Judith Scott - artist extraordinary  1943-2005

 


EnTwin ed: The Silent World of Judith Scott
of Loss, Love and Transformation
by Joyce Wallace Scott

Dr. John Cooke writes of Entwined:

“Mythic but true, EnTwined emerges as a classic fairy tale.  It is the story of Judith Scott, who against all odds arises from the shadows to become an artist of international acclaim.  Deeply layered, it is a story of twins and Down Syndrome, of deafness, institutions and of adoption.  Guided by her twin sister Joyce, we are led on an intimate journey of revelation through Judy’s silent world.   

Twice challenged, the auguries at Judy’s birth could scarcely have been less auspicious.  Concealed within the hand that the Fates had dealt lie several trump cards.  Yet for Judy and Joyce, the joyful days of childhood come suddenly to an abrupt end as Judy is spirited away in the night without warning, leaving both twins wounded and perplexed.  Grief permeates the family.  As lives disintegrate, Entwined charts a course through the debris with deep insights and stark candor, leaving us wondering whether there can ever be resolution and healing.  Judy will languish in silence for thirty-five years in a bleak state institution, her profound deafness undiagnosed, her creative genius dormant and unsuspected. 
But from such despair is born hope, and from such hope is born transformation.  Following her sister’s intervention, Judy regains her freedom, and blossoms into an artist of international acclaim, her fiber sculptures bursting unannounced from some inner spring of unique creativity. 
Though deaf and lacking language, Judy speaks eloquently to the world through her sculptures.  Discounted and discarded herself, it was in society’s flotsam and jetsam — yarns and fibers, broken and abandoned objects  — that she found her inspiration.  Today Judy’s art is featured in galleries around the world, and eagerly acquired by leading museums for their permanent collections.  

EnTwined
speaks to us on many levels.  Reflecting a complex landscape of conflicting emotions, we can only marvel as the strands of the story are drawn together and woven into a rich and inspiring tapestry, through which shines the light of a unique human spirit that refused to be dimmed by adversity, whose capacity to love remained unblemished.  Like ripples radiating out across the surface of a pond, Judy’s, legacy continues to expand, touching and molding ever more lives.”

 

 

 

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Web Author: Arachne Enterprises
LINKS: Alogny - Joyce Scott - Judith Scott JSTAF - Retreats for Writers - John Cooke - Bali Children’s Project