Abbie Zuidema

Painter

Hudson Valley, NY

www.abbiezuidema.com

@abbiezuidemawatercolor

Where were you raised? Has the landscape of that place influenced your work in any way?

I was born in St. Louis MO. My formative years were in Dallas, Texas. I went to Montessori School. They sprayed the entire playground down with water and we got to play! Absolutely no fear of us getting dirty. It was best thing EVER. Slide right down into a puddle of mud! My family lived on a cul de sac, with a creek running behind the ranch style house. There were geese & hissing ducks and snapping turtles. Our neighbor qua qua (that’s what I called her) would make cakes with the duck eggs. My mother had a giant rose bushes that filled the air with perfume. For a treat she would make me orange Julius with egg whites & fresh shaved nutmeg on top - it smelled incredible. My big sister would let me try to skate board down the driveway.

When I was 5 we moved to CT and my outdoor play continued there, forts in forsythia and tire swings. I stayed in CT until I went to college at RISD & from there NYC ~

I really believe my years in TX informed the wild playful side of me. The part that isn’t concerned with other peoples perceptions; really just in pursuit of expression, celebration, and exploration. I felt the safest in my childhood in TX. Kids hadn’t crossed over to that mean stage, I felt very included and unjudged. I could truly be a child.

Making art can be truly challenging; the ins and outs of life are demanding, and you can forget to engage. The discovery and play of making art is what I love best. It’s a valuable part of your heart and self. Studio time, when you can just make marks, enjoy your materials and let you mind run wild with no judgment. I also think my sassiness and spunk is definitely TX. When we moved from TX to CT there was a HUGE cultural gap. I wanted my hair to be braided like Bo Derek, and loved Donna Summer. My mom, Rita, had short hair with a spiral perm, wore red cowboy boots and red earring. We didn’t really fit the part of Darien, CT. It was a rough transition. We never really bridged the gap into whale golfing pants & preppy shirts.

How do you re-charge your creative battery?

Cooking from a favorite cookbook of the moment.

Yoga

Meditation

Nature/Botanical gardens

Museums

What book are you reading?

I just started “Calypso” by David Sedaris, I needed an escape and some humor. “The Mars Room” by Rachel Kushner. There is also always a cookbook by my bedside, currently it’s “Nom Nom Paleo Food For Humans” by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong.

What was the last thing that you fell in love with?

I fall in love all the time. It’s with all the little things that make up ordinary life. The beauty of the simple. The treasure in the chaos. The quiet moments that can pass without being noticed. I fall in love with personal connection.

What do you love most about yourself?

That I laugh more than I used to. My ability to love. I love loving things and people. My favorite thing is to make someone feel good. That I just keep showing up and trying.

What do you think is the most important quality in a human?

love & compassion

Do you have a spiritual practice?

Meditation, reflection and writing. I believe that there is something bigger than us, that we could never understand or describe. A balance of logic and abstract.

Who are your role models?

My mother

My father

My grandmother & grandfather. Art teachers Mrs. Atkin from kindergarten and mrs. Jan Harbolt Wiesner from high-school. Julia Child. Wonder Woman. Gilda Radner. Madeline Kahn. Heart the band. Suzanne Vega. Donna Summer. Olivia Newton John. Molly Ringwald. My big sister. My Cali cousin Jody Lynn.

If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be? Is there a individual or an organization doing work in this area that you want us to know about?

I would want to focus on connecting community and the division created by the sense of “us” vs. “them”. More love and compassion. That is how we get through these difficult times, is to connect and identify with community and human connection. Dalai Lama.

Before I die I want to…. Fill in the blank

Fall in love again.

All Photos courtesy of Abbie Zuidema