Destination art in Action

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Judy Seamands of Wall Work by Judy displays her favorite medium with which to work in her artistic creations, the piece shown was crafted from a technique which judy uses with Crayola Crayons.® Progress photos by Kevin Jones
A creation from one of Judy's workshops, this boot was the canvas for a mosaic project. Progress photos by Kevin Jones

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July 26, 2010

Local business owner encourages community to make Jacksonville a place for art

Kevin Jones Jacksonville Daily Progress The Jacksonville Daily Progress Mon Jul 26, 2010, 06:17 PM CDT

JACKSONVILLE —

What is art? — The question has been asked for centuries all over the world. Can art by expressed by quantity or quality? Or is art simply an expression of an inner creative being that are trapped by our day to day lives?

Judy Seamands owner of Wall Work by Judy located in downtown Jacksonville is committed to making Jacksonville a place with lots of art.

"I operate a studio/frame shop retail basically because of the framing but I moved my art studio in here so that I could accommodate both," said Seamands. "I could do my art while I am facilitating my framing business. I did it because I was already an artisan, I already had my own studio, My framer retired so I bought her business, I found this great old building with a cool interior and fixed it up, and I just put it all together."

Seamands, a graduate of the University of North Texas with a bachelor degree in art has already had a jaunt in the advertising and corporate marketing world. She has lived in over twenty different cities and been all over the world yet she ended up in Jacksonville with what is now a four year old business.

"We moved to Jacksonville for the sake of our children, we wanted them to be able to grow up and have a good life and just get them out of the city for awhile," Seamands said.

Seamands said she decided to become a business owner when her framer decided to retire and she felt it a good way let her kids have some freedom so that they could grow up a little on their own.

"The real reason why I decided to do this is because I needed to separate myself from my kids and let them grow into adults themselves," Seamands said.

"I put myself in a situation in which I cannot just drop everything for my kids, but yet I can be accessible and that's the beauty of living in a small town. You can go and do whatever you need to do and people are going to be okay with that."

When asked what her focus was, Seamands immediately had a passionate answer ready "My focus is art, it's all about art! She said. "What do I frame that comes in? Art! I get to see other people's art, I get to frame other people's art or their lives and I get to frame my own art."

With many completed pieces one of Seamands most public pieces is her work with Brook Hill school.

"Since my shop has been open I did the murals and the archive framing in the American Freedom Museum located on the Brook Hill campus in Bullard," she said. "We started about March of 2009, and i worked on that for about a year. I started to appreciate what really was history, how to preserve flags that are decades old, and all the sets."

Seamands says she feels the need to share her art.

"God gave me my talent, a gift. I think it's the greatest gift because I feel like i have to share it. Im sharing my art, I give alot away, and that's okay. I see something and I think of it as art, like everything in my shop. I dont go to market and buy, I create it. I may have photographers but otherwise, I have my own art."

One of Seamands most recent works was her help with the Guinness Book of World Records attempt which set Jacksonville on the Map as a record holder. She contributed the main artwork on the actual bowl which held the salsa.

"I love being involved when it comes to art with the city," said Seamands. "Anytime something like that comes around, that's where I feel like I can contribute. Im going to work where I can and where I feel the most useful."

In her attempt to help with destination art, the program that has begun to bring more art to Jacksonville, Seamands has started offering several workshops at Wall Works like Mosaics, a ceramics class and others which allow people to come and relax with people who are like minded and interested in art. The workshops are on Thursday nights and prices range significantly.

Seamands said she looks forward to working with the city more relating to destination art and she hopes that Jacksonville will embrace art as an important addition to the city.

"I hope that people of Jacksonville realize that business here in town should be patronized, I do my best to think of Jacksonville for what I need before I go to somewhere else to get things, we need to nurture the business's here and keep Jacksonville alive and growing," Seamands said.

For more information about Wall Works contact Judy Seamands; for more information about destination art, contact Peggy Renfro with the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce at 903-586-2217.

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Destination art in Action

Local business owner encourages community to make Jacksonville a place for art

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