Born in Los Angeles, in 1960, Judith grew up in a family of six in Southern California.
In the early eighties she moved to Washington State, settling in the picturesque fishing village of Tokeland, on Willapa Bay.
In 1988, She moved to Seattle, WA to attend Cornish College of the Arts. Judith graduated magna cum laude in 1991 with
a BAA degree in fine arts.
After graduating, she returned to Tokeland and taught art in elementary and high schools in southwest Washington and on the
Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation in Tokeland.
Judith met her future husband, master carver and tribal historian Tom Anderson, while teaching children's art classes on the
reservation. They married and had two children, Sophia and Raleigh.
Transformation Mask carved by Shoalwater Bay Tribal Carver, Tom G. Anderson
Judith apprenticed and worked for three years with a master goldsmith in Aberdeen, WA, at the same time developing her own
unique style of jewelry in her home studio.
She shows her work in Astoria Oregon, at the Riversea Gallery,
and at the Astoria Sunday Market.
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"I live and work on the edge of a bay on the Southwest Washington coast. Nature's drama is always on here - everything
from gale force winds that can last for days at a time during a winter storm, to moments of stillness where the only sounds
you hear are the call of eagles. There is little distraction from the outside world. Tokeland is sparsely populated. The
nights are very dark and quiet.
My work is influenced by this natural environment-by the shapes, textures and colors of a walk on the beach .These are
evoked through the way I texture the metals, the free form shapes that result as part of the reticulating process.
I select gemstones that reflect the colors seen in the marine environment-opals, moonstones, labradorite, and sometimes
incorporate beach glass or black pebbles picked up during walks.
I think my jewelry produces a welcome sense of wonder for those who wear it-renewed wonder in the treasures of nature. A
step back from the ongoing concerns of our daily routines-literally a touchstone to a deeper and more tranquil place."
Judith Altruda
2009
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All of my jewelry is hand fabricated, with a special focus on texture. I combine different textures with metals, stones or
found objects to evoke memory, place and time.
One of my favorite texturing techniques is called reticulation. A specially prepared sheet of 80% silver and 20%
copper is heat scarred with a torch to a nearly molten state. The different cooling rates of the two metals cause the
sheet to buckle, creating random patterns of ridges and valleys. I love the fluidity of this process, which to me resemble
the marks left on the sand at low tide.
Other texturing techniques I use include: hammering, roller printing, and etching, and just plain experimentation.
The metals used in my jewelry are sterling silver, 18kt gold, copper, brass, and bronze. Sometimes different metals are used
together, like silver with gold or copper. I do this for the effect of the warm and cool colors of the metals or for
the sake of the associations we have with particular metals.
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Judith is currently collaborating on sculptural pieces of wood and metal with Tokeland, Washington artist, Jeffro Uitto. Be sure to visit Jeffro's Web site at
www.jeffrouitto.com.
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