Susan Vida Judah
Published Saturday October 31st, 2009
Textile artist who makes her home in Upper Kingsclear says she wouldn't mind being a sous chef at an East Indian restaurant
q Name?
a Susan Vida Judah. I use my second Christian name Vida professionally. While I was teaching in Bratislava, I was given a Slovak name Zuzka Judahover, which I found to be quite exotic. Some of our nine grandchildren call me Zuzka.
q Age?
a 71 - a mere milestone in life.
q Provenance?
a I was born in England and spent my childhood days in Hereford. I worked in New York before marrying my husband and establishing a family in Jamaica. I emigrated to New Brunswick in 1976, a decision we have never regretted.
q Why textile art?
a From the moment I found that I could create a single thread into a solid piece of cloth, Pandora's box opened for me. My career has taken many different paths - as teacher, designer, illustrator - but the time I spend creating with yarns is the most rewarding experience.
q What was your breakthrough moment?
a Probably when I was sponsored by Textiles Exclusive Inc., a small textile firm in New York, right after graduation from the Royal College of Art in London, England. As the firm's sole designer, I experienced the workings of the garment district on 7th Avenue. Memories remain with me of the culture, energy and professionalism of that time.
q What would you be if you weren't an artist?
a A sous chef in an East Indian restaurant.
q Your current obsession?
a My most recent obsession was the creation of tapestries for the series of period chairs for the exhibition Beyond the Garden Path, which is currently on display at the New Brunswick Museum. To my delight, the exhibition has been extended. From concept to finalization, these tapestries consumed all my time and took more than six years to complete.
q What are you working on next?
a I need inspirational energy to work on another series. Now I am busy networking to have the chairs travel to other exhibition venues. When I refocus, I may create a series of individual wall tapestries using the theme of floral images, but more abstract.
q What place on Earth inspires you?
a Greece and its islands. I went there in the late '50s as an exchange student. I was overcome by the brilliance of the light.
q What place in New Brunswick inspires you?
a Definitely Grand Manan, an island surrounded by the sea with contrasts between the sheer cliffs and rocky beaches. Time spent there is always so relaxing and healing.
q Secret indulgence?
a We are so fortunate to have a neighbour, Gary Miller, who makes the most delicious crème brûlée.
q Your favourite hero of fiction?
a Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Jane, a talented, empathetic, hardworking, honest and passionate girl, with a strong sense of conscience, is skilled at studying, drawing and teaching - characteristics anyone would like to emulate.
q What is your greatest extravagance?
a Yarns, yarns, yarns of every description, texture and colour.
q Greatest joy?
a Spoiling others, especially my family and dear friends.
q Favourite New Brunswick artist?
a Angel Gomez. His palette of hot, blazing colours and subjects bring a celebration of life to his canvasses. His series Andaura demonstrates his love for his birth country, Spain, in vivid, energetic colour.
q What are you reading?
a I just completed Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. This book is an epic tale, filled with unforgettable grace, humanity and compassion.
q What's on your iPod?
a If I had such an extraordinary listening device I would certainly play, at every opportunity, the Donna Diana Overture (1894) with the late Georg Tintner conducting Symphony Nova Scotia.
q What talent would you like to have?
a The ability to speak several languages, especially French.
q What is your greatest public concern about art?
a I can only hope that in the near future there is put in place a one-per-cent-for-art policy in Fredericton. Other cities, including Saint John, have implemented this. Then all, including governments and private industry, would recognize the benefits of art in public places. This would provide opportunities for established artists in the city and enhance public awareness of the visual arts. I believe the process of commissioning art for such places demonstrates a faith in and a commitment to the enhancement of our community.
q Your most treasured possession?
a My hands. These are the greatest gift to my creativity. I rely on them for their sensitivity to manipulate threads into structures that I could not create with weaving tools.
q What is your favourite art museum?
a I had studied the works of Graham Sutherland, Standley Spencer, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Edward Burne-Jones as a student at college, so it was to my sheer delight to discover, during a visit to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, shortly after our arrival in Fredericton, their outstanding works in the gallery's collection.
Editor's note: Susan Vida Judah's exhibition 'Beyond the Garden Path' is on display at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John until Jan. 3.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
