Riverton resident Marta Amundson travels the world teaching innovative machine quilting techniques. And she uses her own art quilts, which have won numerous awards nationally and internationally, to raise awareness of issues close to her heart – often wildlife and resource management – as well as to explore things that have meaning to her personally.
Marta’s work has been featured in numerous books and dozens of magazines. Her 128-page book, Quilted Animals: Continuous Line Patterns was published by American Quilter’s Society in 2002. Marta was twice chosen to receive the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship and won the grand prize in the 2001 American Folk Art Museum International Competition. In 2004, her work was chosen for Fiberarts Design Book 7. She recently won the Crafting for a Better Planet Competition displayed at the International Quilt Study Center in Nebraska. Six of her art quilts are included in the 2010 book 1000 Artisan Textiles.
Her work in included in private collections and museums around the world. In Wyoming, her work is in the collections of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson and the NIC in Casper.
Marta moved to Wyoming in the 1970s after a childhood spent in 36 different places, including many cities abroad. She and her husband Larry live with many cows on a ranch on Ocean Lake outside of Riverton and have the only Picardy Shepherd – Zoe — in the state. Marta is an avid fly fisherwoman and skier. She also kayaks, bikes, sails, and does woodworking.
Marta took time out of her busy teaching and work schedule to sit down with Wyoming Chronicle host Dina Mishev to chat about how she got into quilting in the first place, using quilting as a way to express herself, and her current projects.
“Civil courage is something rare in today’s society,” Amundson says. “Politicians waffle back and forth, but I try to be brave with my work and confront issues people are afraid to mention in front of strangers. I am blessed with many friends who believe in me and what I do, so to me it is ok if there are people out there with the opposite opinion. The people who take the time to tell me what I am doing with art has meaning for them, give me motivation to continue making art with a courageous core.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum: https://rmqm.org/zz/
- Front Range Contemporary Quilters: http://www.artquilters.org/
- Marta at Artists Register: https://artistsregister.com/artists/WY1
- Marta’s books are available on Amazon.com.
