Underfoot the Earth Divine / Overhead the Sun a two-sided quilt

Underfoot The Earth Divine was completed in 2020 and first exhibited in 2021 in a two-person exhibition with Penny Berens entitled In the Middle of the World.

The quilt is two sided. Both sides are made from linen damask table linens that have been dyed with local plants.  Underfoot (above) is dyed with sumac leaves and a bit of iron.

Overhead (below) is dyed with golden rod wild flowers.

For the quilt top above, Judy cut several dyed table cloths into long strips and sewed them together again using a sewing machine.  They took up her whole design wall.  The finished size of this piece is 89 x 89 inches.

Once the strips were sewn together, the artist cut into the sewn strips to make holes and then filled the holes with velvet that had been sewn together in strips.  So when you come across those velvet areas with your hand, you can feel the softness and the richness.

The second side is made up of only 4 large pieces of linen damask which can be seen in the photo above.  The circle that appears on this side is made with thread that was stitched into the first side of the quilt and is received on the second side like a gift.  The thread is a fine black wool.

In the lower part of the circle is the square that is the reverse of the taffeta square in the front.  This square was not stitched with black thread but with fine red thread, and very densely.  See the detail below.

 Underfoot the Earth Divine / Overhead the Sun has been exhibited widely since 2021.

In 2022 it travelled to England to be part of the Fine Art Textiles Award Shortlist exhibition at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.  It received the award of "highly commended".

In 2023 it went to Kenora Ontario as part of In the Middle of the World exhibition.  This two-person exhibition has a free lance curator, Miranda Bouchard, who travelled to Kenora with Penny and Judy in order to make some presentations.  Judy Martin lived in Kenora for 10 years between 1982 and 1992 and her two younger children were born there.

Later in 2023, Underfoot the Earth Divine was part of Quilts=Art=Quilts, an annual exhibition of art quilts that occurs at the Schweinfurth Art Centre in  Auburn New York, USA.  It won the Schweinfurth award. 

In 2024, this quilt will show one more time as part of In the Middle of the World, this time in Nova Scotia in the Annapolis Royal Art Centre.  The show opens September 7 2024, and Judy and Penny and Miranda will attend the opening and will speak.

Quilt number 111   2020