About

Judith Condon Biography

After years of making art in the basement and laundry room, I’m thrilled to finally have a dedicated studio here in Sewanee, Tennessee, where I make prints, ceramics, and paintings. My goal has always been to share this work with the world — to carry on a conversation and build connections with others through art, which has long been my language of communication.

If you’re interested in any of these pieces for exhibition or purchase, please reach out through the "Contact Me" page. I look forward to hearing from you.

Artist Statement

I’ve always struggled with my artist statements. Should I be so bold as to speak about the very personal nature of my work or stay within my safe public narrative? In my reticence, maybe reluctance, to talk about it, I think the work should explain itself, but that’s cliché. My reluctance is that my personal story is too personal and does too good of a job demystifying the work, while the public truth falls short of the essence of what drives me. Whatever the story, I want the one that does a better job holding interest, so I reveal some of the layers of meaning—but never all—and the layers of which I speak change depending on who’s listening and what’s happening in my life at the moment. I do know for certain that my story is always an autobiography, a reflection of the way I see the world, my family and myself, consciously and unconsciously.

One layer that I am aware of is that of growing older in a culture that worships youth and struggles with aging. As I grow older, I am increasingly aware of this issue and find that I have, unfortunately, bought into this American value. I am a product of my culture; I don’t want to get old. I watch lines appear on faces and hair turn gray on friends and family (me, too), for instance, and am compelled to reflect this onto clay. Though this meaning resonates very clearly to me, the other subtexts reveal themselves slowly over a long time in fragmented pieces. They often begin as phrases that swim in my head as I work, a sort of mantra that manifests itself in the figure.