Cloth Dolls and Art Quilts
Richmond, VA
Since Martha Jones-Carter’s early childhood in the closely knit Northside Washington Park neighborhood, her art has always been a strong part of who she is. In her words: “For as long as I can remember I have been very creative with my hands. I drew and made whatever I visualized in my head, which allowed me to learn and develop many art techniques using various art mediums. I paint, sculpt, make beaded jewelry, pine needle baskets, stained glass, art dolls, quilt-making — and that’s only a few art techniques I have learned over the years. Now, many of my creations are done in mixed media textile and most of my art pieces are cloth dolls and art quilts.
When creating art, I would like for it to tell stories of what may be happening within my present-day culture or telling historical stories of my African American ancestors. Also, I like to have my art to demonstrate the connections between African American cultural expressions and African cultural traditions. I love to represent culture by using a collage of mixed media and a variety of fabrics when creating my dolls and art quilts.
Learning to sew and to quilt from watching my mother and grandmother has made me proud to know I am carrying on a family tradition. I became serious about quilting about 2001 and co-founded the Kuumba African American Quilt Guild with friends in 2012. We are still quilting today and have exhibited our quilts in several of our own sponsored exhibitions. Also, I always enjoy teaching various types of art projects and having workshops for children and adults.”
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