by Bill Hatcher
Born and raised in Washington D.C., Judy Page has been a resident artist of Saguache since 1989. She earned a BFA in ceramics from Indiana University, Bloomington, and an AA in design from Montgomery College. She came to Saguache because the cost of living was inexpensive and real estate was cheap, so she could own her own business.
At first, she worked with clay. However, “After being a potter for a number of years, everything was big, everything was heavy, and the idea of just being able to have a sketchbook or work on a tabletop became sort of glorious in terms of how much equipment you needed. It was liberating. It’s also very direct, whereas ceramics for me was becoming less direct; you make the piece and you give it up to the kiln gods. I just wanted a simpler, faster way of expressing myself.”
Judy describes her current work as “narrative and illustrator-like. But I’m not necessarily trying to copy something.” She says there’s definitely a story involved in her art, but “I’m not interested in talking about the story, because that’s my story. I would rather people look at the pieces and respond to them with their own story.”
Judy’s signature style is the use of bold, primary colors to illuminate fantastic imagery: what she calls “narrative fantasy illustration mixed media, and both narrative and non-objective collage.”
The San Luis Valley is important to her for reasons greater than mere affordability. “The southwest lends itself so well to imagery in terms of totem imagery and animal imagery. I work strictly out of my head. I don’t work from photographs … What I really like about a lot of images is a certain silhouette quality. Birds have a really great silhouette.”
Judy displays and sells her work at the Magpie Gallery in Saguache, which she co-owns with Saguache Crescent publisher Dean Coombs. Together, they have collected and purveyed authentic ethnographic artwork, especially African pieces, for over 20 years.
Judy repeats a familiar phrase: “You basically starve as an artist.” However, the affordable nature of Saguache has allowed her to earn a good portion of her livelihood as an artist. Although to make ends meet, she has worked conventional jobs, too – as a landlord, real estate agent, at a restaurant, and at a commercial farm. Nearing retirement, she looks forward to spending more time on art.
Judy believes the momentum in art has been growing steadily over the past two years in Saguache. “With the development of 4th Street, there’s actually been a reason for tourists to come to town, which brings people into shops and galleries.”
In addition to Magpie Gallery, Judy’s artwork is also on display at The Mirage Trading Post in Moffat.
Magpie Gallery, 324 4th Street, 719-655-2650,
www.magpie-gallery.weebly.com
