Judith Scott

Judith Scott is the inspiration behind our fiber art program at Creation Studio. We will offer fiber art classes twice a week, and students will be guided through specific projects as well as given the space to make whatever they feel called to create.

Judith’s story is one of both deep joy and deep sadness. Born in 1943 with Down Syndrome and undiagnosed deafness, she was separated from her family at the age of 7 and placed in an institution due to advice given to the family by their doctor. Judith had a twin sister named Joyce, and the separation broke both Judith’s and Joyce’s hearts.

Judith spent 35 years in an institution. Finally, when Judith and Joyce were both grown, Joyce became Judith’s legal guardian and brought her to live with her and her husband + children. Joyce was working as an RN and wanted to find something for Judith to do every day. Creative Growth had just come into being in Oakland, so Joyce thought it’d be worth a try to send Judith there.

At first, Judith showed no interest in creating art. But shortly after taking a fiber art class taught by Sylvia Seventy, she began creating prolifically. Her fiber sculptures immediately captivated people, and Creative Growth put on show after show of Judith’s work.

“The first piece of Judy’s work I see is a twinlike form tied with tender care,” Joyce wrote. “I immediately understand that she knows us as twins, together, two bodies joined as one. And I weep.”

Judith became a world renowned artist while she was still alive, and her renown has grown more and more with each passing year.

Judith passed away in 2005, but her legacy lives on through her beautiful works of art. Her work is held by the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the American Folk Art Museum, the Museum of Everything, and the Collection de l’Art Brut in Switzerland. Her works have been displayed in galleries, fairs and museums around the world, most notably the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017.