Judi Soutar
Born London 1940 Left school at 15 having exchanged Sewing and cooking for a Technical drawing class. Judi then enrolled in a year long course in Willesden Tech college with support from her art teacher. She did a year long foundation Art course which included al little of everything, Life drawing, Plant Drawing, Wood Carving, Pottery, Museum study. She spent most of her working life in the printing trade previously employed as a draughtsman having been trained by the patents office. Having had various other jobs in Architects offices doing architectural drawings, also electrical plans for GEC Then a short time in a then famous Studio Pottery in Baker Street (next to Sherlock Holmes’ address). This was followed by 4 years in the British Navy where she was trained as an aircraft mechanic for Skyhawk fighter Jets and Air Sea Rescue helicopters based at a squadron in Cornwall. Realising that there wasn’t a future for female mechanics in the UK at that time. She found herself a job in 1962 with International Computers Ltd. (ICL, Britains answer to the American company IBM) where she worked initially as a trainee printer until 10 years later by which time she was assistant Manager of a large printing department. In 1972 she emigrated to NZ with her Kiwi partner of 3 years. On arrival she found a job with a small printing company and in time purchased her own small print shop in Auckland where she lived for 15 years and doing night classes in Painting and pottery. An accident in 1986 made a total life style change when she and her partner came north on a holiday and discovered a derelict 1872 Victorian Villa that no one had lived in for 25 years at Totara North on the beautiful Whangaroa Harbour.
They spent 2 years bringing back the house back to life, they then left Auckland and opened the house as a B&B plus converted half the garage into an art and craft shop where local crafts people kept it supplied and Judi revived her painting skills and also carved chopping boards and fridge magnets supplying Kerikeri art and craft outlets (of which in that time were many) from the reject of timber from Lanes Mill across the road from the house. They lived there till 1993 when they made the move to Kerikeri and built their home where they lived for the next 30 years. At one art and craft exhibition she met a woman who told her about Cherry Park House Art and Craft Society and as is said ”The rest is History”. For all those years Judi had has been involved with the art scene in Kerikeri. Organising exhibitions, Including “Art in a Vineyard” where profits were held in a trust fund to support young artists going on to a career in the arts. Judi joined a successful co-operative group in 2000 (Art Upstairs) and has work in many successful exhibitions in Kerikeri and afar. Her works have been purchased by individuals throughout the world and government institutions here in New Zealand. Judi started sharing her skills with the Cherry Park House painting group 10 years ago and has only just retired but still teaches a small drawing group at the Kerikeri Retirement Village. Due to a recent move to a much smaller property she has given away all her paints and now only works with Prismacolor Artists Grade Premier Coloured Pencils. And she does small realistic drawings so skilled that they can be taken for photographs. Her latest work is shown here.
