Follow Sienna Martz on Instagram, and you will see an ecocore ideal. In flowing skirts and bare feet, she cuts cloth with gold-hued scissors in a perfectly sunlit studio. She looks exactly the way someone who makes environmentally conscious, recycled textile-based art as part of a sustainable vegan lifestyle should look.
Resist the temptation to be cynical about her online persona. The Readsboro artist is the real deal: The strength of her work comes from her sincere commitment to environmental sustainability. That is the most important aspect of her practice; professional savvy, which eludes and frustrates many artists, is a close second. Martz devotes a lot of energy to cultivating a social media presence. "It's taken years of practice, exploring different approaches," she said by email, "and much trial and error to get where I am today."
That's how Martz, 33, came to be the newest artist represented by Soapbox Arts in Burlington's South End, where she is currently presenting "Echoes of Earth." (Catch it during this weekend's South End Art Hop.) With help from an artist development grant from the Vermont Arts Council, Martz began researching galleries and set her heart on Soapbox. She sent gallerist Patricia Trafton a proposal for a solo show, which began their conversation.
"She was really persistent, in a super professional way," Trafton said. After hearing Martz's ethos and ideas, Trafton knew she wanted to establish a long-term working relationship with the artist.
Martz's sculptural reliefs are abstract, organic forms. One side of the gallery showcases "A Whispered Spell," 18 individual works made from white bamboo felt that float across the wall like a bank of clouds. "Echoes of Earth" I and II bring pops of color, with bulbous sections made from coral and green clothing, separated by outlines of shag-like cut fabric.
"Ghostly Bloom" spreads across the wall, reminiscent of a mushroom's gills: made from upcycled white T-shirts, its slight color variations suggest something natural. "Where Hidden Worlds Grow," a two-piece installation with each half measuring almost 6 by 6 feet, is the largest in the show and looks like an upholstered topographic landscape.
All the works are enticingly tactile. Trafton sympathizes with a recent young visitor who really, really wanted to poke the sculptures: "Every day, I have to struggle not to touch them, too."
That appealing, almost decorative nature is one of the smartest things about the works on view. Instead of confronting the viewer with ecological disaster, Martz delivers her message via materials: Everything she uses, from kapok-fiber stuffing to the eco-friendly paint on the back of her panels, is carefully researched and sustainably sourced. The artist described her work as "a gentle form of activism."
Resource-minded artwork and textiles are both trending in the gallery world, and Martz is well-positioned to spread awareness about sustainability. Trafton has strategized ways to offer works at a variety of sizes and prices, including some that are relatively affordable, and the artist's soft aesthetic makes her work easy to live with. Those qualities, often disparaged in the fine-art world, might just be the cutting-edge ideas we all need.