Martha Hamblin

Photophish Imaging & Art
photography, hand-built pottery, mixed media

While much of my photography has been documentary in style, I delight in looking at and representing my world through abstract, altered and creative images. Recent photo work has been largely imaged-based mixed media. Using mixed media stretches me creatively and allows for expanded interpretation of a subject or an experience. The processes I use in working directly with a print help foster an intimacy different from and sometimes more satisfying than working only with pixels.

New directions in my photographic work have been influenced by creating with clay. In search of a more tactile creative experience, I began hand-building pottery. My first pottery teachers encouraged the use of different textures and a relaxed approach to making clay pieces. I find this casual method appealing. Even with the more formal structures of the boxes I craft, I let go of perfection and celebrate the essence and character of the hand-made object.

Artist Bio

Martha Hamblin is an award-winning photographer, who was born and grew up in southeast Florida. Proximity to the ocean and travel to North Carolina and Canada fueled her passions for nature, travel and the outdoors.

Primarily self-taught, she has taken workshops with a variety of photographers. Her work has been accepted into many regional juried shows, won national and international awards, appeared on the covers of national trade magazines and is held in private collections in North America, Mexico, and Britain.

In addition to her photography, she has made hand-built pottery since 2005. Using textures and taking an informal approach with the clay, she builds functional and decorative pieces.

In recent years Martha has been exploring mixed media, which is largely based on photographic images. She finds that imagery altered with various techniques and combined with mixed media provides opportunities for unique self-expression, layers of meaning, and distinct perspective.

As well as these pursuits, Martha and her husband, John Powell, have recently published their Civil War novel New Market. They live in Mebane, North Carolina with their cat.