Martha Walker in her studio.

There is no doubt that Martha Walker’s childhood was anything short of incredible. Her parent’s love to travel lead to Martha living all over America, from Miami Beach, FL to Kansas City, MO to the west coast, and she even spent three years living in a remote forest in Sweden. If this wasn’t an exotic-enough upbringing, the artists’ father worked as a nuclear physicist through the height of the arms race (to which he was opposed). Martha Walker often visited her father’s laboratory and was exposed to microscopic images, which have reverberated in her art.

Walker is a sculptor, with some of her works reaching up to seven feet tall. With her background, it’s no wonder Martha Walker’s work takes on such unique, organic forms.

MG: What attracted you to sculpture as a medium?

MW: I have always had an affinity for 3-D, ever since I was a child. I used to make cartoon figures out of clay and display them on my desk: Pirates fighting with swords made of sewing needles. When I went to college (at Pratt Institute), my primary focus was drawing. As a freshman, I took an Introduction to Welding class, and I was immediately struck by the way metal could bend to form a 3-dimensional line in space. For me, it was 3-D drawing. I also saw exhibits of sculpture at that time that totally inspired me, including Degas sculpture, Matisse, and Rodin.

MG: Do you have an image of what you are going to sculpt before you begin welding?

MW: I have a vague idea in mind before I start, but it often changes dramatically as I proceed. Sometimes it changes less dramatically, but it always takes on a life of its own, and evolves.

Aphrodite, welded steel, puddled process, 36" round x 24" deep, suspended, (Comes with custom-designed self-supporting arcs for installation)

MG: How do you decide what your next project will be?

MW: At this point, I have about three sculptures in my head that I keep imagining. My process is slow, so it allows me to work on one, while developing at least one more while I’m working. I have no shortage of ideas at this point.

MG: How long does it take you to finish a sculpture? What is the longest one has ever taken you?

MW:The longest that a sculpture took to complete was Pacific Crater, which took over 2 years. But, that was because I was at an early stage in my artistic development, and I really didn’t know where the piece was going. I made major changes along the way. The time to complete a piece is often influenced by the size of the work. Tikkiyah, Sound of the Shofar only took a few months. Birth and Hope each took about six months to finish.

MG: How many hours do you spend in the studio weekly?

MW: 20 to 30 hours. I wish I could spend even more time, but I have familial and business obligations.

MG: In your mind how does an image from every day life transform into one of the more abstract images we see in your sculpture?

MW: I don’t think about images from everyday life. The viewer often comments that my work reminds them of something from life, but my images come from a subconscious, dream level. They just pop out at me.

MG: What do you do when ideas pop into your head? What do you think triggers these images?

MW: Sometimes I sketch out what comes into my head, but more often, I work over the image in my mind for a long time, sometimes making changes, and sometimes just sort of savoring it. I can’t say what triggers the images completely. They seem to come from a dream consciousness. They are often in muted colors, or greys and muted blues, which is how I dream. I also think there is a subconscious psycho-sexual connotation to a lot of my images.

MG: I see listed on the website that you list the puddling process as part of your work. I was hoping you could explain more about what that is: is it a process you do yourself or is it a way of treating steel before you sculpt it? How does it affect your art?

MW: “Puddling” means to build up form by dripping the steel as if it were wax. I use rods to create lines and guide my dripping process, but all of the masses that you see are built up through dripping the steel. This slow process allows for greater reflection, instead of “rushing to judgment”, and the method causes the steel to appear much softer and organic. The metal flows like lava. I believe that all art should integrate process into the result, and that this method epitomizes this idea.

MG: How do you manage larger works such as “Birth” – A 7 foot tall piece? Do you make it in multiple pieces?

MW: Yes. “Birth” was the result of making the top form, then the large bottom form. I suspended the upper form, and placed it at the desired angle, and then connected the two.

Birth, welded steel, puddled process, 84" x 31" x 31"

MG: Of the many places you lived growing up, which was your favorite? Why? Which has impacted you most?

MW: I would have to say that Sweden was my favorite, and impacted most on me as an artist, because for a period of time, we lived in a very remote forest area, and I connected with nature in a big way. Natural forms, both microscopic and aquatic play a big part in my images it seems.

MG: How has living in New York City influenced your artwork?

MW: New York City is my favorite place in the world. The city is teeming with art and artists, and that has been the greatest influence. It raises the bar when so many people are so serious about their work, and so talented.

MG: Do you visit galleries or museums in New York? Is there any art you’ve seen recently that you’ve particularly enjoyed?

MW: I try to allocate a day every month to visiting galleries or museums. I’ve just returned from Europe, and the Rodin Museum was the highlight. I find that classic work is something I feel very comfortable with. Even though my work is abstract, I feel like I operate with classical composition as a basis for what I make.

MG: In your bio you talk about your father’s work in the laboratory and your exposure to the world of science. Where can we see this reflected in your work?

MW: The microscopic connection. I used to spend a lot of time viewing microorganisms under the microscope. I loved their bizarre forms.

MG: Could you give an example of a piece of your work that was strongly influenced by the time you spent in the laboratory with your father?

MW: Birth is an example of something that may have been influenced by observations of microorganisms. The piece actually started with the idea of cell division. Another is Aphrodite. It seems to me to have a head, a thorax and an abdomen, and it also has a weightless quality, as if it may be floating in plasma.

MG: When I saw “Pacific Crater” I was instantly reminded of a trip I took to a beach in California–it is a large steel sculpture remnant of a cove that might sit off the coast of a Pacific beach. What inspired this piece?

MW: A trip to Hawaii in 2001. I actually took the basic form from watching the Hawaiians weave shallow baskets from palm fronds, and then there was the lava from the volcanoes that I am so fascinated by.

MG: Is there anything you’re working on now that you are particularly excited about?

MW: I’m working on another large piece; I think it will be around the same size as “Birth”, which is seven feet. It’s very different. Sort of wild, and it is very challenging to make, because I’m working from the top down. That means that this huge, heavy mass is suspended in space until I reach the bottom.

MG: Was there a time in your life when you considered pursing a different profession than art? If so, what was the other profession? What made you decide to pursue art instead?

MW: I did pursue another profession until 2001 when I went back for my graduate degree at Pratt. Most of my life, I was in various sales positions. I owned my own marketing company for 15 years. I was also a commodities broker and a stockbroker. My attitude was that I would rather follow a commercial business career to make a living than to compromise my artistic values. I waited until I was financially comfortable so that I could make art without worrying about “the sale”.