Artist's Statement
Current events, as reflected through social and political behaviors, and the dynamics of personal and family relationships greatly interest me and are featured heavily in my art. My goal is to use my art to communicate the questions and encourage the viewer to address the questions that arise from these themes, rather than make pronouncements about them. I have found that people are drawn to the inherently warm and non-threatening qualities of fabric and quilts, which encourages them to confront issues and topics that they may otherwise prefer to avoid. The thematic content of my work includes both the humorous and the more troublesome, dysfunctional circumstances of everyday experiences. The juxtaposition of the various shapes, textures, color, and patterns of fabric pieces is as deliberate and purposeful as drawing with charcoal or painting with a brush. I liken the process of assembling and stitching the layers of an art quilt to drawing with thread, creating images that become metaphorical expressions of all of the vicissitudes of life and our interaction with others.” — Martha Bruin Degen

Artist's Biography
Martha Bruin Degen lives and works from her home studio in Staunton, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley. She holds a BFA in design from Virginia Commonwealth University and a MFA in fiber arts from James Madison University. After working as a graphic designer in retail advertising and public television, Martha made a commitment to pursue her own ideas in art. She studied printmaking with Lucy Mueller White and Robin Freedenfeld at the Northampton Printmaking Workshop in Northampton, Massachusetts. Martha is the recipient of a project grant and multiple artist-in-education grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She has taught art and photography to middle and high school students, fiber arts and interdisciplinary arts at Mary Baldwin College, and design classes at Blue Ridge Community College. Martha has traveled throughout Virginia as part of the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ ON THE ROAD program, lecturing and conducting workshops in art. Over a twenty-five year period, Martha’s work represents her interest in exploring a wide range of media and artistic venues, including charcoal and pen sketches, printmaking, paper-making and other fiber media. Her current focus on mixed media and art quilts reveals a fascinating evolution through the richly diverse art forms she has mastered. Her prints, paperwork's, and mixed media pieces and art quilts can be found in collections and juried exhibitions throughout the United States. Contact the artist for further information.