Art & Life with Judith Rothenstein-Putzer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Judith Rothenstein-Putzer.

Judith, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
A rather circuitous path led me to becoming an artist; although a creative seed was probably lying dormant all along. I was born in Brooklyn, NY and as many young girls in my neighborhood, we were encouraged to grow up and become teachers. I enjoyed and was encouraged to do crafts and even took piano lessons- then considered to be good skills to have as a teacher.

I was admitted to Brooklyn College and thought I was on the road to an early childhood teaching degree. Traditionally, the freshman class was given an aptitude test. Not being one to sit still and answer multiple choice questions for any length of time, I got bored and started “messing around” on the test. Truthfully, I think it was karma! The result of the test was the number one career choice for me was occupational therapy; teaching was much lower on the list. To make a long story short, I researched occupational therapy and decided to make that my ultimate career goal. I opted to pursue occupational therapy on a graduate level, thus needing to declare an undergraduate major area of study. At that time, occupational therapy was very craft and activity oriented, so I decided to major in art figuring it would help me along the way in my career. Art did play a major role in my treatment plans (lots of fine, visual, sensory and perceptual motor exercises were incorporated in art activities), but by majoring in art, I was also introduced to a wide variety of visual arts and became “smitten” with photography the moment I entered the dark room.

While I had a very successful occupational therapy career for forty years, my camera remained very close at hand. My subject matter is and has always been rather diverse, seeing the world in terms of form, shape and later color, rather than specific representational objects. I worked exclusively in black and white and preferred the darkroom aspect of photography. When I switched to digital, I looked to recreate in the computer the creative aspect I previously enjoyed in the darkroom. As there was no need to set up a special color darkroom with digital images, color became a major focus of my work.

Always seeking to push the envelope a bit, I started taking workshops in alternative photographic processes. The alcohol transfer technique was taught as an adjunct to another process in one of the workshops. I liked the process but thought the finished product needed something more. After a number of months, I came upon the idea of adding pen and ink and everything clicked! Constantly looking to grow as an artist without changing the medium, my newer works are layered, becoming more three-dimensional, and I am starting to add additional elements such as metals, wire, beads, etc.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Alcohol Transfers with Pen and Ink is a mixed media process that is a hybrid between printmaking and photography, each piece being finished by hand. The process involves printing an original digital image onto a transparency which is then transferred on to alcohol-soaked printmaking paper. Depending upon the concentration of alcohol and the type of printmaking paper, the results vary from the softness of watercolor and pastels to the boldness of acrylics. When the transfer is completed, the negative space is enhanced with pen and ink, making the image more vibrant and alive. “Sometimes I take pleasure in capturing the moment for its form or color. Other times, I try to expand the boundaries of reality.” Not only are all of my works one-of-a-kind, I’m the only artist I know of doing the combined technique of pen and ink on alcohol transfers.

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
Every artist I know has a different measurement for “success.” For me, my art career is a boundless journey. I’m happy to have the ability to create art and enjoy the process along the way!

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work is currently on exhibit at the Desert Foothills Library Gallery in Cave Creek and the Emerson Art Gallery in Fountain Hills. I am looking forward to a 4-artist show at St. Anthony on the Desert in Scottsdale, January 8th – February 5th, 2019 and will also be participating in the “8th Annual Tour d’Artistes Studio Tour and Sale” in Fountain Hills, March 1st-3rd, 2019. My Scottsdale studio is open by appointment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artworksbyjudith.com
• Email: jrothensteinputzer.fineart@artworksbyjudith.com
• Instagram: @judithrothensteinputzer
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/JudithRothensteinPutzerFineArt/ArtworksByJudith.com

Image Credit:
Image of artist courtesy of Edward Putzer

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