{"id":18710,"date":"2014-07-24T00:01:40","date_gmt":"2014-07-24T07:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=18710"},"modified":"2014-07-24T00:01:40","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T07:01:40","slug":"judy-seidel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/judy-seidel\/","title":{"rendered":"Judy Seidel: Click Here for an Eyeful of Her Life-Affirming Paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Diptych,"<\/a>
“Reconfigurations #4,” by Judy Seidel. Diptych, 27″ x 21,” each side. Mixed media on joined canvasses. Photo by BF Newhal<\/em>l<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Barbara Falconer Newhall<\/em><\/p>\n

Some artists seem to be able transfer the way their minds — souls? — work onto paper or canvas. And of those artists, every once in a while, it’s a mind that you’d like to spend more time with. <\/p>\n

\""Reconfigurations<\/a>
Seidel’s “Reconfigurations #3″ is a mixed media painting on three separated canvasses joined so that they become one piece. 27″ x 21.” Photo courtesy of the artist<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That’s probably why I stayed so long in the studio of\u00a0 Berkeley painter Judy Seidel recently during the last moments of the last day of the 2014 East Bay Open Studios. I couldn’t get myself to leave those wonderful, life-affirming paintings of hers. Seidel didn’t seem to mind that I was keeping her past her 6 p.m. closing time. She even cheerfully posed for a picture.<\/p>\n

A few days later, after poring over the photos I took at her studio, I phoned to ask Seidel what animated her work.<\/p>\n

“My life is a lot about healing and transformation — physical, emotional and spiritual,” she says. “You kind of have to fall apart — and let that happen — then come together and reorganize. Breaking apart and coming back together again. Death and rebirth.”<\/p>\n

It’s a theme that Seidel has revisited in her paintings over time. It’s not obvious in her work, and she likes it that way. But when you walk into her studio, it’s palpable.<\/p>\n

More stories you might like at “Amazing Places — A Walk Around Oakland’s Jingletown,”<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 “Nature. We Love It — But Does It Give a Darn About Us?”<\/a>\u00a0 and\u00a0 “Actor Robert Morse: Sweaty at 36, Sublime at 83.”<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Berkeley<\/a>
Judy Seidel in studio filled with her color-rich abstract paintings. Photo by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An<\/a>
Paintings by Judy Seidel: “Lining Up #1,” 10″ x 10,” mixed media . . .<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An<\/a>
. . . “C-ing #14,” 10″ x 10,” mixed media on canvas . . .<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An<\/a>
. . and “Duality #12,” 8″ x 10,” mixed media on canvas. Photos by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\""Working<\/a>
“Working It Out #4,” 2012, by Judy Seidel. 10 x 10, mixed media on canvas. Photo by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\""Diptych,"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some artists seem to be able transfer the way their minds work onto paper or canvas. And of those artists, every once in a while, it’s a mind that you’d like to spend more time with. I’m thinking of abstract painter Judy Seidel. Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[653,1214,1277,34,1267,1278,1279,1004,91,814,1280,1281],"class_list":["post-18710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-rocky-spiritual-journey","tag-arts-and-crafts","tag-berkeley","tag-berkeley-artists","tag-dont-miss","tag-east-bay-open-studios","tag-healing","tag-judy-seidel","tag-open-studios","tag-religion-and-spirituality","tag-shopping-stories","tag-transformation","tag-women-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18710\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}