Lockdown loves: Martha Hope's art
The lockdown experience has been challenging for all of us and we have found solace and escape in a variety of ways. We asked the team at Headlines to share the things that made their lockdowns more bearable and made them smile in 2020.
No.8 Martha Hope’s art
Selected by Bethany Waters – Designer
Why do you like it? What does it mean to you?
We lived together at university and she studied art, our student house was full of her great drawings and embroidery work! She moved to New Zealand a while ago and we wrote to each other during lockdown, her letters often included drawings of local wildlife and updates on how her art was going, along with how their country was handling the lockdown situation. I had some of her art in my room which is where I spent most of my time during lockdown, so it was nice to have something on the wall which doesn't just look nice but is personal too.
What are your favourite aspects of Martha’s art?
I love the detail in her embroidery work and how she uses traditional techniques. She mainly focuses on nature and wildlife, so it is interesting for me to learn about the wildlife in her new surroundings. In her most recent letter, she drew a bird called a Takahe and explained to me that they are very friendly but endangered and only found in reserves and conservations, so I learn new things through her art too!
How did it help you get through lockdown?
One of the first things I noticed about lockdown was how anxious social media made me become, I suddenly felt pressure to be spending hours doing home workouts and learning new skills and baking endless amounts of cake and banana bread! It was therapeutic to be able to just sit outside for a few hours at a time writing all my thoughts down, and taking time to read a proper update on a friend's life and how they're really feeling, written in words on pages and not a snapshot in a small Instagram square. It is something that I can keep and will look back on too.
In one sentence, why is it your lockdown love?
Her art is highly detailed, requires a lot of patience, is personal and traditional.
