Judy Jeffares - Multi-media Artisan |
What is your craft? I guess most people would refer to it as “Multi-Media”. My husband used to tell me I needed to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up. I do jewelry making, I make a little soap, I am experimenting with some candle making, I make twined rag rugs (which I learned in a Heritage class), and I even used to make baskets. I guess if I had to choose, I love doing my gourd art and lampworking.
How long have you been doing it?
I began working with gourds about 5 years ago and I took my first lampworking class with Tamra Trafford at Heritage 21/2 years ago. But, I took my basket weaving class 25 years ago, and I guess that was what got me hooked on my need to create. My husband was in Japan for a year, and it kept me busy and my family supplied with baskets.
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Embodying the fundamental meaning of “heritage,” Judy Jeffares now teaches others the craft of twined rag rug making, which she learned from Nancy Morris in a Heritage class. |
Who/What inspired you to learn this craft? We were on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and we went into a little book shop at the“Artisan Loop.” There was a book on gourds, and my husband and I were both amazed at the things that were done by taking an ugly, moldy, dried gourd and turning it into something beautiful and functional.
I have always had a love for glass, and I always used to comment on learning to make glass beads and objects. I was given a beginners lampworking kit from my husband on our 25th anniversary. A month after he passed away, I saw Tamra’s class in the Heritage schedule. I believe things happen for a reason, and I knew I had to be in that class.
What is the name of your business/studio? How can people contact you about your work?
Our studio name was “Dancing Light” Studio, mainly because we worked so much with glass. It was located in our home, but now (when I can make the time), I work out of my shop, Common Ground, which Heritage is a part of.
You can stop by any of those days. Our number at the shop is 263-5633, or people can email me at commongroundwv@ verizon.net.
What are some of the things you make? I like to make things that are functional as well as pleasing to the eye. With the gourds, I like to make various type of bowls, vases, and boxes/containers. I also do wind chimes and birdhouses. Since gourds have been used through the
years by many cultures as food and water vessels, I do make items that can be used just for that. I like to use various materials to embellish them, and that is one of my reasons for taking Heritage’s hand-built clay and lampworking classes.
My knowledge of basketry comes into play at times, as well as my metal embossing skills.
What is your “signature” work? In some ways, it is hard to pinpoint one item. But I would say it is my gourd boxes. When I make them, I try to create some place special in which to keep something special.
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| Judy’s dramatic necklaces and earrings make use of the lampworking skills she learned from Heritage artisan Tamra Trafford. |
What is the most challenging aspect of your craft? Finding the time lately to put toward it.
What is the most satisfying aspect of your craft? I guess I have learned to do so many things over the years, because I love to watch things “come to be.” I believe that is why I am so drawn to my gourds and to glass. It is fascinating take a solid rod of glass, watch it turn red from heat, and then be able to work with it and help it become something wonderful.
My favorite thing is to take that dirty, moldy hard gourd and help it become what it wants to be. And I truly feel that it tells you that. Its
shape, its color, and even its flaws
all kind of speak to that. So many times I have had to change what I was doing because something about the gourd dictated it. The most common is to apply a dye or stain and watch it change before my eyes because of the way it reacts with the skin of the gourd. It takes on its own personality and becomes what it was meant to be. I think most of the work we do as “Artisans” is that way, and that is why we have chosen to be artisans.
What responsibilities have you worked on for Heritage? Since I joined Heritage, I have worked on the Board of Directors as Vice President. I have recently accepted the President’s position. I have demonstrated at Heritage Days and West Virginia Day. I help with the ticket sales at the Youth Fair. I help set up for First Saturdays, and we host the Artisan in Residence at Common Gourd. I also now teach the Twined Rag Rug and Metal Tooling (embossing) Classes.
What other activities are you involved with? Besides working with Heritage, I am currently President of ArtBerkeley and on the Promotions Committee of Mainstreet Martinsburg. I have an on-line Ebay Store called “Whisperwood Marketplace.”
No matter what, I try to make time for being with my family. My daughter, Melissa helps with my display work at the shop. And I carry jewelry created both by my daughter and my 8 year old grandson, Jackson, in my shop.
Do you have any goals for the future related to your craft? My biggest goal is just to be able to devote more time to my work. After that, I want to work toward a grant to advance my skills in lampworking. I would like to learn more about sculptural work with glass.
Why are you interested in preserving the heritage crafts?
It saddens me to see that the appreciation and enjoyment of “creating” is being lost. We have become such a convenience and “now” oriented society that we don’t stop to think of what we are giving up in return. Hopefully,
what I can pass on will kindle the same feelings I have about my work in someone else, and someone else and someone else . . .