User:Martha Wagele/sandbox
Martha Mood | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 21, 1908 Oakland, CA |
| Died | July 15, 1972 Helotes, Texas |
| Known for | Stitchery, ceramic work, sculpture, photography |
| Style | Modern Art |
| Awards | Artist of the Year, 1967, San Antonio Art League |
Martha Mood was an American artist who created stitchery, photography, sculpture and ceramic work. Mood is best known for elevating the craft of stitchery to a fine art and for being one of the first stitchery artists in the United States to create a large, well-known body of work.[1]
Life
[edit]Martha Mood (1908-1972) spent her childhood and early adult years in the Bay Area. She was born in Oakland, CA, to German immigrant parents who owned a bakery. At the age of seven, her family moved to San Rafael, CA, where she attended St. Rafael’s Roman Catholic parochial school and Dominican College High School.[2] She enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1926, where she studied a broad range of art subjects, as well as architecture, music and languages, graduating in 1931. In 1929 Mood took a year off from UC Berkeley to attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland to study anatomy, pen-and-ink, and outdoor sketching.[3]
After college, Martha Mood engaged in painting, sculpture, toy production and photography. She was married to John Homsy, her first husband, from 1931-1946. The Homsys had two daughters, Ann Homsy Woodward (teacher and ceramicist) and Susan Homsy Bragstad (architect). In 1940 the family moved from California to Hawaii, where Martha worked as a photographer.[4]
Martha was married to Beaumont Mood, her second husband, from 1947-1966. The Moods lived in Dallas, Texas, for 5 years. While on a photographic tour of Texas, Martha and Beaumont were in a serious car accident. Martha almost lost her life and she required numerous surgeries over the next two years to repair extensive facial injury. In 1952 the Moods moved to the San Antonio, Texas. Martha Mood taught art in San Antonio public schools and at The San Antonio Art Institute. Following a ceramics class, Martha Mood produced many sculptures and architectural fixtures. Mood began experimentation with stitchery, also known as appliqué tapestry, in the early 1950's. Stitchery is a form of visual art that is created by sewing fabric onto a background to form an image. By 1959, at the age of 51, stitchery had developed into Mood’s primary artistic medium. She created over 500 stitcheries between 1959 and 1972.
Martha was married to Edgar Lehmann, her third husband, from 1968 until her death. She died of cancer at her home in Helotes, Texas in 1972.[5]
Work
[edit]Photography
[edit]
Martha Mood worked as a photographer from 1931-1946.
Mood took photographs for several books, including:
- Parents and Children Go to School by Dorothy Baruch, 1939[6]
- Looking at Honolulu Through the Camera of Martha Homsy, 1942[7]
- This is Hawaii: A Collection of Fine Photographs by Hawaii's Leading Cameramen, 1944[8] (Editor)
- The Hula: The Dance and Its Meaning, 1944[9]
- The Hula: Dance Lessons with 72 Photos, 1954[10]
- Fishermen and Workers in the Fields.[2]
Ceramic Work
[edit]Martha Mood created ceramic sculptures, typically of animals or human figures.[3][11] She also made ceramic panels and murals.[3]
In 1957, when notable Texan architect O'Neil Ford was looking for an artist to make light fixtures for his work, he met Martha Mood at her solo ceramic sculpture exhibit in San Antonio.[12] Ford commissioned Martha Mood to design ceramic fixtures for homes and buildings that he designed. [13] To produce the ceramic fixtures, Martha and Beaumont Mood formed the Martha and Beaumont Mood Lighting company. Martha developed the designs for the fixtures while Beau made the molds, mixed the clay, and cast the pieces.[14] The light fixtures were generally spherical or cylindrical while sconces were often semi-circular or three-sided. They came in a variety of motifs and color palettes ranging from earth-toned desert hues (pale blue and sage green) to highly-saturated colors (bright red, yellow and blue).[15] The fixtures were perforated with hundreds of tiny holes from which the light shined through and small lined designs formed patterns. Martha and Beaumont Mood Fixtures can be found at Trinity University, Saint Mary’s Hall Prep School, the Denton, Texas municipal buildings,[14] Texas Instruments Semiconductor Building in Dallas, Johnson City Post Office, the Bill Miller BBQ restaurant,[15] the Scribner Library at Skidmore College in Saratoga, NY.[4], as well as mid-century modern homes and structures in Denton, Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.[13] [16]
Stitchery
[edit]
history
process
Producing stitcheries was a three part process. First the background was made, then applique forms were attached, and finally the detail stitching and the defining of the shapes completed the process. 2
To add detail and embellish her work, Mood used a few simple stitches, including cross-stitch, running stitch and daisy stitch.[17]
themes
Eclesiastic imagery, such as angels and saints.
