Students will be briefly introduced to instructor’s 20+ year’s research of inorganic and organic natural pigments, viewing historical and cultural reference and applications as evidenced in Lascaux Caves, Aboriginal bark work, Egyptian mummy cases, Indian miniatures, European Renaissance paintings, Tibetan Thangka Paintings, Qing Dynasty scrolls and Japanese Nihonga. During our time together, we will honor these ancient practices by employing several of their materials and methods, yet the main thrust of this workshop is to explore alchemical abstraction for contemporary art: the heartbeat of Judith’s work.

We will talk about “abstract” as a verb (not works of art as “abstracts”). To abstract is to extract or remove. We will walk in nature to draw and borrow from and with it, perceiving and observing its attributes. Our phones or iPad and/or sketchbooks will serve as capturing tools, while foraging elements to use in the studio: sticks, stones, leaves, dirt, bark.

Back in the studio we experiment with concoctions and processes that push the boundaries of the ordinary, towards metaphoric alchemy. Our arcane materials from local sources as well as Asia, India, Mexico and Europe, will ultimately yield visceral, contemplative, artwork. A limited earthy palette pushes form rather than color.

Materials derived from nature hold a special connection with nature in material presence. My goal is to help each of you to capture its deep essence, devoid of representation. By working with your own papers, printed photos and ephemera, you can make your work more personal as well. Hybridity is encouraged in this workshop.

Students have not only followed my instruction for making mixed media drawings and paintings, but also integrated their own practices for sculptural work, including books and 3D paper objects.

Judith Kruger, born 1955, is an American, visual artist whose multidisciplinary work addresses Human-Environment connectivity and their shared vulnerabilities. Her current ecofeminist work examines the specific relationship between women and ecology. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy of inorganic and organic, natural pigments and historic, ecological painting processes. 

Judith's solo exhibitions include Drawing Ground, Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT, Mingled Terrain, Richardson Art Museum, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC (2018), An Alchemic View, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut (2015), Touching Rain, Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY (2015) Outside In, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona (2014) and New Paintings at Morrison Gallery, Kent, Connecticut (2013). Select group exhibitions include Agawami Museum Hall, Tokushima, Japan, Sato Museum, Tokyo, Japan, Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT, John and Robyn Horn Gallery, Penland, NC, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, Gallery G, Hiroshima, Japan, Pallazo Dell'Annunziata, Matera, Italy, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL and The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA. 

Judith's work is held in private, public and corporate collections: some of which include Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT, Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, Savannah College of Art and Design, GA and Phipps Conservatory’s Center for Sustainable Landscapes, Pittsburgh, PA. She was commissioned to create an outdoor-site specific, sculptural work in honor of Earth Day (2023) for University of St Joseph, West Hartford, CT.

In 2008, Judith initiated the course Nihonga: Then and Now at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was awarded a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs to teach her course Getting the Dirt on Paint in the Chicago Public School System. Her painting workshops and studio residencies, based on these courses, currently garner an international following. Judith leads an annual Master Abstraction Workshop-in-Residence as part of Mass MoCA’s Assets for Artists Residency program since 2016. In 2011, Judith was awarded a Target Professional Development grant. She is a recipient of a Mass MoCA Assets for Artists matching grant (2016), a Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellowship grant (2019) and an Artist Fellowship Grant, NYC (2019). She served as Scholar-Artist in Residence at Anneliese School, Laguna Beach, CA (2016, 2017, 2018), supported by Seeds Arts and Education and Artist in Residence at Wofford College’s Environmental Studies Dept, Spartanburg, SC (2019). 

Additionally, between 1977 and 2007, Judith collaborated with artisans in over a dozen countries on applied art and design signature licensing manufacturing projects for notable retailers including Crate & Barrel, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Gumps. Between 2003-2008, she travelled extensively throughout Japan, India and Thailand researching and sourcing her signature natural dyed and mineral pigmented stoneware, linen, metal and wood home products, funded by Carlisle Companies, Inc

She has served as a member of the Inaugural Dean’s Advisory Board of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Syracuse University Chicago Arts Council Board, and Chicago’s Ravenswood ArtWalk Board. Her fundraising efforts, which mobilized the creativity of hundreds of artists and designers in the Chicago area, resulted in the donation of significant funds to UCLA AIDS Institute to further AIDs research. 

She received her BFA in illustration from Syracuse University and her MFA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design. Judith Kruger Studio is located in the former Erector toy factory in New Haven, CT, 75 miles Northeast of midtown Manhattan. 

There is limited accommodation available at Willow Pond House. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Willow Pond House is a private residence and you will be hosted by Carol and Jean Paquet and an on-site chef. Select your workshop under the tab of the room of your choice and the number of nights is automatically calculated for the workshop duration. If you choose to stay on site, your reservation will include breakfast and dinner. This is a separate booking from the workshop and is accessible under the GUEST ROOMS menu tab on Willow Pond’s website. Please note - we are not licensed to sell or serve alcoholic beverages however you are welcome to bring your own. There is a fridge available to students in the studio.

In addition, there are numerous AirBnB’s and VRBOs within a few miles of the property. We also recommend hotels in Pismo Beach and The Agrarian Hotel in Arroyo Grande. Both of these locations are less than a 10-minute drive.