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Today's Featured Biography
Judyth Honeycutt Katz
Dear Friends,
I have written this bio too many times...too long, too intimate. I’m shooting for a compact version tonight. I may append my career resume and just focus here on some things that aren’t in it.
I probably won’t make it to the Reunion. Jeff Newman who usually comes with me can’t come. I’ve got big commitments on Cape Cod that are really making it way too complicated. To add to the complexity, THIS IS the year that learned I have to manage stress better for the sake of my health. I’m learning that success includes painful choices.
I was looking forward to seeing many of you. I hope you will write to me at: [email protected]. [ “[email protected]” is not working well right now.] If you write, I will send photos of art work for the curious, as well as family photos. And, gee, if you’re really lucky, you can see the 5 page bio. :-)) Also, I AM on the Cape every summer for 4 or 5 months. In Truro. It’s simple. Just call.
One thing I’ve been thrilled about in recent years is that I’ve reconnected with my childhood friend Diana Senf Shye (from Lynnbrook Elementary Days.) She came to visit from Israel.
Another thrill was the day Annie Bennett found me! We found each other. We have so much in common that it seems particularly sad tha we didn’t have a lot of time together in high school.
I’ve enjoyed great conversations with Cathy Page Raphael.
I also found Sally Dublin! Remember Sally Dublin? She lives in Germany now.
I’ve been very blessed in this world. I’ve always valued my life and worked hard at it. When I stop and look at it, I feel deep satisfaction. Oh, yes, of course there’s plenty I would do differently given the chance to do over. Far from perfect, whatever that is.
I got a good education....made a good marriage, was blessed with two amazing sons, and now, a daughter-in-law, and 3 grandsons age 11, 9, and 8. My family is the best part of my world. (Very fragile, I know.) I know I’ve been a good mother, am still.
I had wonderful in-laws who were supportive and loving for all the years I knew them, in many ways more influential than my birth parents. One of the toughest things was losing them.
My highest priority has always been my family and I think it paid off. Both sons are gifted accomplished men. Both are in public service careers.
Dan and I will celebrate our 47 wedding anniversary soon. That’s amazing. Our relationship has seldom been easy but it sure has been committed. (We’re opposites in many ways.)
We’ve had a summer house on Cape Cod for some 43 years, spent our first 7 years in Manhattan, then moved out to Westport where we’ve lived for 40 years. Dan left the family advertising business to become a teacher and principal. Eventually he tired of that and went into investment management. He accidentally started two restaurants about 15 years ago. He does a lot of puttering , fixing, and maintaining of our 2 dwellings. He helps out our kids, dotes on our dogs one of which saved his life last summer.
We get to see a lot of our grandsons. Our younger son lives near us in CT. as does his son, our eldest grandson. He’s a decorated paramedic Captain in Stamford. (Debating a move to Grad school or Med School.) The other son & daughter-in-law live near us most of the summer. He’s Chief Legal Counsel for the FBI Boston, also Special Agent. Both families share weekend/summer house just down the hill from my studio. We’re hands on grandparents. It’s been wonderful.
For the last 5 or 6 years, I’ve been very involved with the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. PAAM. I was invited to join the board. Last year I became the President of it. It’s a big job, but worth it. (To read more of Judy's bio go to classreport.org)
I wouldn’t have done this for any other organization, but this is a great group doing wonderful work. We are American’s oldest art colony, and one of only 5 associations organized the way that we are. We radically renovated and expanded our buildings 5 years ago, winning a Silver Leeds award. We are now officially America’s first Green ART Museum. We have also been accredited by the AAM. Only 5% of museums in the country are! Recently Mass. Cultural Council chose our Board to be their
model of the most successful Board they’ve interviewed out of their 138 organizations to whom they’d given grants across Mass. We have an association of about 1800 members (630 artist members) and we are an arts school. Provincetown has been the home of many of our great artists.
I love what I’m doing (but I’m not painting enough.) We have gained a lot of regional and some national recognition. I only expect more of that. We survived the financial catastrophe of 2008 by cutting our budget but not our staff. We’ve had loyal support and this year have managed to do very well. I’ve gotten to know a lot of new people whom I really enjoy. (I will probably post a nice photo take when we hosted a board party 3 weeks ago. I’m shown with our brilliant director and our brilliant financial advisor.)
I haven’t put energy into putting my artwork out in public (don’t have time). But it’s also not a high priority. The priority is to do good work,to get the work done. It’s a gift. You leave it behind. But at this minute, actually I have a piece in a small show at PAAM about the 100th anniversary of the Provincetown Monument and Pilgrim Museum. My medium sized pastel includes the monument and I am thrilled to be hanging between Paul Resika (my most admired living painter) and Oliver Chaffee a wonderful deceased artist. This was an unexpected honor. (And, this summer, I went to the big celebration of the 100th birthday of the monument -- as a descendant of Edward Doty. )
The other thing I’ve done which is most unexpected is pick up my maternal grandparents genealogical work. I was always interested in it starting at age 11. I do this in the winter and it’s been so exciting that at one point I managed to completely screw up my sleep patterns because of it.