Numerous stitcheries have animals as the subject matter. Mood made a series of "America's First Families" which had two or three animals of several types, often rabbits, skunks, quail, and armadillos. 2
Martha Mood was a Modern Artist. She rejected conservative values (such as realistic depiction of subjects), she was innovative and experimented with form (the shapes, colors and lines that make up the work) with a tendency to abstraction; and she emphasized material, technique and process.[18] Mood produced works in many different styles including primitive, semi-realistic, abstract, Cubist.[3]
Martha Mood usually stitched her signature at the bottom of her pieces, "Martha Mood." Following her marriage to Ed Lehmann in 1968, she signed the pieces "Martha Mood L". Mood's agent, Lester K. Henderson, owned the copyright of many her stitcheries and these pieces are noted by "c. LKH 1972."
After her death, dye transfer reproductions of 34 stitcheries were made at the Manufactura de Tapecarias de Portalegre workshop in Portugal.[2]
Exhibitions
[edit]Martha Mood's works have been exhibited in approximately 20 cities in the United States. She participated in more than 30 one and two-man shows.[11]
"A Sudden Rush of Wings: the work of Martha Mood Lehmann." The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio. November 12-26, 1972[11]
"The Art Fabric: Mainstream," San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. May-June, 1981[3]
Collections
[edit]Martha Mood artwork has been found in numerous private collections, public installations and museums. Private collectors included Lyndon B Johnson, John Connally, Winthrop Rockefeller, Clint Murchison, O'Neil Ford, Charles Urschel.[11]
public: Her works have been represented at Rice University, the San Antonio Country Club, the Margarite B. Parker Memorial Chapel at Trinity University, and the U.S.I.A. Building in Washington, D.C., and St. Mary's Hall.[11]
museums: McNay Institute in San Antonio, TX. 2
References
[edit]- ^ "Martha Mood papers Biographical / Historical". University of Houston.
- ^ a b c Henderson, Lester Kierstead (1980). The Sublime Heritage of Martha Mood, Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Kierstead Publications. ISBN 9780960190607.
- ^ a b c d e Henderson, Lester Kierstead (1983). The Sublime Heritage of Martha Mood, Vol. 2 "A Seeing Eye" (1st ed.). Monterey, California: Kierstead Publications. ISBN 0-9601906-1-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b Crawford, Ann Fears (1998). Texas Women: From Frontier to Future (1st ed.). Austin, Texas: State House Press. pp. 205–220. ISBN 1880510529.
- ^ "Noted Local Artist Dies". Sunday Light. July 16, 1972.
- ^ Baruch, Dorothy Walter (1939). Parents and Children Go to School; Adventures in Nursery School and Kindergarten (1st ed.). Chicago, IL: Scott Foresman and Company.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Homsy, Martha (1 Jan 1942). Looking at Honolulu Through the Camera of Martha Homsy (1st ed.). Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Pub. Co.
- ^ Homsy, Martha (1 January 1944). This is Hawaii: A Collection of Fine Photographs by Hawaii's Leading Cameramen (1st ed.). Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Pub. Co.
- ^ Homsy, Martha (1944). The Hula: The Dance and Its Meaning (1st ed.). Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Publishing.
- ^ Homsy, Martha (1 Jan 1954). The Hula: Dance Lessons with 72 Photos (1st ed.). Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Pub. Co.
- ^ a b c d e Lee, Amy Freeman (1972). A Sudden Rush of Wings: the work of Martha Mood Lehmann. San Antonio, Texas: UTMSSA.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Modern, AGO (25 August 2023). "A Distinct Collaboration: Martha, Beaumont Mood Lighting, and O'Neil Ford".
- ^ a b Biediger, Shari (3 October 2021). "After Mid-Century home is razed, preservationists hope others can be saved". San Antonio Report.
- ^ a b Vogt, Robert (11 August 2021). "Martha and Beaumont Mood's Iconic Light Fixtures: San Antonio, Texas Mid-Century Design". Vogt Auction.
- ^ a b Jones, Kathryn (11 November 2021). "With Distinctly Designed Ceramic Fixtures, Martha and Beaumont Mood Lit up Midcentury Texas". Texas Highways.
- ^ Marini, Richard A. (21 March 2021). "Texas Midcentury: Vintage Ceramic Fixtures from San Antonio's Martha and Beaumont Mood Lighting Prove to be Highly Collectible". Houston Chronicle.
- ^ Nelson, Mary Carroll (October 1985). "The Art of Stitchery: Martha Mood and Wilcke H. Smith". American Artist. pp. 68–70, 100–104.
- ^ Mood, Martha (October 1962). "Make an Applique Tapestry". House Beautiful (104).