0:18

Hi, everyone, Larissa Russell of

0:18

CreativeU Healing. And today I

0:22

have with me Judy Woods. Judy is

0:22

an abstract artist who started

0:26

painting after her father died

0:26

in 2017. Since immersing herself

0:30

in her artwork, her whole life

0:30

has changed. And now she helps

0:33

others find clarity and

0:33

direction in their art, so that

0:36

they can find their unique voice

0:36

and create authentic art they

0:39

love. So welcome, Judy. Thank you. Thank you very much.

0:42

I'm happy to be here.

0:46

I am very happy to have you. We

0:46

had you in our A Year In Color

0:52

Sampler, and you're in the full

0:52

year. So that's exciting to have

0:56

you for that and share your

0:56

creations. So for those who

1:00

don't know you, can you share a

1:00

little bit about yourself and

1:03

how you got where you are today? Sure. Well, I'm from New

1:05

Zealand, I live in New Zealand.

1:10

And I have always loved creating

1:10

since a child just absolutely

1:15

loved it. And I can remember I

1:15

used to trot around after my

1:20

mother and ask her what can I

1:20

make now? So she was plagued by

1:25

that question. But anyway, I

1:25

went to art school and didn't

1:29

have a great time at art school.

1:29

I just basically let self belief

1:35

self confidence and I think to,

1:35

to thrive in an art school, you

1:40

have to like what you do and be

1:40

able to put yourself out there.

1:45

And I certainly wasn't at that

1:45

stage of my life at that time.

1:50

So after art school, I floated

1:50

around for a little while. And

1:55

then I decided to go to teachers

1:55

college. And I learned how to be

2:00

a teacher. And when I went into

2:00

the classroom and taught, I

2:05

discovered the line loved it.

2:05

And so that started me on a

2:09

career about I was teaching art

2:09

and secondary schools for about

2:14

16 years. And during that time,

2:14

I had a couple of kids started a

2:19

family. And all that time, I

2:19

would try and do a bit of

2:24

painting a bit of art. But I

2:24

never really could never be my

2:29

number one priority, because I

2:29

had partner children, you know,

2:34

all those sorts of things. And

2:34

then when my children went to

2:38

went to school, I went back to

2:38

teaching and so I had a job as

2:43

well. So it was always sort of

2:43

vaguely put on the on the back

2:48

burner, really. And then, so

2:48

fast forward up to 2017 my

2:53

father died. And I don't know

2:53

why it hadn't occurred to me

2:57

before then. But it really

2:57

brought upfront and personal to

3:02

me that my time was finite that

3:02

one day I would be in a box and

3:07

my life would be over. And I

3:07

needed to reevaluate what was

3:12

really important to me. And so

3:12

at that point, I, I decided I

3:17

wasn't teaching anymore, because

3:17

we'd moved into the country and

3:22

I meet I wasn't teaching. So I

3:22

set myself up on the dining room

3:27

table. And I just thought I'm

3:27

going to start this and find out

3:32

what sort of art I can create.

3:32

And it was rather torturous to

3:37

begin with. I didn't know what

3:37

my art looked like, I didn't

3:42

know what I liked. I didn't know

3:42

what I was good at. But over

3:47

time, I gradually found what it

3:47

was that I love to do, and and I

3:52

just kind of built and I got

3:52

better at it. And I started to

3:57

show my work. And I won some

3:57

national awards, and then read

4:01

that really built my confidence.

