Wence Transforms Sandra’s Paintings into World-Class Weavings
Posted on 15. Aug, 2008 by Stephen Kastner in Visual Arts
“Semillas” and “Vessels” taking shape at Martinez Studio in Jacksonport…
JACKSONPORT, WI — Art enthusiasts who make the trip to the Martinez Studio in Jacksonport will have the unique opportunity to see Sandra Martinez’s newest paintings coming to life in another medium — as weavings on the loom of her husband, master weaver Wence Martinez. “Semillas,” an approximately five-week-long project, is scheduled for completion within days, after which he will start on “Vessels.”
Weaving underway by Wence Martinez
The husband-and-wife team have collaborated frequently on artistic projects throughout their years together, but Sandra Martinez said these new projects are particularly thrilling for her.
“Wence and I met and started doing artwork together 20 years ago, and watching him work on ‘Semillas,’ I feel like I did 20 years ago,” she said. “I could watch him for hours and hours. With all those curves, it’s exciting, and I’m reminded of how much talent it takes. He brings a gracefulness to the work.
“Whenever Wence weaves a piece of mine, it evolves,” she continued. “I love how it changes from the wall to the floor, with all the different angles and perspectives. And we are always having a conversation about that translation.”
With a smile, Wence added, “It’s fun.”
Door County visitors and residents who stopped at the Fairfield Art Center earlier this season will remember the paintings, which were prominently featured in the exhibition “Wence & Sandra Martinez: Presence.” They were part of a large body of new work Sandra created this past winter in Teotitlan del Valle, Wence’s home village in Oaxaca, Mexico. The couple often spends the winter offseason in the village, working on their art, visiting neighboring households to select yarn for new weavings and building a bed-and-breakfast that also will serve as an artist’s retreat. They return to Door County in the spring.
According to Sandra Martinez, this past winter’s visit started as an art retreat for her after a long year of recovery from hand surgery. Sandra said she became aware of the indigenous plant movement — the efforts of local farmers to preserve indigenous seeds that are being systematically destroyed — and this awareness infused her art.
“The drawings of roots became broader talismans, symbols of the spirit of the plants,” she said. “They are meant to honor, uplift and energize the sacred and the natural in the face of a tenacious assault by corporate, genetically altered, experimental food crops.
“We live in a farming and weaving village, in an area where corn is sacred,” she continued. “I was surrounded daily by people who would be impacted by these issues. The threat and the mounting evidence broke my heart and was reflected in my work.”
The results are striking.
“The paintings in ‘Presence’ use bold, elemental designs to explore the interdependent relationship between human beings and the land upon which their survival depends,” writes Shan Bryan-Hanson, the Fairfield’s artistic director and curator of the exhibition. “Paradox is at the heart of this work, which represents both past and present, interconnection and independence. The strong graphic designs and large scale of the work (is) demanding that the viewer spend time with each work and rewarding those who do.
“In the words of Leonardo da Vinci, ‘There are… those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see,’” she continued. “(This) art asks the viewer to be one who sees. The works are beautiful but not easy, not rooted in one place, one time or one identity, but instead, in a timeless, quiet moment of presence.”
After the exhibition, the couple looked forward to seeing Sandra’s paintings reborn on the loom. Wence Martinez has been weaving for more than three decades. He is a Zapotec Indian whose family still lives and works in Teotitlan del Valle, a community of approximately 5,000 people that has been renowned for textile weaving for centuries.
Wence has garnered international recognition for his one-of-a-kind artwork and carries on the Zapotec legacy by using hand-spun, hand-dyed wool, weaving his original contemporary and traditional designs into museum-quality tapestries for the floor or wall.
The black wool in “Semillas” is naturally black, the color of the Oaxacan sheep from which it was taken. Wence hand-dyed the red wool, mixing the colors to create a full palette of reds much the way a painter mixes paint.
“I work on the dyes for a couple of days, one color at a time,” Wence explained. “Then I have a range to choose from.”
“The tone of the red in ‘Semillas’ was determined by the natural black we chose to use, by the way those two colors work against each other,” Sandra added.
“Semillas” is the first painting from last winter’s Oaxacan art retreat to evolve into a weaving. As soon as it is complete, Wence will start with “Vessels,” and he and Sandra will continue to enjoy their unique collaborative relationship.
“We enjoy each other’s input and encouragement as we work on collaborative and individual projects,” Sandra said. “We welcome everyone to visit us at our studio — anytime — to see what comes next.”
While some of the “Presence” paintings will evolve into weavings, others will become patterns on Sandra’s renowned functional and wearable-art design projects. The most popular of these are her handbags.
“I’m making handbags again,” she confirmed. “Functional art is a passion for me, since it allows me to enjoy art with a light heart. I love to play with the combinations of symbol appliqué, vintage fabrics and vinyl, so the bags turn out to be one-of-a-kind. I think of them as sculptural containers.”
Sandra also is developing a series of “shoppers.”
“They’re simple, lightweight and tough,” she said. “I was sick of my ugly bags at the grocery store and was no longer able to use the store’s bags without cringing, so I made some cool ones! They’re modeled after the sugar-sack bags I use in Mexico at the markets.”
In addition, the Martinez Studio has unveiled a new Web site at www.martinezstudio.com, and they are eagerly anticipating another Oaxacan art retreat in Teotitlan del Valle this winter.
“Every spring, the public should expect a new batch of work from us,” Wence said of the offseason, lower-latitude retreats. “This is just the beginning for us.”
About the Martinez Studio:
The Martinez Studio is a working studio and gallery located 10 miles north of Sturgeon Bay and 2 miles south of Jacksonport on State Highway 42. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from May to October, or by appointment, its intimate setting provides collectors with a comfortable, direct connection to Wence and Sandra Martinez and their work.
Available are hand-woven contemporary and traditional tapestries by master weaver Wence Martinez, each produced with hand-spun wool that he hand-dyes himself. A Zapotec Indian from Oaxaca, Mexico, Wence also is a black-and-white photographer, documenting the Zapotec people and culture as well as the Door County landscape. Fellow resident artist Sandra Martinez incorporates her signature ethnographic figures and glyphs into one-off appliqué handbags, blockprinted scarves, rug designs and paintings.
The Martinez Studio has been a destination gallery since 1994. For more information, call 920.823.2154 or visit www.martinezstudio.com.
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