply buried in Saskatchewan soil, always exploring and deepening her connection to the land. At times, she focuses on the vast expansiveness of the prairie panorama, the patterning of the agricultural fields and other times, on the complexity and subtlety of the vast array of plants and trees.

Martha is a celebrated fiber artist on a provincial, national and international scale. In 2019, Martha was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, Martha was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit for her contributions to the province.

Martha's machine-stitched and quilted artworks exhibit nationally and internationally in public galleries, commercial galleries, and in a wide range of juried exhibitions. Her work has represented Canada at the Yokohama Quilt Week in Japan, the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, the Assoc. of Pacific NW Quilters Biennial Showcase in Seattle, and at the prestigious Quilt National 2015 in Athens, Ohio. In addition, her art is included in the public collections of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Government of Saskatchewan, City of Regina as well as many private collections. She has been published in several books and has had numerous journal articles and video/media interviews.

Statement:

As an “art maker”, I believe that art and visual images carry in them the power to generate change if they are created with honouring and respectful intention. Therefore, I try to create images that are beautiful, reflective of my values, and accessible both visually and intellectually. I hope to show aspects of the prairies that are both new and familiar to my viewers. I want them to experience the broad, expansive “power of place” that is so characteristic of the prairies as well as the small, fragile and vulnerable within the wide sweep of this landscape.

As a “culture maker”, I am committed to effecting change in our society. I have chosen to place my work here – where I live. I want these images to resonate, to affirm and deepen a personal connection in each of us to this land. I believe that if we can learn to love this land we cannot help but work to save it, thereby saving ourselves in the process.

Since 2006 most of my work has been based on digital images, which have been altered in Photoshop and then printed large-scale onto fabric using commercial printers. After printing, I alter these images using transparent acrylic based fabric paints and extensive machine stitching with various collage or appliqué additions as needed. They are then quilted and finished.

By using a digital camera for my initial images, I discover areas of complexity that I cannot or do not see with the naked eye when I draw the same image directly. I want to be an active witness to the complexity and interconnectedness of the natural world. By using this kind of subject matter, I hope to make myself and others more comfortable in this very complex and ever changing world while understanding and accepting our embeddedness within it.

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