4:01

And I was sort of away flying by

4:07

then. And yeah, so and then the

4:07

pandemic started. And I was

4:11

about to show some work in a pop

4:11

up gallery and in a shop that

4:16

had closed an empty shop. And so

4:16

I had all these paintings and I

4:21

needed to get them framed. And I

4:21

thought so you know, usually

4:26

what I would do is just dip into

4:26

the family budget and pay for

4:31

the framing that way. But my

4:31

partner's business is in

4:36

tourism. And so when New Zealand

4:36

went into lockdown, and we did

4:41

that very quickly and very

4:41

harshly, there was no half

4:45

measures we were just all all of

4:45

a sudden at home. I think you

4:50

were the same in Canada, weren't

4:50

you you're quite quick there too

4:55

Yeah. So then he was like, you

4:55

know, saying, you know, this

5:00

will be the end of the business

5:00

I'll be what could what sort of

5:05

job will I get now type thing

5:05

i'll be pushing carts around the

5:10

shopping, you know, and the car

5:10

pack gathering up shopping carts

5:15

and things I was thinking, Oh,

5:15

for goodness sake. So I, I just

5:20

thought I can't ask for a couple

5:20

of $1,000 to frame my paintings.

5:26

I need to start to be self

5:26

sufficient in my business. So we

5:30

went into lockdown on on a

5:30

Wednesday, I think. And I

5:34

started a Facebook group on the

5:34

Thursday at and with a view to

5:39

so I didn't know how I was going

5:39

to do it. But I had seen it

5:44

done. And I knew that somehow, I

5:44

could perhaps teach people

5:49

online. And so that's how that's

5:49

how it started. And so now, I

5:54

have that Facebook group, as I

5:54

think there's about 16 I think

5:59

there's about 16 or 18,000

5:59

people in that Facebook group

6:04

now. And, and I have a course

6:04

and yeah, and I teach online and

6:09

absolutely love it. Absolutely

6:09

love it. Yeah, and I paint as

6:13

well. So yeah, I have found my way.

6:18

It's, it's so trade, often out

6:18

of necessity, you know? Yeah.

6:23

When I started creative you I

6:23

was still working. And I kept

6:28

saying I was gonna quit. I kept

6:28

saying I was gonna quit until I

6:30

lost my job. I'm like, Okay,

6:30

well, we're doing right. And

6:33

then I was kind of like, doing

6:33

it. And then I ran out of

6:37

savings. And it was like, and

6:37

then all of a sudden, everything

6:41

just fell into place. Because

6:41

when you have to do it, you do

6:45

it. Right. That's it. Yeah, I

6:45

did one thing and then. So now

6:49

able to build things back up

6:49

again. There's a lot of

6:53

scariness there in in taking

6:53

that leap of faith.

6:57

Yeah. Yeah. Big changes. Yeah.

6:57

Yeah. It is amazing what you can

7:03

do when you when you when your

7:03

backs up against the wall,

7:08

really. And that's, that's been

7:08

a fantastic learning for me.

7:12

Because I've never been in that

7:12

situation before where I felt

7:14

like I really have to do

7:14

something for myself. I mean,

7:19

I've always just been employed

7:19

by the government teaching kids

7:22

in schools. And then, you know,

7:22

we were raised, we've always

7:25

been quite reasonably

7:25

comfortable financially. But

7:29

yeah, it was. It's, it's

7:29

brilliant. And it's a great

7:34

example of resilience for my

7:34

kids as well. So I sort of, even

7:38

though the pandemic has been,

7:38

has been a real trial and

7:43

terrible in so many ways.

7:43

There's been, there's been some

7:47

good that has come out of it as

7:47

well. Yeah,

7:50

I say that often. And, you know,

7:50

like, I've felt the bad. I know,

7:54

many people have, I've lost

7:54

friends. But there's been so

8:00

many things, seeing people come

8:00

together in community and seeing

8:05

the collaborations that people

8:05

are doing, and seeing how you

8:09

can now do anything, anywhere in

8:09

the world. Because we have

8:14

access to it. We had the

8:14

internet, but you still didn't

8:17

have access to so many things.

8:17

And, and everybody kind of had

8:21

to change. I was already

8:21

starting online before before,

8:25

but it definitely helped.

8:25

Everybody came online. So yeah.

8:31

And I think all the online,

8:31

things became easier. I mean,

8:34

how much zoom, you know, brought

8:34

people together and made their

8:38

whole platform easier. You know,

8:38

it's incredible. Really? Yeah.

