Marty Jonas Fiber Art
My Mother taught me to knit, crochet and sew, and my Father taught me to hammer, saw, solder and drill. I cannot remember a time when I was not doing something creative, using threads or cloth, with my hands.
Cloth can be used in an infinite number of ways and has the ability to convey messages, to alter meanings and to transform the ordinary.
The tactile quality of fiber and thread, combined with surface design techniques, provide me with the opportunity to speak visually, that which, I cannot express in words. Fiber is an extension of my voice.
While working with one piece, another concept often emerges and it is this constant, stimulating flow of ideas that causes my work to evolve.
My goal is to create works which are complex enough to provide the viewer with interest when viewed from a distance as well as close. I try to use the medium to its maximum, pushing beyond tradition in hope to spark the viewer’s imagination, thoughts and memories.
Statement
Marty Jonas studied embroidery at the City and Guilds of London Institute in England from 1993 to 2000. Since then, she has been creating textural fiber pieces by manipulating fabrics using pleating, ruching, knitting, shredding, rotting, bleaching, burning, printing, and dyeing.
She embellishes her altered textiles with thread, beads, plastics, metals, papers, and paints. By manipulating the colors, textures and character of the various fibers, she conveys many expressive and emotional qualities including anticipation, love, joy, serenity, depression, aging and decay.
