The Life and Times of Tom Judd

Chapter 4

Art School

After graduating from High school I headed to the University of Utah and attended an orientation to the Fine Arts department. There it was explained to me that if I signed up for the Art foundation program making art was pretty much all I would be doing. Well, that sounded great to me!

Driving my Dad to work the next morning in my 1961 VW micro bus, I relayed to him the deal with the foundation program. He advised me not to “put all my eggs in one basket” and to take a lot of different classes the first year. Then if I really wanted to, sign up for the art program the second year. This was, of course, good advice. But the thing my Dad didn’t understand is there was absolutely nothing else I was interested in. And what I hadn’t mentioned was that I had already signed up.

To my Dad's credit, when he found out, he was very supportive and excited for me. My Mom -- who was a closet Democrat living in the Junior League Republican world of my father -- loved the idea of me pursuing a career as an artist. But was always worried about how I was going to make a living. In her mind there was no precedence for this. How does an artist make a living? Would I teach art? Would I become a commercial artist to make money and do ”My Art” in my spare time?

There were no answers and I set out to find some.

Like many men and their fathers at times there was a certain degree of misunderstanding, perhaps even resentment. My mother told me that I was the most like him of all of the children in our family. Maybe he saw in me a chance for a “do-over” in life -- to make better choices this time around and counted on me to get it right. We, of course, never talked about it.

One night after several martinis my father acknowledged me for being an artist and going after my dream. It was a summer night, under the big cottonwood trees out on the patio. My father has been dead for many years but I will never forget that night and I will always treasure that moment out on the patio.