8:42

And I talked to so many people who

8:43

were like, I didn't even know

8:45

what Zoom was. Right. No, or the

8:45

pandemic. Yeah, they use it

8:50

daily. So yeah, I just, I'd like

8:50

to revisit something you said

8:54

about art school. Is this is

8:54

this is a common thing I hear

8:59

about art school and how it kind

8:59

of takes the air out of you, if

9:03

you will, as an artist, right.

9:03

And I have opinions about why

9:10

that is. And you know, marking

9:10

people on creativity and

9:15

expression seems to be an issue

9:15

in my mind. But I didn't go to

9:19

art school, but I talked to a

9:19

lot of people who have you said,

9:24

you know, was I believe the time

9:24

in your life, when you didn't

9:28

have sort of the experience or

9:28

confidence confidence to you

9:35

know, move through that. What

9:35

would you say overall, if people

9:39

are thinking of going to art

9:39

school, or thinking they need to

9:42

go to art school? What are your

9:42

thoughts on that? Um,

9:48

well, I think it has a place in

9:48

terms of teaching you technical

9:53

stuff, techniques and processes.

9:53

I think it's good for putting

9:59

you together with a whole lot of

9:59

other people who are creative.

10:06

But I Yeah, so I think if you

10:06

can, if you can go into it

10:10

thinking, I'm going to learn,

10:10

you know, skills and techniques,

10:15

I'm going to learn perhaps,

10:15

well, I hope they do a better

10:20

job of it now than they did in

10:20

my day. But I'm going to learn

10:22

how to have an art practice.

10:22

They didn't teach that to me,

10:27

but I think they do. Now, I hope

10:27

they do. And I'm going to, I'm

10:33

going to it's a play, it's a

10:33

good place for ideas to sort of

10:37

generate and be fostered and,

10:37

and to develop. But I think if

10:43

you, I think you have to go in

10:43

there with a view to what you

10:49

want to get out of it. And I

10:49

think you have to be pretty

10:53

strong. And I think you have to

10:53

hold people to account. Because

10:56

I think it's very easy for

10:56

people to nestle themselves in

11:00

an institution as a tutor or a

11:00

teacher, and not really deliver

11:06

a great amount of value. And

11:06

they they, you know, in my

11:11

experience, and actually, my

11:11

sister has just recently done a

11:14

design course. And it depends

11:14

where you go, of course, some of

11:18

them are some of them are

11:18

fantastic. And others of them

11:20

perhaps aren't, but it would, it

11:20

would it would be well worth

11:23

doing bit of homework first, I

11:23

think because yeah, it's a nice

11:29

income for for people who want

11:29

to pursue their own out

11:34

interests in a nice environment

11:34

where they have everything and

11:37

accessible to you know, that's

11:37

accessible to them in order to

11:40

do that, but whether they

11:40

actually deliver for their

11:42

students is another thing. And

11:42

that's what I would be talking

11:49

to people about if I was

11:49

interested in going to art

11:51

school. I find now, especially with the

11:53

access to so much on the

11:58

internet, you know, Do do you

11:58

even need to go to because you

12:03

can learn from so many different

12:03

people. Yeah. And I, one of the

12:08

things I remember, I had a good

12:08

friend that was in art school,

12:11

and was just the sheer number of

12:11

things you got to try, right.

12:16

Like you got to try all

12:16

different things. I think that's

12:20

really important for anybody

12:20

who's developing a style is

12:24

trying to figure out because you

12:24

don't know until you try it,

12:28

right. No, that's right. Yeah.

12:28

Just trying all the different

12:31

things. Yeah. Yeah. And it was great to learn. I mean, I

12:33

learned, as you say, I did lots

12:38

of printmaking. So I learned how

12:38

to do screen printing and

12:42

intaglio, printing and etching

12:42

and all that sort of stuff.

