Judy grew up in the Bay Area (San Carlos) where her “architect” parents encouraged her early interest in drawing and painting. She always knew she wanted to be an artist or an art teacher. Judy graduated from the University of San Francisco with a double major in art and education and received her teaching credential from CSUS. Her teaching career started as a rotating art teacher in San Juan Unified School District, but she retired after 20 years of classroom teaching to focus on creating art, full time.
Judy alternates between creating oil paintings and gourd sculptures. Her first love was painting landscapes, seascapes, figures and wildlife images in oils,
But in 1997 she discovered the potential of gourds. She was looking for a special art project when she discovered hard shelled gourds. Intrigued by the new media, she started using gourds as canvases. Every gourd has a unique shape that inspires her creative ideas. When wood burned, cut and painted they transform a 2D painting into a 3D sculpture.
Judy’s paintings and gourds reflect her interests, memories and experiences; they tell her story. Her original paintings and one-of-a-kind gourd sculptures are displayed proudly in collectors’ homes locally and nationally.
Judy is active in the local arts community. She founded the El Dorado Hills Arts Association and served as president in 2005-2006, 2010-2011&2013. She participated in the Folsom Gourd Festival, the El Dorado Hills Art Affaire and the El Dorado County and El Dorado Hills Art Studio Tour. Galleries in Monterey, Half Moon Bay, Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Placerville, South Lake Tahoe and Folsom have featured Judy’s art. Currently they are displayed at American Visions Gallery in Folsom and in her Home Studio in El Dorado Hills (www.judyarrigotti.com). Judy’s gourds are featured in the “Complete Book of Gourd Carving”. She was the cover artist on the SureWest Directories in 2008, 2011 & 2012 for Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Placerville and for Roseville, Granite Bay, Citrus Heights.