Sandra Martinez
A symbolist painter from Milwaukee, Sandra Martinez renders works on paper that reference human, plant and shelter forms. Her designs evoke a shared human experience that points to our connective root.
Select studies, chosen in collaboration with Wence Martinez, are handwoven into tapestries. Sandra’s mixed media works are float mounted in shadow box frames. Framed dimensions are listed.
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Alice in WonderlandMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17'' -
Valentine WolffMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17''
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Fanny LevyMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17''
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Lace of the HeartMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17''
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ServantMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17''
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The Love LetterMixed Media, antique book page20'' x 17''
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TorrentMixed Media, antique book page14.75'' x 12.75''
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SuspendMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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River StaffMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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AmplifyMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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Ancient Soul: Dante's Bubble 2021Mixed Media20'' x 17''
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Restless Fury: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Inward Flight: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Crying Woe: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Before the Wind: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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What Ancestors Were Thine: Dante's bubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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There I Stood: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Onward: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Only So Far: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Brighter Days: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Book of Souls: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Whom Anger Overcame: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Regalos HorizontalTyvek10'' x 24''
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SiftTyvek
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Siren DixonMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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Wandering DixonMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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Release RioMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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They Say There is a WaterfallAcrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek18'' x 15''
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Left EyeAcrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek18'' x 14''
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Useless DeedAcrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek25.5'' x 18.5''
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TributeTyvek, acrylic, sumi ink68'' x 36''
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Chalice Pg. 15Mixed Media36.25'' x 30.25''
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Emerge Pg. 0Mixed Media36.25'' x 30.25''
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Council Pg. vMixed Media36.25'' x 30.25''
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Tuttle Lake pg. 10Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Cuna StudyPainting31.25" x 20.75"
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Niño StudyPainting29.75" x 28.25"
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Totem StudyPainting32.25" x 23.25"
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Flora StudyPainting17" x 17"
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Volar - RedHand spun58.5'' x 22''
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Volar - GoldHand spun58.5'' x 22''
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Pilot - RedHand spun59'' x 22''
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Milpa - IndigoHand spun63'' x 23.5''
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Milpa - GoldHand spun63'' x 23.5''
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CorazonHand spun66'' x 20''
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Contorno - MaroonHand spun49'' x 37''
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Flora - RedHand spun33'' x 37''
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Flora - GoldHand spun34'' x 34.5''
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Flora - IndigoHand spun34'' x 34.5''
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DiscusíonHand spun48.5” x 37”
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Figuras Corto GoldHand spun67” x 29”
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Flora SplitHand spun60'' x 62''
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AbrazarHand spun57'' x 30''
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Volar IndigoHand spun58.5'' x 22''
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Fragment of a QueenHand spun42'' x 38''
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Fragment of a Queen GoldHand Spun42'' x 38''
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Piñon GoldHand Spun49'' x 27''
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VientoHand Spun59.5'' x 24''
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Milpa RedHand Spun60" x 27"
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Mujer GoldHand Spun54.5" x 23"
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Figuras Corto TurquoiseMill spun30” x 66”
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FiestaHand spun34” x 54”
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Saltillo Doble GreenMill spun46" x 38"
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Abrir TurquoiseMill spun58" x 36"
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Abrir RedMill spun58'' x 36''
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JuegoHand spun72" x 86"
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FloraHand spun72" x 72"
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Volar TweedHand spun59'' x 22''
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Pilot BlueHand spun59'' x 22''
