Borough Gallery & Studio

Jude Bond

Burlington, VT

http://www.215collegegallery.com/bond/bond.html

ARTIST BIO

Jude is a mixed media artist who has been following her own artistic muse since childhood. She has been a member of 215 College Gallery in Burlington, Vermont since its opening in April 2006. Her art work is held in a number of private collections, has appeared in Eating Well Magazine, and she is the recipient of several art awards, including most recently Burlington City Arts’ Barbara Smail Award for 2009.

Jude has been an arts educator for over thirty years working in a variety of settings with all ages. She is currently the Early Arts Coordinator for Burlington City Arts, a position she has held since 1994. In this capacity Jude teaches art to ages 1-5, and presents teacher and parent education workshops for area agencies throughout the state.

Jude has a BA from the University of Vermont with a double major in Elementary Education and Arts Education, and a Masters in Educational Administration

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I have been making art since I was a small child, trying ever since that time to learn and unlearn what I can about the creative process.

At the age of six I rescued a near perfect, hand painted, porcelain tea cup from a neighbor’s trash can and have been drawn to cast-off materials as inspiration for art making ever since. I like to explore a variety of mediums, often combining seemingly disparate materials in unusual ways, and transforming found objects into two and three dimensional works. I see the beauty and the possibilities in all materials and I feel compelled to explore. The challenge for me is to find the right medium for each body of work that presents itself.

I am most interested in history, historical imagery and historical textile traditions and techniques. Most of my textile based work is hand stitched. For me the stitched line is the drawn line, and I think of these works as Textile Drawings.

HOME STATEMENT:

For me Home conjures up images of domesticity.

I am not a domestic goddess. I come from a long line of domestic goddesses, but I did not inherit the gene.  I grew up in a time when moms stayed home and cooked and cleaned and sewed and had dinner on the table each night with meat, potatoes, vegetables and a home-made dessert. My mom

sewed matching dresses for my sister and I, knitted us sweaters, stitched quilts, hooked rugs and embroidered pillow cases.

I earned a Homemaking badge in Brownies in 1960 for bed making and table setting while the Cub Scouts were making things out of wood and going on camping trips.

In Home Economics class in Jr. High we made aprons and baked sweets while in Shop class the boys built bird houses. Girls were not allowed to take shop, nor were boys allowed to take Home Ec. Once a year we got to visit the other’s class and see what we were missing.

As a young girl I was taught to embroider, sew, and crochet. I loved these techniques, but as I came of age I avoided them as if they were snares that would trap me in the domestic life.

As an adult I returned to “women’s work” and the medium I love, to create works about home and domesticity and to address issues of women’s roles in contemporary society.

Jude Bond "Underbodies-Foundations Reconfigured" Art Textile

Jude Bond, "Biscuit Quilt"

Jude Bond, "Yo Yo Domestic Goddess/Sex Kitten (detail)