12:46

Which was great. But yeah, at

12:46

the end of it, I certainly

12:53

didn't come out feeling like I

12:53

knew I knew how to technically

12:58

do it, but I had no idea how to

12:58

make a composition work, or make

13:04

something that I liked anyway.

13:04

Yeah,

13:08

those are important things. Fundamental, yes. All right. So

13:16

do your homework, if you're

13:20

thinking of going to art school,

13:20

have a thick skin. Do your

13:23

homework. Yes. All right. And

13:23

one of the questions I asked all

13:27

my guests, what does healing

13:27

with creativity mean to you?

13:32

Well, I know you asked this

13:32

question. And so I've been

13:36

having a think about it. And I,

13:36

I my experience of it is after

13:44

my father died. And I was he

13:44

died quite quickly. And I was

13:51

just an absolute shock, really.

13:51

And I can remember, you know, it

13:55

was at that time that I decided

13:55

to start painting and so all of

14:00

my while I was all the things I

14:00

gathered together to bring into

14:06

my sort of the subject of my

14:06

work at that time was all around

14:10

him, and my memories, and and

14:10

just anything to do with him, I

14:16

had gone on and taken a lot of

14:16

photos of his or the inside of

14:20

his wardrobe, his bedside table,

14:20

his shed where he did all you

14:26

know, had all his gardening

14:26

things and all sorts of stuff

14:28

like that. So I had lots of

14:28

visual material. I just didn't

14:32

have him. And and just the

14:32

process, I think of taking that

14:40

taking all that all those

14:40

memories, or that stimuli that

14:46

sort of suggested him and

14:46

putting it and playing with it

14:50

physically like holding the

14:50

papers and playing and arranging

14:54

them and taking them and doing

14:54

things with them. You're sort of

14:59

trance forming those things into

14:59

something else. And I think

15:05

that's kind of a metaphor for

15:05

the transition that you have to

15:07

take from the time that you have

15:07

with him to now there's a new,

15:13

you have a new time, and he's

15:13

gone, and you're adjusting to

15:17

that. And it's a wonderful, it's

15:17

a wonderful way of making of

15:23

helping you to make that

15:23

transition. Because in one

15:26

sense, it's very distracting

15:26

because you can just be

15:28

distracted about what color

15:28

should I put here? What tool

15:31

should I use? What materials

15:31

should I use? What do I want

15:34

this to look like? So those are

15:34

just all technical, you know,

15:39

artty type things. And on the

15:39

other hand, it's transitioning,

15:43

it's dealing with those

15:43

memories, having them there. But

15:46

also you've got that layer of

15:46

distraction, which doesn't take

15:49

you too deeply into the painful

15:49

stuff. So you'd have time to sit

15:54

with them, and watch them and

15:54

just be with them. But you can

15:58

do something with them. And, and

15:58

you can make something that

16:03

means something to you, whether

16:03

it's beautiful or whatever, but

16:06

it has some meaning and it

16:06

delivers you to a place where

16:11

you can, you can be with those

16:11

memories, you've sort of worked

16:16

your way through with them, they

16:16

can still be sad, because we

16:19

have to feel that sadness. But

16:19

somehow you've, you've traveled

16:25

with them, and you've come to a

16:25

different sort of place. Yeah.

16:29

So I think that that's my

16:29

experience of healing, or you

16:34

know, and I just think it's

16:34

incredibly therapeutic to have

16:38

to just the idea of actually

16:38

touching and maneuvering and

16:44

playing and working your way

16:44

through all this stimuli, all

16:48

this stuff that that reminds you

16:48

of the person or whatever it is

16:51

that you're having to deal with.

16:51

And somehow coming to a point

16:56

where, you know, you have made

16:56

something new out of it. And

17:00

that's kind of what you have to

17:00

do with your life. Really, when

17:03

someone dies like that. Yeah.

17:03

Yeah.

