Meet the Artist Julie Goldstein
Julie Goldstein joins the Group Art Show supporting A Walk On Water, showcasing her piece at Rockaway Beach Surf Club from Sept 4-9th. The artwork will also be up for online auction, with all proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization.
How did you get started as an artist?
I always created as a child and teen. In college, I decided to major in the Fine Arts. It was the one major that I felt most connected and true to myself. I always loved to create and make things with my hands. After college, I knew that I was going to be an artist and worked hard and committed to my passion. I started showing my work at a young age was able to make a name for myself in my community. My business grew organically, and my experiences have honed my craft and process as a printmaker. Now I work as an artist and teach my techniques as a professor of fine art at California State University.
How does spending time in nature, especially by the ocean, contribute to your mental well-being and creative process?
Inspired by memories growing up at the sea, all my work revolves around direct experiences in the ocean. The water is the one element when I feel by true self, grounded, and happy. I have always loved being by the beach, my parents raised my siblings and I to feel safe and comfortable in the ocean. At a young age I connected to the sea and early on my works revolved around these feeling and emotions. I started to document myself interacting with the water and after 20 years of making art, my works have evolved but are still deeply embedded in personal experiences coupled with storytelling about women and their experiences in the ocean whether surfing, swimming, rowing or simply just floating.
As an exhibiting artist at the 10th Annual Women's Surf Film Festival, what themes or messages do you aim to convey through your artwork?
The piece that I chose for the festival is one of my favorite themes and that is around surfing under the sun, especially at the end of the day. I have created a series of women over the years surfing and mostly right after I have surfed or traveled, reminiscing about the dreamy experiences, warm waters, and timeless feelings of joy.
How has California influenced your artistic vision and connection to the surfing community?
Surfing has always been a part of my life, growing up on the coast of New Jersey. I learned to surf at a young age and loved the cold and quiet sessions in the deep of winter. However, relocating to California has changed the way I see light and colors and my palette has changed since surfing on the west coast. I am also raising my son to surf and experiences surfing from the lens of a child has made me re-fall in love the simplest emotions around surfing and has influenced my own inner child each time we surf together. The stories that evolve from these experiences inspire storytelling about motherhood and my connection to my son as the sea is our canvas for making memories.
When you're not creating, what do you like to do for fun?
I am also an educator and love to teach. Most of my time is spent with college students but I also love to volunteer at my son’s elementary school. I always learn from children; they remind me to be playful and allow process to happen naturally. We also love being outdoors as a family and spend our weekends camping, running in trails, surfing, cooking out and enjoying our down time at the beach.
Where can we see more of your art?
I am represented by The Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia and also exhibiting at Techne Art Center in Oceanside, California. My work can be viewed on my website: www.juliegoldsteinstudio.com and on Instagram @swmwithme