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Brethren: Dante's BubbleMixed Media20'' x 17''
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Abrazar Weaving StudyTyvek36.25'' X 30.25''
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Staff and ShieldMixed Media9.75'' x 6.5''
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Sanctuary TuttleMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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Eccentric ConnectionMixed Media6.5'' x 9.75''
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IgnitionMixed Media9.75'' x 6.5''
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CultivateMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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The DoorMixed Media36.25'' X 30.25''
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Pilot Red
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Milpa Gold
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Lost AgainAcrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek17'' x 25.5''
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What Landmarks?Acrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek15.5'' x 21''
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I Can See It From HereAcrylic, dirt, calligraphy documents, Tyvek
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Figuras RunnerHand spun30'' x 113.5''
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Volar GreenMill spun60'' x 21''
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VolarHand spun60'' x 22''
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Milpa V.1Mill spun60'' x 24''
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Figuras Corto RedHand spun30'' x 63''
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Flora GoldHand spun36'' x 36''
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Semillas Greenhand spun48'' x 35''
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Semillas Blackhand spun48'' x 35''
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JuggleHand spun58'' x 30''
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Passage ShoreHand spun64'' x 30''
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Penacho PassageHand spun78'' x 29''
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NimbleHand spun wool57'' x 38''
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NimbleTyvek, acrylic, sumi ink51'' x 36''
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DuskTyvek, acrylic, sumi ink31.5'' x 42''
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JuggleTyvek, acrylic, sumi ink48'' x 26''
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PassageTyvek, acrylic, sumi ink77'' x 36''
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Flux Pg. viiMixed Media36.25'' x 30.25''
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HoverVellum and Wire19'' x 4.5'' x 4.5''
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Piñon RedHand Spun49'' x 27''
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DiscusiónHand spun50'' x 39''
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PiercedMixed Media13.25'' x 11.25''
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Tuttle Lake LongMixed Media18.25'' x 11.25''
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Maiz FiguraMixed Media Collage18.25'' x 11.25''
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Fiesta RustHand Spun34'' x 54''
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Cauldron of Hecate pg. 30Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Wounded Rake pg. 32Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Wolf Lake pg. 5Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Notorious Lies pg. 39Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Tuttle Lake pg. 12Mixed Media30.25" x 36.25"
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Explain pg. 24Mixed Media30.25" x 36.25"
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The Walk Home pg. 7Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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About the Time pg. 20Mixed Media36.25" x 30.25"
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Flora RustHand Spun36.5" x 35"
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Figuras Runner TurquoiseMill spun30” x 113”
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Kiss GoldMill spun48" x 40"
My process is meditative and explores automatic drawing and writing as a vehicle for spiritual focus. What begins as stream of consciousness content transitions into layers of ink, ash, dirt and acrylic washes that reveal human, plant, and shelter forms.
One of my earliest art memories is digging in the sandbox to discover hidden layers of clay which I then shaped into objects. My immediate, obsessive response to this material led to formal study in ceramics. Halfway through my bachelor’s degree at University of Wisconsin Green Bay, I discovered a love of meditative drawing that opened new paths for my life.
My wide range of influences included Haitian cut metal sculpture, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Keith Haring, and Surreal and Conceptual artists who broke free from traditional methods and materials. My mentor, David Damkoehler, affirmed my pursuits and encouraged me to develop my own symbolic language to give visual expression to my emotions and ideas.
At age twenty-eight, a friend suggested that my drawings would translate well into weavings. A weaver in Oaxaca named Wence Martinez jumped at the challenge. His woven translation of my drawing sparked a desire to meet this man. At our first meeting in person in 1988, I commissioned fourteen new works, initiating a cross-cultural relationship and artistic collaboration that now spans thirty years.
To view Sandra’s resume, click here.
Process
Sandra’s symbolist works on paper are intuitive and meditative. Taking inspiration from surrealists, her process begins with loose contour drawings that can be read as abstracted human, plant, and shelter forms.
Often using book pages and antique manuscripts as her blank canvas, Sandra’s favorite painting materials are sumi ink, marker, acrylic, dirt, sand, ash, and recycled fragments of earlier paintings. Handwritten text is sometimes present but usually obliterated or obscured.
Gestural washes with a minimal palette build up in her work. Some areas are rubbed, erased, cut, collaged, or laden with dirt. The resulting surfaces range from sparse to thick.
Select drawings are expanded into larger painting series and some become weaving studies. She then draws the full-size cartoon weavers use to mark her design on the loom’s warp.
Sandra finishes her paintings by float mounting the work in shadow box frames. Framed dimensions are listed.