17:08

It's just so true, I can feel

17:08

that as well. When my, when my

17:12

partner died. That was when I

17:12

got back into painting

17:15

originally. And it was just a

17:15

way to process right, I just

17:20

needed to move the paint and,

17:20

and just be able to process

17:24

that. And, yeah, just, uh, and

17:24

then, more recently, well,

17:31

seven, eight years ago now more

17:31

recently, when I went through

17:35

such a bad depression, and then

17:35

I use creativity to work my way

17:39

through that, and journaling,

17:39

painting, and all sorts of

17:43

things. But yeah, the the death

17:43

of my partner was definitely the

17:47

time that it was like, I need

17:47

to, I need to create right now,

17:51

that was the first time I've

17:51

ever really felt that, that that

17:55

need to process through

17:55

creation?

17:58

Yes, that's really interesting,

17:58

actually. Because it's, I

18:03

haven't given it too much

18:03

thought before. And it's just

18:05

been recently that I've been

18:05

thinking about it. And it's this

18:08

whole, I don't know what it is

18:08

within that within us. But then

18:12

humans, and I think everybody

18:12

has this. It's not just people

18:15

who call themselves creatives. I

18:15

think it's an instinct within

18:19

all of us to make something and

18:19

I think maybe when you're wrong,

18:25

and you're cut right to the

18:25

quick, that is, that's the part

18:30

of you that wants to rebuild.

18:30

And so, you know, you, you feel

18:35

that drive to somehow make

18:35

something create something.

18:39

Yeah, it's really interesting. Yeah. Well, I've, I've found

18:41

that through through the years

18:44

of teaching, healing with

18:44

creativity is exactly that,

18:49

right. As you as you create, and

18:49

you're able to express in a lot

18:53

of ways we are unable to express

18:53

in, in the, in the words in Yes,

18:58

that's right. And so, like to

18:58

talk it out, you can only do

19:01

that for so much. And then yeah,

19:01

you know, even writings easier

19:06

for me, but if I can move paint

19:06

around or paint for somebody

19:11

else, it could be gardening or

19:11

baking or Yeah, it is. Yeah,

19:17

that was a really interesting process, isn't it?

19:18

Really?

19:21

Yeah. Well, we're creative

19:21

beings, if we would just open up

19:24

and allow that why we have to Yeah, I mean, the

19:29

the other thing that comes with

19:33

it as this this judgment as

19:33

well, and that's so hard, I have

19:40

a I have a student who I'm going

19:40

to meet with later this week,

19:43

and and she's having a real

19:43

tough time with it. And I say to

19:49

her, you know, between now and

19:49

then when I see you, I want you

19:53

to be really kind to the artist

19:53

that is you. And I want you to

19:58

tell that critic to go stand by

19:58

the gate and just give that,

20:03

give that person some distance.

20:03

It's always a him funnily

20:07

enough, down to the end of the

20:07

road and get him to stay down

20:12

there and tell you if there's a

20:12

bear or a tiger or rapist or a

20:17

mass murderer or someone coming,

20:17

but yeah, it's just I don't know

20:20

why they I think it's comes from

20:20

that fear, doesn't it fear of

20:24

of. But it's, uh, if only we

20:24

could create without that we

20:30

would it would be a magical

20:30

world wouldn't it? It would

20:33

be. And that is it's funny that

20:33

you say that's a him? Because I

20:37

call it the masculine energy

20:37

right that we have and the

20:41

feminine energy is the creative,

20:41

masculine energy is that must

20:46

produce something. And so you're

20:46

only valued if you can sell it.

20:50

But how do you get from A to B?

20:50

Right? How do you start creating

20:55

and then get to the selling

20:55

point without trying and

20:59

creative creativity is not

20:59

ultimately about selling. I

21:03

mean, it's great, I want to do

21:03

that. But it's about expression

21:07

and being able to express. And

21:07

so as women especially, but that

21:12

feminine energy is in everyone.

