Judith Plotner’s Urban Vocabulary

Judth Plotner is an award winning artist from New York City who now lives in the Adirondack Mountains. She recently told Clairan Ferrono about her journey as an artist.

Ferrono: Tell me about your journey to becoming an artist. Your education. Finding your voice.
Plotner: I was always interested in art. As a young person, I cut up greeting cards and collaged them into new note cards. I went to the High School of Music and Art in NYC which gave me a wonderful foundation and then went on to major in art in college. I have done textile design and freelanced as a commercial artist while pursuing painting and printmaking. When my children were young I started to work on raw canvas and create 3D sculpture.

Ferrono: Have you always worked in fabric?
Plotner: About 35 years ago we bought an old house (a fixer upper) in the Adirondacks and it had an antique bed. I made my first quilt and the rest is history. I have now come full circle and am combining all of my art experiences into the fiber collages that I am currently creating.

Ferrono: What are your inspirations?
Plotner: I have been inspired by nature, social conscience and, currently, my roots in NYC. For the current series graffiti, construction, deconstruction, noise, color, and multi-ethnicity are the inspiration.

Ferrono: What techniques and materials do you use?
Plotner: I use silkscreens made from photos of graffiti. And as for construction: I manipulate the images in photoshop; I use a thermofax to make the screens; I use stamping and printing, monoprinting, paint roller, acrylic and fabric paint, and oil stick;  I do machine stitching and use large stitch hand stitching; I use raw canvas.

Ferrono: Do you teach? Do you have gallery representation?
Plotner: I do not teach but am part of a coop gallery.

Ferrono: What are you currently working on?
Plotner: I am currently creating pieces that reflect upon my roots in NYC. The noise, construction, deconstruction, ethnicity, graffiti and color and grime are all in my mind as I work on this series. The work has a raw quality. I use raw unprimed canvas, raw edges, hanging threads and lots of black and grey with some color to make the work pop. Composition is very important to me. If I could create a sound track to go with the work it would have sirens, horns and subway rumble.

Ferrono: Where do you see your work heading in the future?
Plotner: I will continue on the path that I am on and simply see where it takes me.