Today we’d like to introduce you to Judith Parenio.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Judith. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I think that my interest in sculpture started young when helping my father build things with many materials. I knew very early that art would be my focus in life. Work in clay sculpture, as well as color and design, solidified my desires through high school and college. My education was at UC Long Beach, Chouinard Art Institute, Orange Coast College and San Diego’s Mesa College.
I am a sculptor who paints, and I have a strong connection with open lands and with those creatures who inhabit them. When younger, surfing, backpacking and rock climbing led me to be in the wilder places and appreciate our need to protect them. I worry about where our natural world is headed due to the onslaught of man on the earth; therefore, I sometimes try to imbue subtle messages to viewers about paying attention to these issues.
Symbols of ancient cultures and folk art intrigue me and influence my work. I use colors and shapes from nature as another way of seeing; and for the past ten years, I have explored the sumptuous medium of encaustic, painting with molten bee’s wax. Working with clay affected my paintings to desired texture and relief in their surfaces.
I have been a lifelong artist and have worked in many mediums. Although, I am not instructing now, teaching people of all ages has been a rewarding experience, especially when I help them achieve success with their efforts. I have been fortunate to travel extensively in many parts of Mexico.
I usually take art supplies that some poor villages need in their small schools. Besides earth’s shapes and colors, the anthropology, landscapes and folk art of Mexico and the American Southwest are some of the major influences in my work. I am as busy as ever today; and while exhibiting my work locally, I feel fortunate to be able to keep producing art. I consider it as a gift that should not be ignored.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The path through my life has not always been easy. Early struggles with self-esteem, running away from home, temporarily, as a teenager, having a tumultuous 1st marriage, then divorce, and two severe illnesses while raising a young son and trying to pay off a house did not stop me from doing my artwork. I worked at many different jobs and would stay up overnight sometimes to paint.
These trials DID keep me from realizing a degree in art that would have taken me in a different direction artistically; but I believe that “everything is as it should be,” as told by a dying friend. I have a wonderful, supportive 2nd husband and many fine, supportive artists within the groups to which I belong. There have been some health issues that sometimes keep me from doing art; but the making of it is constant, even if in the mental stage.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I work in my studio at home and am fortunate to have this place. In the past, I worked at a kitchen table, garage and backyard! I do clay sculpture and hand building at a studio, Clay Associates, previously Clay Dimensions, off and on since the early ’70s.
I always have loved color, so painting and drawing, combining them with the texture and surface relief of clay led me to try working in encaustic, painting with molten bee’s wax. It has gluing properties that enables one to use mixed mediums with it.
Since it is usually done on wood, a porous medium, I can cut the shapes to my desire and even layer them. I am pleased to be an artist who doesn’t “follow the herd,” but has developed my own style due to the influences of my travels and outdoor experiences.
I do not do variations on a theme, yet I am told that my work is recognizable when exhibited! There are so many artists and lots of competition; but the place most important for me is in my studio, where music shuts out the world and art becomes my world.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
In High School in Long Beach, I had an art teacher who was so supportive to us students.
I will never forget his encouragement when I won a poster contest in class, even though I misspelled part of it! At Chouinard, a teacher who would go out for coffee after class with the students really was an encouragement. My mother inspired me with her love of beauty, color, and decoration in our home.
Belonging to art groups is a good way to get support and encouragement. My recent involvement with FIG, Feminist Imagery Group, has brought me to feel supported by the many talented artists in the group.
We encourage each other as we search for venues to exhibit our work together. The list of supportive friends, many of whom are not artists, is too long to name.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.judithparenio.blogspot.com
- Phone: (858) 270-3132 (land)
- Email: jparenio@sbcglobal.net
- Facebook: Judith Parenio on Facebook
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