21:12

Yeah, we need to express we need

21:16

to create. And though we get

21:16

caught up in the societal

21:20

expectations of production. So

21:20

it's such a such an issue. And

21:25

then of course, you know, that

21:25

whole going to art class,

21:29

whether it's in art school, or

21:29

you know, elementary school, and

21:33

your teachers like trees can't

21:33

be purple. And there's one in

21:38

our yard that's purple, what do

21:38

you mean trees can't be purple?

21:42

being measured against other

21:42

people? And, you know, the

21:47

teachers expectations? And I

21:47

there's not a lot of undoing

21:50

that that happens along that

21:50

along those years. But yeah, I

21:55

know, I think and I think the

21:55

wonderful thing about pursuing

21:58

you're out and trying to keep I

21:58

mean, when I when I started, my

22:04

ultimate goal was to show my

22:04

work, and I did want to sell

22:06

out, of course. But in the

22:06

beginning, I knew I had, I

22:11

wasn't there yet. And so I had

22:11

to find out what it was that I

22:14

loved. And so that was that was

22:14

what I followed. And when, and I

22:23

used to always, you know,

22:23

whatever I did, I used to always

22:27

show my partner or who was

22:27

always usually my partner,

22:30

because he was the most

22:30

available. I would show him you

22:33

know, what do you think of this?

22:33

And to this day, the the

22:37

response I get is, uh, oh, yeah.

22:37

But now I, I show it because I'm

22:45

excited. And I just want to, you

22:45

know, it's like running to your

22:48

mother with a drawing, look at

22:48

this mum, you know. But now, I

22:56

know what it is that I like. And

22:56

so that's what I that's what I

23:00

pursue. And I think when you

23:00

when you find what it is that

23:03

you love, there's a freedom in

23:03

that. And so you don't actually

23:08

need the validation from other

23:08

people. And you can just pursue

23:13

it and you do find a confidence

23:13

and a freedom that comes when

23:17

you find what you know, your

23:17

expression that you can do.

23:22

Sometimes quite easily actually.

23:22

Because it's coming from, from

23:26

within you, you know, it's your

23:26

aesthetic, it's, it's you, it's

23:29

your essence. And so finding

23:29

that as freeing and actually

23:36

allows more expression, and for

23:36

it to be truer and truer and

23:40

truer. Yeah. Yeah. That's sweet

23:40

spot.

23:45

I challenge everyone listening

23:45

to find your sweet spot, ignore,

23:49

ignore what other people say.

23:49

Yeah. And do what feels right

23:53

for you. And find your sweet

23:53

spot. Yeah,

23:55

Absolutely. Don't ask your

23:55

partner.

23:59

I want to thank you so much,

23:59

Judy, for being here. I do see

24:03

you have a free gift for our

24:03

listeners. You have painting

24:05

prompts, and we'll put the link

24:05

there so that they can get it,

24:08

can you tell them a little bit about that. The painting? Yeah. Well, I

24:10

teach abstract art. So in

24:15

abstract art, there's, you know,

24:15

there's always the question,

24:19

what next? What do I do now,

24:19

because you haven't got anything

24:22

to look at sort of as your

24:22

visual guide. So this prompt

24:26

sheet just gives you lots of

24:26

ideas about different ways of

24:32

applying the paint, different

24:32

tools, you can use different

24:34

types of line, you can add

24:34

things, ways of creating

24:38

different shapes. Different ways

24:38

of representing subject matter

24:43

in a more abstract sort of form,

24:43

different ways of looking at

24:46

subject matter. There's, you

24:46

know, there's heaps and heaps of

24:49

stuff in there. So that sort of

24:49

helps pay it helps you answer

24:53

that question. What do I do now? I love that. I love that. Well,

24:56

thank you again, for being here

24:59

today. And sharing some of your

24:59

story and and you know, I just

25:04

really enjoyed our conversation. Yes I did I know it's a great

25:06

pleasure. Thank you Larissa.

25:10

To our listeners we will see you

25:10

again next time and in the

25:13

meantime I wish for you

25:13

amazingly creative days.