Page 137 - Abilene Living

inspired about possibilities in their future careers.” Judy lives in a fat in downtown Abilene. Her adult children live in Los Angeles, New York and Palo Alto. She lost her father last year. “I’m a free agent now. It was an op-portunity to downsize, to live simply. I can walk to work.” She has retired from teaching, but gives talks at the museum and speaks around the state. She juries art competitions, gives critiques and speaks enthusiastically on just about any art related subject. She’s also executive director of the Clint Hamilton Foundation. Many weekends she travels to open-ings and studios. “I’m at a great point in my life,” she told me. “Only my dog will miss me when I’m on the road.” Judy has also been a signature artist member of the Center for Contemporary Art for ten years, where she has served as artist member chair and as a trustee. Her current work melds her own photography with digital images of vintage photographs. She calls her work a process of com-pressing time. “At this point in my life, I live with one foot

in my memories and one in my current realities. Both are valuable to me.”

“Knowing yourself can be a long process. Maybe we never really see what others see. Part of my story is not so visible. I was born severely hearing impaired but was only diagnosed with a form of nerve deafness in my early 30s.” Speaking with her you would never know that Judy has been legally deaf her whole life. She reads lips mostly, helped out by hearing aids and visual clues. She compen-sated as a child without realizing just how different she was. As a result, she became a keen observer, relying almost entirely on the visual world to communicate. Seeing every detail and memorizing every visual nuance became a way of life……a skill set that has proved very valuable in more ways than one. U ALM

Information about The Grace Museum may be found at www.thegracemuseum.org.

The exhibits at The Grace Museum are carefully researched and selected by Judy so that each one delivers a cohesive art experience to the audience. Most visitors will never know the work that goes into putting a show together. “If I do my job well, no one knows I’m here,” says Judy. OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM Judy with Artist David Bates