Julia Marden | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 (age 62–63) |
| Citizenship | Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head and U.S. |
| Known for | Textile art, basketry |
Julia Marden (born 1962 [1] ) is a Native American artist based in Vermont. [2] [3] A member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, Marden specializes in traditional Wampanoag arts and crafts, including basket and mat twining, [4] wampum belts, [5] [6] and painting. [7]
Marden was born in 1962 [1] and raised in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and also spent parts of her childhood in Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard. [3] [7] Her father was a carpenter, and as a child she would use his wood shavings to make her own art. [7] She also made collages from found objects. [7]
Marden began learning customary crafts in the early 1990s, from Native American staff, when she began working in the Wampanoag Indian Program at Plimoth Plantation. [2] [3] [7] Specifically, Marden learned twining, a type of weaving technique which involves wrapping fibers around one another without using a loom. [8] She had created 63 twined pieces by 2012. [9] It takes Marden about two months of 40-hour weeks to twine a bag with commercial cordage. [8] For more historic twining, which takes longer, Marden uses cattails, bulrushes, and cornhusks, among other plants. Porcupine quills or moose hair may also be worked into the designs. [8]
Marden has also created miniature dolls, which she calls Eninuog, which represent Native people and the clothing they wore at the time of European contact. [2] [8]
Marden has her own studio and store in Ryegate, Vermont, named Bluejay Visions. [7] She has shown her work at the Atrium Gallery in One Capitol Hill, [10] the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, the National Heritage Museum, [11] the Rhode Island Department of Administration, [9] the Robbins Museum, [2] and the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts. [12]
In 2022, Marden was one of eight Wampanoag artists profiled in Lee Roscoe's book, Wampanoag Art for the Ages: Traditional and Transitional. [4] [13]
In 2023, Marden created a turkey feather mantle she had twined by hand, making it the first-known such mantle created post-European contact 400 years earlier. Marden called it "most likely the most important piece" she will ever make. It will be shown at the Aquinnah Cultural Center in 2024. [3]
Marden has one daughter, Leah Llanes, who learned to twine at age 6; Llanes' daughter has also learned to twine. [8]
Marden was given the name Bluejay Weaving in a Wampanoag naming ceremony, in honor of her craftsmanship and the fierceness with which blue jays protect their young. [7]
Marden has resided in Vermont since at least 2015, [2] but has also previously lived in Connecticut. [9]