Meet Julie Goldstein: Artist + Educator

This is such a challenging question because I feel that I am constantly evolving and to think that there might be an end seems so abstract. However, I do feel one thing very strongly when it comes to my work as an artist and as an educator and that is to instill and empower my viewers to also feel creative and to want to fulfill goals, dreams and to document their stories and lives. My work has always been about women, their bodies and ability to find strength in all areas of life, especially that revolves around motherhood, the sea and a physical connection to their true self. I do hope that my work continues to evoke this message and to reach a much broader audience as I continue to grow as an artist. My goal is to inspire through the work that I create the the content that I teach. Creativity is contagious and now more than ever is the time to find inner inspiration and document your life!

I am a Woodcut Printmaker. This is somewhat of a lost art form and I feel very strongly about this process as it is unique and stands on its own. I feel that this process is so physical and the fact that I work on a very large scale, this varies from 4ft x 8ft to 8 ft x 8ft. I carve and print everything by hand and have been working in this format for 20 years. I found this technique in college where I studied Fine Art at The University of Connecticut. I loved the process of printmaking so much that I changed my major from Illustration to Printmaking my senior year. Since then, I dedicated my career to this process and feel very connected to my work, the stories, research and most importantly to physical labor that endures each piece. After UCONN, I went to Graduate school at Columbia University where I continued my Masters in Printmaking along with Art Education. I knew that I wanted to be a working professional artist but I also wanted to teach art and give by to students what my teachers gave to me: the confidence, tools and inspiration to fulfill my dreams. I learned a lot along the way and every single step was meaningful and encouraging. The toughest of times as an artist only made me appreciate what I do as a creative and how important it is to talk about this process and to instill in students that they too can follow their dreams. The absolute most important take away from both challenges and success is to NEVER GIVE UP! Keep creating, moving forward and don’t let anyone tell you no, there is always a way to figure out how to reach your goals. I want the world to feel empowered, strong and know that my inspiration stems from truth, stories that are both inspired by history and embedded in my own stories about motherhood, the sea, and portraying the body as strong, the mind as wise and the spirit grounded in both humor and raw truth.