Martina Edmondson

Stone Diaries by Martina Edmondson. Beach stones, 2 x7 x 2 in, 2017

Martina Edmondson presents Nature Bound

A solo show at the Gage Gallery November 20 - December 8, 2018
Opening on Nov 25 1-4 pm coincides with the Oak Bay Christmas light up celebration.
Open for Oak Bay Gallery Walk: Thurs Nov 29 5-8 pm

Nature Bound features nearly 30 artworks in a variety of mediums: collage, sculpture, wall-hangings and assemblage. The diversity and technical excellence of her mixed media artworks delight colleagues and collectors. Edmondson is an award-winning artist and graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. While living in Toronto, she participated in solo, group and juried shows in Canada and abroad. After moving to Victoria three years ago, she enjoys ongoing support and inspiration from her fellow artists at the Gage Gallery Arts Collective.

Nature’s Bounty. Scroll Book. Eco print on various papers, found objects. Open: 7 x 20 x 12 in, 2018. Ivan Hunter Photography

Two of Edmondson’s recent artworks are absent from the upcoming solo show. These two pieces are traveling across Canada with the 2018 Art of the Book exhibition. This year, the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild celebrated 35 years. The anniversary coincided with a juried exhibition including members’ work. This traveling exhibition includes entries from Australia, China, the UK and USA. France, Spain and Singapore. Martina Edmondson was honoured in two ways. Her scroll book Nature’s Bounty was selected for the frontispiece of the catalogue and featured in the Paper Decoration section.

Tree Poems, her pamphlet with original poems, received the Colophon Book Arts Award. Jurors praised Tree Poems as an outstanding example of using decorated paper for inner pages as well as covers. The judges also praised the artist’s practice of eco or botanical printing. Eco printing uses vegetation and found materials to imbue paper with rich earthy tones. The tree poems on the eco printed papers were composed at an artist residency in 2016. This week long event on Toronto Island with Monica Bodirsky reawakened the artist’s connection with the natural world. “I found my voice,” she says, “and composed these simple words that celebrate trees.”

Tree Poems. Pamphlet with original poems. Eco print on Oriental papers, found objects. Open: 9.5 x 6 x 3 in, 2018. Ivan Hunter Photography

Edmondson is an avid collector of all kinds of treasures, both natural and manufactured. “Whenever I begin a new project,” she says, “I unpack a box and begin to investigate the contents.” The artworks evolve slowly from working with the materials. By reassembling words and objects new meanings are shaped. On a creative level, the repetition and fine detail work are both meditative and informative. Peering closely at her artworks reveals feathers, driftwood, pebbles, animal bones and fragments of glass and metal. Some objects are wound tightly in wire. Hand made books are expertly stitched, some bound with clasps of wood or bone. Eco printed scrolls and wall hangings glow with warm, textured hues. Fragments of text, unusual images, a yellowed dictionary page collaged with scraps of fabric, all create order out of chaos.

All of Us – Manipulated. Eco print on paper, 22 x 13 x 9.5 in, 2018

All of Us – Rebound. Eco print and natural dyes on rice paper, folded and stitched, wood, metal rod. 23 x 8 x 4.5 in, 2018.

The artist is sharply tuned to social situations and the collective human experience. In January 2018, O Canada’s lyrics "All Our Son’s Command" became "All of Us Command" after a 38 year struggle. Before the change, in 2017, she protested with a multi-faceted paper sculpture for the Canada 150 show at Gage. It was then titled All of Us. To celebrate the gender neutral language correction, she took apart All of Us and reassembled the paper pieces into All of Us - Rebound.
“As a mother of daughters I am concerned about equality and inclusion,” she says.

All of Us (2017) resembled a neck ruff. A ruff is a stiff starched collar fashionable with Dutch nobility during the 17th century. The artist transformed this traditional symbol of wealth and power to one that symbolically includes all people. “All of Us - Rebound” (2018) proudly resembles a more inclusive head dress. Edmondson emigrated from Holland in 1966, and feels passionate about being Canadian. “We are bound together, she says, “by a common gratitude for being able to live in this country”.

All of Us - Manipulated is a stack of eco printed papers, crumbled then stiffened with starch. The papers appear to float aimlessly, lacking order or purpose. This refers to the artist’s concerns about individual autonomy in the face of political, corporate and media manipulation. “We are not always told the truth about situations and events,” she says.

Library. Assemblage with silver sculpture, dyed linen, miniature books and eco print scroll. 18 x 5 x 3.5 in, 2018.

Stylish. Collage with dictionary text, found objects and dyed cotton, 5 x 12 x 1.5 in, 2015.

Edmondson’s home studio is in full production for the upcoming show. Projects, ongoing and completed, cover the walls, shelves and over sized tables. As we chat, one wired sculpture goes ‘ping’ and slips out of place, causing balls on strings to bounce up and down in the air. “That one’s not quite finished,” says the artist, “calmly pinning the wire armature back into place.”

The artist has a lot of experience with eco printing, and does this work in her studio kitchen area. She gathers windfalls like blossoms and leaves, adding cuttings and flowers from the garden. For eco printing, the artist employs all kinds of papers, oriental and watercolour, as well as various kinds of cloth. These ground materials are treated with a chemical binding agent called mordant to assist the image transfers. Once her collected treasures are laid on the prepared ground, they are tightly bound and put in a dye bath or steaming tray. The artist makes her own dyes from kitchen scraps (onion and avocado skins, rooibos tea and coffee) or plants harvested from nature. She also purchases natural dyes in wood chip form from a company in Vancouver.

Eagle Aerie Nest. Wood, nails, thread, plant material and grass. 16 x 12 x 8 in, 2018.

Unbound. Eco print on paper adhered to canvas blocks. Each block is 4 x 4 x 1.5 in, 2018

Many artists at the Gage Gallery exhibit smaller works in the back room. In her series Unbound, Edmondson presents eco printed miniature squares in lovely muted earth tones. These small gems can be displayed in group settings or sold separately, and will be available throughout the run.

Present, is a scroll-like wall hanging. The layers of eco printed papers include Taiwan oriental paper, Japanese Washi paper and Masa paper. The present means here and now, and can also mean a gift. By using this homonym the artist adds a second poignant association. The dried spray of roses attached to Present was a meaningful gift. “I went back and forth,” she recalls, “trying to decide whether the flowers added to the visual aesthetic of the work. Finally I decided they should be added.”

Send-off. Collage with dictionary text, found objects and printed cotton, cheesecloth, wire. 15 x 12 x 1.5 in, 2015.

The Present. Eco prints on papers, spray of roses, 32 x 13 x 2.5 in, 2018.

Opening reception happened Sunday Nov 25 1-4 pm. Friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate with the artist.
(See photos below). Open for Oak Bay Gallery Walk: Thurs Nov 29 5-8 pm. Show continues until December 8, 2018.

Martina and Wayne Edmondson

Martina Edmondson welcomes your interest in her work.
Contact the artist at [email protected]

Gage Gallery is located at 2031 Oak Bay Avenue,
Victoria, V8R 1E5 250 592-2760, gagegallery.ca

Web Design, Content and Selected Photos
by Kate Cino
Kate is an arts writer published in Focus,
Yam and Boulevard.
She has a History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from UVic.