Marty Jonas is a fiber artist from the San Francisco Bay area. Her mother taught her to knit, crochet, and sew. Her father taught her to hammer, saw and drill – and in those days – that was man’s work. In the 90s, she attended an exhibition of fiber and textile art, at Mills College in Oakland, which showed her the amazing things that could be done with threads. Jonas immediately signed up for a class at a local sewing store and then several classes in England.
The most important aspect of her art is the form – the way it is made and its visual effect – not the narrative content. Jonas creates images that standout from a distance, but look entirely different close up, due to the minute stitches that make up the details. A leaf, stem or pistil can often be recognized from afar, but up close, an intriguing variety of shapes, lines and structures unfold. This is where her insatiable hunger for the creative process manifests itself.
