Edna Martin

Swedish textile artist, Edna Martin, was a pioneer for women craft artists. First as director of Svensk Hemslöjd, School of Swedish Handicraft, (1945-51), and immediately thereafter as artistic director of the Handarbetets Vänner--The School of the Association of Friends of Textile Art--(1951-77), Martin believed in changing the function of textiles. In Sweden, textiles were seen as having a practical and utilitarian function. They were used for furniture, curtains, and carpets. Martin led a movement to produce textiles that were not functional everyday objects, but aesthetic ones. She created some of the first monumental textile hangings in Sweden.