Joyce Martelli grew up with her mother who quilted but didn’t have an interest until she took an art quilt class. She works across multiple media, creating art quilts and 3D character structures from fiber. Take a close look at her whimsical dolls to see all of the details.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
My first artist path was at five years old when I connected with music. I continued with music, received a degree in Music Education and taught for several years.
All my life I was around a quilter and ceramist, my mother, but I had no interest in it. Many years later and many changes in my life, I decided to try quilting. At first, I didn’t like it. Actually, it was the teacher’s style of teaching. A few more classes with other teachers, and I was hooked!
Why art quilts? How did you get started?
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One of the classes that I took was from someone who was well known for her art quilts. I loved her work and took every class she taught. She taught technique and design and no patterns.. This was exactly what I wanted! I created my first piece after seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I entered it in a show in Pennsylvania and was given an Honorable Mention. I was thrilled.
What different creative media do you use in your work?
I continue to develop my own style with lots of experimentation. I use paint, dye, embroidery, paper, ink, piecing, reverse appliqué and much more. When I am creating, the piece leads me to try different media and I am not worried about the combinations. It’s because of this experimentation that I now create work in bookbinding, basket making and doll making.
I love it! I start a piece as an art quilt and it ends up as a basket or other creation.
Where is your focus right now?
My focus for the last 4 years has been in 3D creations. Just as things were closing down for Covid a friend of mine showed me how to create an armature structure. And that started the move to doll making, which I call “character vessels”.
The first one that I made I named Charice. She is a mystic and is my inspiration for moving forward in 3D work. I actually created a piece that started as a basket and ended up being a character vessel. I called her “I’m a Basket Case.”
Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?
I never know where I will find inspiration. It could be in reading, looking at nature, seeing other works of art. When I studied archetypes with Jane Dunnewold, this gave me more ideas for my character vessels.
Another inspiration came from reading about Picasso and his abstract faces. I tried drawing my own and they became the faces for several of my pieces.
Nature led me to using driftwood and rocks in many pieces and more 3D work. Two-dimensional work just could not capture all that I wanted to put into my art.
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
I am definitely an improviser. I go to my studio and decide what I want to work and then just let my spirit move me. Once I start working on a piece, it will tell me what it wants to look like. I find it difficult to draw a sketch and plan the steps. It just doesn’t fit me.
Describe your creative space.
Describe my work space? Oh my, what a mess!!!
First, I am lucky to have my studio in my home. I have a finished basement so I don’t have to worry about keeping things neatly. Stuff is all over the place.
I may have an art quilt, a character vessel, and a painting all on the same table. It is chaotic, and sometimes that inspires me to include one project into another. I love working this way.
My main tools are in a rollaway stand that is close by, but usually they are already on the table.
About once a year, I try to organize my space, but it doesn’t take long to mess it up again.
How does your studio organization contribute to your work process?
My “dis” organized studio allows me to be free. That is my work process.
While I am looking for that one thing that I think I need, it is often found in a pile that I have not put away from another project. Just imagine if I had cleaned up after that project and had thrown away the perfect thing!
I am also fortunate to have a design wall the length of one wall. I can pin things to the wall to let them settle in my mind while I work on something else. The design wall really helps in my process!
Working across many different media, how do you organize all of your creative supplies?
Well, I try to keep my supplies organized, but I don’t spend time doing it. They often get shifted because I work in many different media and the supplies meet my needs everywhere. I focus more on my creativity and less on organization.
Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?
I am a finisher, but of course, I have UFOs. I really don’t know how many I have. There are several bodies lying around waiting for heads, legs, arms, etc. I have several baskets started and at least two art quilts hanging on the design wall. I recently found a UFO that was over 15 years old and decided that I could finish it.
Some pieces get finished right away, from start to end. Some take several months or years. That doesn’t even count the drawings that I have started, but could not find the right way to finish.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?
I do use a sketchbook/journal and actually create my own. I use them to help me improve in the creation of my faces. I also keep technique links, comments from classes that I want to remember, and also cuts from magazines that inspire me. Sometimes I go back to read or look at photos and it will inspire me to do additional work in an area.
How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?
That’s a hard question to answer. I usually start a new project when I get an idea for a new creation. I could go days, weeks, or even months before I start a brand-new project.
I do work on more than one project at a time. I have projects that I do in front of the TV in the evening, usually handwork. My husband calls my chair in the living room the creative space! And then there are projects downstairs in the studio.
So, I am never at a loss of what to do, but often overwhelmed by what to do now.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
I can tell you about the inspiration and process of Joannie. Joannie was inspired by my creation of Charley.
I wanted to do a 4 ft. character vessel. I started with Charley. I don’t remember where the inspiration came from other than I wanted to do one.
I was listening to some music of the 60’s and 70’s and the thought came to maybe do one that was a hippie. I could see her in my head, tie-dyed clothes, long hair, funky hat, and boots. Looking around in my stash I found all these items.
It took me several tries to get the right shape and size for the body. I also wanted her seated and not standing so I had to find something to use for that. At first, I wanted a chair with a back, but I couldn’t find the right thing. I finally settled on the stool. Now I had to figure out how to support her in a seated position. I found the perfect piece of driftwood that added to how I wanted the free spirit of Joannie to show. With many trials and errors, Joannie came into being. From thought to completion probably took about a month.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
My favorite part of the design process is coming up with an idea. I see something that inspires me and I start thinking about how I can do this and what can I change.
The most challenging part is engineering the project. Sometimes I just don’t know how to get it all put together. That’s why I have many leftover parts.
Is there an overarching theme that connects all of your work?
I don’t think I really have an overarching theme in any of my work. I do not work in a series. Everything stands as individual projects. The closest to a theme would be my character vessels, but even those are different and not related to each other.
How has your creativity evolved over the years? What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?
When I first started in the fiber arts, the only thing that I really knew about was quilting. As I subscribed to magazines such as Cloth, Paper, Scissors and other mixed media magazines, I found other media inspiring.
I had many friends who had already moved into medias beyond quilting. I wanted to try what they were doing and add possibly to my art quilts. I opened up my mind to try anything and everything whether I could use it to create quilts or not. It was just the ability to create in different media.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
Sometimes it is good not to be motivated and interested in the work you are doing at the moment. That’s when the mind goes off to other things and the research begins to find a spark to begin again in a different way. I think I would be terribly bored if I only did art quilts. It’s being about to work in drawing, painting, beading and on that keeps me motivated.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
A person who does all of his work with markers said in a group that he never throws away any of his work. When he finds that it is not working or he has lost interest, he puts it aside because it is obvious to him that “its” time is not now. I love that!
Where can people see your work?
I used to have a website but I found myself working more on the website than my art work. I will sometimes post pieces to Instagram and FaceBook. Several times a year I enter work into art shows in New York. I guess I really create for myself. If someone sees my work and enjoys it that is a plus. I would say the best place is to follow me on Instagram @jemartelli.
Interview posted January 2025
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