The Putnam County Museum is pleased to announce a new exhibit, featuring works from local artist Martha Donovan Opdahl. This retrospective exhibition covers a wide range of mediums Opdahl has utilized over the years, including abtract 2D work in fiber, pastel drawings, montage, photography, and scultpure. The constant element drawing these works together is line.

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Opdahl found early local instruction in making things by borrowing how-to books from the library. Longtime residents of Greencastle might remember her winning the Flower Garden Quilt competition sponsored by the Indianapolis Star in 1977. That win gave her a nudge to pursue graduate studies in art.

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Opdahl has been working in fiber professionally since earning her M.F.A. degree in 1985 from the Hope School of Fine Art, Indiana University–Bloomington. She set up her studio in Greencastle, with a winter studio in Santa Fe, N.M., for several years. She worked at DePauw University as curator of the DePauw Art Collection and as gallery director of the Emison Art Center until 1998, when she decided to dedicate herself full-time to making art.

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Opdahl has exhibited her work in juried and invitational shows nationwide and internationally. She is represented in private, public and corporate collections such as the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., the Museum of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Art in Santa Fe and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, among others. Her work has appeared in various journals and books.

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Her work draws inspiration from living and working in Greencastle.