The creative impulse has always been an important part of my life and was fostered at an early age by my Grandfather, a talented amateur painter. Years later, living in London I began exploring different media in evening classes as I supported myself in the hope of an eventual Art career.
In 1972 I was accepted at Hornsey College of Art in London and graduated top of my class with a BA(Hons) degree in Textile design. During my graduating year, I won a national carpet design competition, two first-place awards, and travel bursaries for textile design from The Royal Society of Arts.
Following Art College I became a designer for a London fashion house for two years, designing clothing shown in the London and Paris fashion shows. Moving to Wales led me to work as a carpet designer for a year. Missing freedom in my art life led to a career change in the travel industry as a Tour Director. Seasonal tour work gave me access to the great cultural centers and museums of Europe and far afield to Australia and New Zealand, allowing the off-season months to be devoted to personal art exploration. During this travel life, a chance visit to Catalina Island off the California coast introduced me to the beautiful tiles made in Avalon during the 1920s, this in turn inspired the creation of a successful tile design studio in Oakland, Oregon. I made, designed, and sold tiles at Festivals in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California for twenty-odd years, finally closing the studio before moving to the Oregon Coast.
A chance encounter with Karen Sistek’s lovely silk paintings online led to classes in her studio. The brilliant hues of the dyes on the luxurious sheen of the silk are a perfect fit for my knowledge of textiles and love of painting and are full of potential for experimentation in the future. I also paint in watercolor.
| Jude Toler | jct.art@yahoo.com | Painting on Silk/Ceramics |
