for the love of judy ~ conversation on a sunday ~
Who is Judy?
That question deserves a brilliant answer, but I can’t come up with one that sticks. As soon as I decide this is who I am, something shifts and I run into a new something about myself. There is always something else—something sad, something happy, something heartbreaking, something joyful—to experience. Maybe that’s why people tell me: “Judy, you’re something else.” Under my high school year book picture the phrase, “Never a Dull Moment” was used to describe me. I like that motto and that is how I intend to greet tomorrow and the rest of my life.
As an artist, what are your favorite ways to express yourself?
I adore painting, cutting and pasting and papier-mâché but I didn’t discover that artistic twist until I was in my sixties. I’ve lived a creative life, authored 12 books, counseled thousands of people, even been a guest on Oprah! Articles on my work have appeared in over 1,000 publications. It’s been wonderful. Now I’m stepping out again, having so much fun sharing my mixed-media collages and papier-mâché bracelets and bowls with others.
What is your creative process?
Writing is the most challenging for me because writing requires writing—whether I’m in the writing mood or not. I am more free-form than a disciplinarian so a schedule goes against my inklings. To keep the words flowing, however I know that not only do I need to write, I must rewrite and sometimes even delete my favorite sentences. I write first thing in the morning or last thing at night. There are days when thoughts do not cooperate. Forming ideas into words and sentences is difficult labor, like giving birth to a barbed wire fence. On those sweet occasions when the muse visits, when the words trickle down easily, when magically I’m transported to a creative zone, that’s a high to keep me writing year after year.
Cutting and pasting is a whole different expression, a meditation, a going inward, a resting in silence.
I lose myself cutting shapes and watching them merge into surprising designs. With cutting and pasting there is no intention and that’s’ precisely what makes it so refreshing for me. I have just completed my thirteenth manuscript and now I will reward myself by cutting up catalogues and magazines and shaping them into hanging or folding picture books.
What are you moved to express in your writing, art, photography the most?
Life is experienced moment by moment—from the whimsical to the heart-touching, from the lighthearted to the heart-moving, from the romantic to the silly, from sadness to joy and back again. I hope my art and writing conveys that quality of being alive with the juices flowing.
If there were absolutely no obstacles whatsoever what would you do tomorrow?
I like to think I would putter more. I love the idea of the puttering life—but that is not what life has presented so far. Life has it’s own agenda and my agenda has not always been in sync. Fortunately I’ve learned to be open to what life brings and that makes everything so much easier. Life has brought wonderful blessings, better than I could have designed myself. Of course sometimes I go kicking and screaming because I would prefer to be in charge. At the very least I can be in charge of my attitude and so I am committed to remaining a romantic optimist, full of joy and grief, a contradiction.
How do handle an interruption in the flow of imagination or writer’s block?
It’s the craziest thing—life interrupts my plans but never my imagination. That’s precisely why imagination and creativity are fundamental for not only surviving but for thriving. No matter what challenges we might face, we can get through by pouring disappointment and setbacks, sorrow and pain into creative expressions. Imagination and creativity transforms grief, that’s the silver lining.
I don’t succumb to writer’s block, in fact I wouldn’t use the phrase. As a creative person I know I need to allow myself down time. Wide-open space is as important to creativity as production. Imagination and creativity requires percolating time and wide-open space, that’s when my best fresh ideas come.
What brings you joy, contentment, happiness?
My daughter, the eagles nest outside my window, birds, sunrises, coffee shops, bus rides to town, paint brushes, a really good dinner, connected conversation, independent movies, documentaries, pop up books, sleeping outside on my outdoor bed, chimpanzees, elephants, chocolate, fresh air, willow trees, pussy willows, trees, sun flowers, tulips, hydrangeas, lilacs, wisteria, characters (as in people), studying what makes us tick, candles, my electric bicycle, hammocks, huge rings, huge bracelets, love in all it’s forms.
What holds you back?
Silly fears such as the delusion, “Something’s wrong with Judy.”
Who are your creative role models? What books, art, music inspire and ignite you?
The documentaries: Cats of Mirkitani
In the Realms of the Unreal
Young at Heart
The books: The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
The Holy Man by Susan Trott
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory
The movie: Happy Go Lucky
Matilda
among hundreds of others.
Where has love taken you?
Everywhere. Love has turned me inside out. By that I mean that love rules me, has a hold on me, breaks my heart, inspires me and lifts me up. By the time I was thirty-four I’d had every marital status there was: single, married, widowed, single, married, divorced, single again. Then at age forty-nine I walked hand in hand with death again when my partner died following a year long illness. His last gift to me was a book on papier-mâché with his inscription, “To my beautiful papier-mâché artist” and that began my thirteen process of creating a papier-mâché bowl that I was happy with. Love introduces me to places inside myself that hadn’t known before. At the end life the only thing that matters is how well we have loved and I think it might be possible to love the whole world. My prayer is: Dear Heavenly One. Please help me accept Love as it is given even though it may not come in the package I requested.
Famous last words?
—after making a fool of herself on more than one occasion, she committed to never ever writing an email or answering the phone until she rode her bike and cried her eyes out—–
Judy Ford, a trained professional with heart, soul, and life experience, is also a best selling author, relationship coach, mother, role model. She has worked for nearly three decades with families in various settings–from gang turf in the inner city to crisis intervention in hospitals. Judy has dedicated her life to the study of love and relationships, family healing and wholeness. She is currently in private practice in Kirkland, WA. With compassion and candor, her work speaks to the heart, inspiring us to love life, to persevere through its challenges, and to share our gifts with others.
She has written 12 books including the best selling Wonderful Ways series:
❤ Wonderful Ways to Love A Child
❤ Wonderful Ways to Love a Teen: Even When It Seems Impossible
and the bestselling:
❤ Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent
Her newest book:
❤ Everyday Love: The Delicate Art of Caring for Each Other will be published September, 2010
❤ For more information visit web site here
❤ To see her creative inspirations visit her here…
❤Judy Ford LSCW
Individual, Couple & Family Counseling
judy@judyford.com
www.judyford.com
11 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, i love sunday's, the art of living cheerfully!