My grandmother always talked about our Whitney lines and had joined the DAR with a Whitney and a Titus. Well, she didn’t know what I learned which was that we have 3 Whitney lines, (1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins of Eli ) and 7 Revolutionary soldiers. (She never mentioned Grandpa’s family which had even more impressive lines.) We also had an ancestor on the Mayflower, and several early Governors of Massachusetts, as well as several in Connecticut. It’s been amazing. Anne Dudley Bradstreet, America’s first woman poet is an 10?G’s grandmother . And her youngest brother, Joseph signed Truro’s incorporation papers and named the town. Oliver Wolcott who signed the Declaration of Independance is up there as well as Sarah Story Cotton and John Cotton, the first minister. I can cover an entire wall of my studio with the charts I’ve drawn. All this has caused me to do a lot of serious history reading! Something I never would have imagined doing. Now it’s fascinating. Right now I drag 10 cartons of research and about 1 dozen tomes back and forth between houses. I intend to write this into a book really for our family. I’ve had many thrilling dramas around all of this. I’m very good at finding people.
Missed my NSA calling, obviously.
My 92 year old mother is alive and well! I keep tabs on her. I am very close to two sisters, especially Natalie Honeycutt Ives (writer) and Bonnie Honeycutt (superb free lance copy editor. I need her tonight!) I do bookkeeping for one of Dan’s businesses. We have tons of friends. When I’m not reading history, I’m reading mysteries, or fiction, or medical articles. I do crosswords (LOVE NYtimes cryptics best), needlepoint. Try to keep healthy. (I’ve my own share of struggles but have
mainly triumped.) Still love gardening but can’t do much of it. Have pets.
Don’t paint enough but will soon. I still sing along with Emmy Lou Harris when I’m driving or painting. YUP. If I could find a good choir, I'd join it. Dan and I collecting art together....a real passion. He is also an expert on Western Memorabilia which he collects.
Best moment of this summer: swimming across a pond when greeted by 9 yr. old grandson solo kayaking. Another great moment was when he looked at a large painting in my studio and made some excellent observations. Another great thing was sailing on the schooner “Alabama” at sunset (invited by the Commodore of the Great Schooner Regatta--Charlotte Walker. Amazing person.)
Best fiction book recently: “Ines of My Soul” (Allende) Nonfiction: “Albion’s Seed” by David Hackett Fisher. I recommend my friend Sara Lawrence Lightfoot’s recent book on “The Third Chapter: Passion Risk and Adventure in the 25 years After Fifty.” This is great for anyone in our class who is still interested in walking new paths. I feel that’s what I’ve done in stepping into my role at PAAM.
I wish you all the very best. Life’s often so hard. I hope you all have plenty of blessings to balance the hard parts.
With love, Judy
P.S. The promised resume:
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Judyth Honeycutt Katz
Education: B.A. City College of New York, 1967 (Majors: Philosophy & Psychology)
M.A. Sarah Lawrence College, 1974 (Child Development)
Studied psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Center for Preventive Psychiatry, White Plains, N.Y. Taught in their therapeutic nursery and also functioned as a therapist in training .
Left psychotherapy career for full time parenting and part-time work in fiber arts, as a weaver. Served as a Vice-President of the Connecticut Handweaver’s Guild. Work included wall hangings, rugs, blankets, ikat dyed garments, table linens, many other garments. During this period of time created ‘art-to-wear,’ an outgrowth of an earlier dress-making apprenticeship with Fred Gwinn, New York designer.
In the early 80’s responded to a life’s long desire to study drawing and painting by taking courses at Silvermine School of Art, New Canaan, CT. with Churchill Davenport, Eve Ingalls, Jakki Kouffman, Ann Toulmin-Rothe. Studied also at Castle Hill Center for the Arts, Truro, MA. with Joan Hopkins, Budd Hopkins, Joan McD. Miller, and Tony Vevers. Continued private study with Jakki Kouffman.
Work is primarily landscape in acrylic and pastel; portrait in acrylic, pastel and oil pastel; some still life. Landscape subjects include Alaska; Mt. Zion, Bryce Canyon,
Utah; Red Rock, Nevada; Abiquiu, New Mexico; Cape Cod.
Maintain studios in Connecticut and Truro, MA. Work shown at former Westport Center for the Arts, Westport, CT; Northeast Show, Silvermine, CT; Atlantic Gallery, New York City; Castle Hill, Truro; Provincetown Art Assoc. & Museum. (Group shows.)
Pieces and commissions, in private collections.
Fiber work continues in quilt making and needlepoint.
Have served as auxiliary board member of Castle Hill Center for the Arts for a great many years. Provincetown Art Association and Museum Trustee, Vice-President, and
currently President.
Art collector and arts supporter (with husband, Daniel).
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Winter Address: 271 Compo Rd. So.,
Westport, CT., 06880.
Phone: 203-227-1722
Summer Address: P.O. Box 75
Truro, MA.. 02666.
Phone: 508-349-2729
Email: [email protected]
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