Judy Martin

Judy Martin was born in Fort Frances, Ontario.  A lifelong student of fine art, she has two degrees in the subject:  Lakehead University 1993 and Middlesex University 2012.  She has lived on Manitoulin Island since 1993, and has shown her work at the Perivale since 1994.  Judy’s work is internationally known through solo and group exhibitions.  Archetypal shapes such as the circle and the spiral often appear in her work.  This language of shapes has been used and understood across time and around the world.  Martin is inspired by world textiles, folk art, fine art, poetry and literature.  Her work is poetic and connects with our inner world, it is sensual and we yearn to touch it.  Her slow processes of dyeing and stitching are acts of devotion.  The repetitive gestures that are placed one at a time, accumulate across the fabrics and leave evidence of quiet time dedicated to making.  We feel cared for by her work.  The International Quilt Museum in Nebraska USA and the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa, Canada are two of several public institutions that collect Judy Martin’s work.  Last summer (2025) Martin was invited to mount a solo exhibition of new quilts at the Art Gallery of Sudbury.  This coming summer she will be showing new work in Toronto at the Craft Ontario gallery.  Every season, Judy Martin is honoured to exhibit her unique art at the Perivale Gallery on Manitoulin Island.