She started out with a degree in clothing and textiles. She worked for the Rockettes and the soap opera All My Children and then taught Home Economics at CUNY Queens in a teacher certification program. When middle school Home Economics departments closed, she changed careers to Occupational Therapy and then added teaching high school English to her resume. She has always been true to her first love of clothing and textiles! Her father promised Martha a big party when she grew to be 5’ tall. They’re still waiting! She moved to Sahuarita in June 2019 when her husband was offered a job too good to pass up; her sister lives in Tucson. She loves to knit, quilt, read, dance ballet, visit with girl friends/family and just hang at home with the hubs and the pets. She's active in the Knitting Study Group. She has a dog, Darwin; 2 cats, Eddy and Junipurr; and Lil Keet a pretty little blue parakeet. She has been the Guild's Secretary for 2.5 years. She is a grammy to Moses, Tallulah and twins, Ari and Asher. 

Always drawn to artfulness, my earliest passion was coloring with my treasured box of 100 crayons while listening to The Buster Brown Show on the radio. 

Later, I became the primitively skilled "illustrator" for our school paper back in the days of the mimeograph. In the 60's came crocheted clothes featuring the iconic hippie granny-square. From there it was on to a long period of painting and of stained glass construction and silversmithing. After 38 years in special education, retirement brought freedom that led to gourd art, photography and twig lamps and ceramics. 

At the first Valley Fiber Arts Guild meeting that I attended, there were displays by the various study groups and upon seeing the stunning work of the Tapestry and Basketry Groups, I was hooked. Having made over fifty in these past COVID years, the pleasure of the creating pine needle baskets has become addictive. My husband and I travel to the Chiricahua Mountains in the fall to harvest Apache Pine needles and I collect and split dried neighborhood beargrass spikes. Watching a basket evolve from concept to completion is a satisfying process with each one guiding me in the direction of what it wants to become.

I moved to Green Valley in 2019, happy to escape from the big city and enjoy a slower, more rural way of life. I became interested in the VFAG almost before I moved here after doing an internet search for fiber art groups. I was welcomed with open arms by the guild and have enjoyed every minute of my time here. I've made lasting new friends, learned new fiber arts and rediscovered ones that I originally became interested in way back in college when I was working on a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts). My background in Fiber Arts includes: Weaving (Inkle and Rigid Heddle), Spinning (I currently own 3 wheels and house 2 other wheels that the Guild owns), Knitting, Crochet, Quilting, Fiber Reactive dyes (Resist, Batik, Tie Dye), Acid Dyeing (Wool, Silk, other animal fibers), and I taught myself Kumihimo during the pandemic (thank you Youtube!!). I find living in the desert to be so inspiring and I love living where I do not need to go far to get away from the city and traffic. The library side of my Board position is a continuation of what I did professionally for over 35 years working for the Arizona State University Libraries and then the Maricopa Community College Libraries (multiple colleges over the years). The Newsletter side of my Board duties is also a part of my past professional (and personal) life where I was responsible for creating newsletters for the library I worked at.