Born in Holland (1962), Martien van Zuilen is a felt artisan, teacher, writer and anthropologist currently residing in Perth, Australia. She exhibits internationally and since the late 1980s has shared her passion for felt with enthusiastic audiences in classes throughout Australia. Adding international classes to her busy schedule in 1997 has seen Martien travel extensively; including to the UK, Holland and Russia as well as numerous teaching trips to the USA.
Martien is the founder of the Victorian Feltmakers Inc and the founder/coordinator of The Australian National Yurt Project. She is the editor of FELT, Australia's national felt art magazine and the Convenor of Fibres West, a not-for-profit organisation responsible for hosting quality residential textile art workshops in Western Australia, attracting prominent fibre art teachers and speakers from all over the world.
Martien's study of ethnographic felts in Europe, and time spent amongst nomadic people in Mongolia have been pivotal to her arts practice and other professional pursuits. She holds a degree in Social Work (Holland, 1983), an Associate Diploma in Art Textiles (Australia, 1989) and she wrote her an Honours degree (US Masters) in Anthropology, in 2013 she completed her PhD (Anthropology), with an engaging thesis on textile creative practice and the meaning of making in contemporary Australia. This unique ethnographic study involved over 18 months of in-depth interviews and conversations with many textile art practitioners and it made critical observations about the meaning of making within the visual arts and material culture realms.
Alongside the making of felt and other treasures in textile art, teaching and writing about fibre arts practice continue to form an integral part of Martien's career. Her artworks and essays appear in numerous international publications, including Showcase 500 Art Necklaces (USA); Pots & Pods for Feltmakers: Adventures in the Third Dimension (Australia); Yurts. Tipis and Benders (UK); FELT (Australia); Textile Fibre Forum (Australia); Felt/Filt (Denmark); Felt Matters (UK); Fiber Art Now (USA); verFilzt Und zugeNaht (Germany) and ViltKontakt (Netherlands). In 2018, she curated 'Beyond the Seam', a fibre art exhibition showcasing the works of 12 national and international fibre artists, in Mandurah Western Australia. One of Martien's work in this show, 'Standing Tall' was subsequently selected for inclusion in the Surface Design Association 2018 'Family Matters' International Exhibition in Print (juried).
Martien is the founder of the Victorian Feltmakers Inc and the founder/coordinator of The Australian National Yurt Project. She is the editor of FELT, Australia's national felt art magazine and the Convenor of Fibres West, a not-for-profit organisation responsible for hosting quality residential textile art workshops in Western Australia, attracting prominent fibre art teachers and speakers from all over the world.
Martien's study of ethnographic felts in Europe, and time spent amongst nomadic people in Mongolia have been pivotal to her arts practice and other professional pursuits. She holds a degree in Social Work (Holland, 1983), an Associate Diploma in Art Textiles (Australia, 1989) and she wrote her an Honours degree (US Masters) in Anthropology, in 2013 she completed her PhD (Anthropology), with an engaging thesis on textile creative practice and the meaning of making in contemporary Australia. This unique ethnographic study involved over 18 months of in-depth interviews and conversations with many textile art practitioners and it made critical observations about the meaning of making within the visual arts and material culture realms.
Alongside the making of felt and other treasures in textile art, teaching and writing about fibre arts practice continue to form an integral part of Martien's career. Her artworks and essays appear in numerous international publications, including Showcase 500 Art Necklaces (USA); Pots & Pods for Feltmakers: Adventures in the Third Dimension (Australia); Yurts. Tipis and Benders (UK); FELT (Australia); Textile Fibre Forum (Australia); Felt/Filt (Denmark); Felt Matters (UK); Fiber Art Now (USA); verFilzt Und zugeNaht (Germany) and ViltKontakt (Netherlands). In 2018, she curated 'Beyond the Seam', a fibre art exhibition showcasing the works of 12 national and international fibre artists, in Mandurah Western Australia. One of Martien's work in this show, 'Standing Tall' was subsequently selected for inclusion in the Surface Design Association 2018 'Family Matters' International Exhibition in Print (juried).
Contemporary Felt Work and Hand-dyed Fibres
Site and Images copyright 2010-2015 Martien van Zuilen
Site and Images copyright 2010-2015 Martien van Zuilen