By Natalie Keller
I was talking with an artist yesterday at the el Pedregal gallery who has an abundance of vitality and creativity. She stated she has been an artist since she was a child watching her mother being creative at home and being encouraged to do likewise. Creativity rubs “off on” children and Judith Rothenstein-Putzer comes from a very creative family! Her mother was what Judy called “crafty” and her father was a diamond jeweler…creating fine jewelry in Brooklyn where they lived. When the time came for Judy to go to college her mother wanted her to be a kindergarten teacher. Judith tried but didn’t feel committed to it. She eventually found that she wanted to be an occupational therapist. She went to Brooklyn College for her undergraduate degree and majored in art and later went to Colombia for her masters in Occupational Therapy. Her undergraduate degree was in her true passion! She had been taking photos and was very interested in photography so the degree fit right into her artsy crafty side!
All the way through college she was developing her craft. She married and her husband eventually set up a developing area for her photography. She continued to work in her Occupational Therapy field for 40 years. She was raising two girls…one a photographer and one crafty while she was perfecting her art. She’s now a grandmother with two granddaughters, six and a half and eight and a half…one crafty and one artistic. Go Figure!
She moved to Arizona 15 years ago and worked full time. She began to occasionally enroll in some workshops and at some point she discovered color plate etching and alcohol transfer technique. It fit right into her love of photography and expanded her ability to produce beautiful art works. She has been doing this technique for six years now.
I didn’t have the slightest idea of how she produced her art…I’m a traditional/representational oil painter. Anyway, she gave me a thumbnail sketch of the steps she goes through to make the vibrant art pieces. (1) She takes a photo of a still life grouping or even one object…car, flower, etc.; she always uses her own images for her works. (2) Sometimes she takes the photo into photo shop if tweaking is necessary. (3) She prints the image on a transparency to whatever size she desires. (4) She soaks printmaking paper in alcohol solution; size varies according to what she wants to produce. (5) She prints a mono print, (one print), the image and colors are transferred onto the paper; nothing is left on the transparency. (6) She then outlines with pen and ink on the paper image. This produces areas that “pop out”. The colors are very vibrant and her ink enhances the look. She then finishes with a protective spray or waxing if needed. She frames these larger images but also makes very small images that fit on a piece of jewelry she crafts out of silver buckles. Hard to imagine but beautiful to see! A woman bought one of her necklaces while I was in The gallery at el Pedregal. It looked great with her outfit and was very reasonable!
Artist Judith_Rothenstein-Putzer
Judith has exhibited in the past at Vision Gallery, Arizona Art Alliance, Shemer Art Gallery, J Gallery, Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour, Fountain Hills Tour de Artiste and is a juried artist in the Sonoran Arts League. She is currently exhibiting at ASU downtown until May and at The Gallery at el Pedregal. There will be a reception on May 17th from 4pm-6pm for the new rotation of artists at The Gallery at el Pedregal and the public is welcome.
If you like vibrant color and would like to see how this is done…visit the gallery. Judy is an In Residence Artist and demonstrates her art on rotating days with other In Residence Artists. Call Judy or the gallery if you want to know her schedule. I think Judy is truly the mixture of a fine crafter/jeweler and an artist who found a way to be both in a world who loves “different”.
Judith Rothenstein-Putzer
480-836-0952
The Gallery at el Pedregal
480-575-6658
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