Julie Goldstein

Julie Gold­stein is a cel­e­brated Cal­i­for­nia artist exhib­ited through­out the world. She is inspired by the ocean and surf­ing to cre­ate her vibrant wood­cut prints. We catch up with Julie to learn more about her life and her art.

What was life like grow­ing up?
I grew up in a small town about 40 min­utes from the coast in New Jer­sey. We used to ride our bikes every­where, includ­ing to school. Med­ford Lakes was a small and tight knit com­mu­nity. It was a great place to grow up. My fam­ily spent sum­mers and most week­ends in Har­vey Cedars on Long Beach Island. My par­ents raised us to be very com­fort­able in the water. My dad used to have body surf­ing com­pe­ti­tions with us with when we really lit­tle. Since then I have been very com­fort­able in the ocean. My sib­lings and I grew up surf­ing, body surf­ing and water-skiing.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young?
I remem­ber read­ing surf­ing mag­a­zine when I was really young. I had all the posters of surfers all over my bed­room wall. I loved and still admire greatly Linda Ben­son and Rell Sunn.

When did you get your first surf­board?
My dad sur­prised me with my first surf­board when I was 12. It was hid­ing behind the Christ­mas tree. I was so excited. It was a 5’6” bright pink Skip Miller Line Drive. I still have it.

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
I will never for­get learn­ing to surf. I was about 11 or 12 and the waves were stormy and cold in New Jer­sey. I was deter­mined to be a surfer. The boys that I grew up with in Har­vey Cedars, would pad­dle out with me and encour­age me to take the set waves. Back then I was fear­less and didn’t really care how big the surf was, I would just go for it, fall and pad­dle back out until I would even­tu­ally ride waves in. I was addicted to surf­ing at a young age.

Where did you inter­est in art come from?
I always loved to draw, sew and cre­ate. My mom taught me how to sew when I was 8 and my sis­ter and I had a play­room where we were allowed to draw on the walls. I think that was the start of my cre­ative inter­est. It wasn’t until high school where I felt most com­fort­able in the art room sur­rounded by other stu­dents inter­ested in being cre­ative. I was good at it and the art teach­ers encour­aged me to keep tak­ing advanced art classes. I ended up study­ing art in college.

What is your process when cre­at­ing your art?
I con­sider myself a wood­cut print­maker with a strong con­nec­tion to draw­ing. I love to draw. I start my wood­cuts by first draw­ing onto the sur­face of wood. Then I carve the neg­a­tive spaces in the draw­ing and jig­saw or sand down the sur­faces to cre­ate tex­ture. Lastly, I roll ink onto the wood­cut and place paper onto the sur­face. From there I use a wooden spoon to apply pres­sure to the paper and then pull the paper from the wood to cre­ate a print of the carv­ing. I usu­ally print between 3 and 10 from each wood­cut, depend­ing on how large the carv­ing is.

Of all the places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out? And why?
I have a strong love for Europe. My last trip to France was very spe­cial and it is a place I would like to travel back too. I love the cul­ture in Europe; the food, art, fash­ion, aes­thet­ics, everything!!

What is it that makes you such a nice per­son? What code do you live by?
Be kind to oth­ers, give from your heart, be mind­ful, hon­est and grate­ful for the lit­tle things in life

Who/what inspires you?
I am inspired by nature, mostly the power and emo­tions of the sea. I am inspired by indi­vid­u­als who fol­low their dreams and cre­ate a lifestyle based on what makes them happy. Lastly, I am empow­ered by women who are fear­less, nur­tur­ing, bal­anced and lead­ers. They remind me why I cre­ate art.

What is the great­est thing you have learned in your life?
My par­ents taught me how to give and be grate­ful for the lit­tle things. I learned through life to fol­low my heart, mind and to honor my health. Life is so short, take advan­tage of what you have and can offer to others.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some­thing dif­fer­ently?
Never, I live in the present. If I wished oth­er­wise I would not be grate­ful for where I am today.

What are you most proud of?
My abil­ity to let go of the past and live in the present moment.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surf­ing is hum­bling to me. I surf because I love the ocean and I always feel more grounded after surf­ing. My hus­band always says “Its always bet­ter to surf” and it is. I go through peri­ods when I don’t surf, and when I get back in the water after a break, I always real­ize why I love surf­ing so much. It is phys­i­cal, spir­i­tual and I always learn some thing from each ses­sion. I usu­ally get most of my ideas for my art in the water.

What brings you the most hap­pi­ness in the world?
I am most happy when I am bal­anced. This is when I am cre­at­ing art, spend­ing time with my friends and fam­ily and espe­cially surf­ing with Mark, my hus­band and swim­ming with Davey our dog.

Who are some of the peo­ple you feel are shap­ing the path for surf­ing today?
Good ques­tion. I think Maya Gabriella is absolutely fear­less, she is some­one I admire because of her story and charg­ing huge surf. I also think Kas­sia Meador is amaz­ing. She is an unbe­liev­able surfer and has cre­ated a career not only on surf­ing, but art, per­son­al­ity and she is a role model for other women. Peo­ple are drawn to her for so many dif­fer­ent reasons.

What is in your cur­rent quiver? What is your favorite board? Your favorite surfspot?
I have two favorite boards for two totally dif­fer­ent con­di­tions. I LOVE my 9’6” Yater. That is my baby. I am nat­u­rally a long boarder and I love surf­ing Cardiff Reef or Swami’s on it. But I also love my 6’0” Chan­nel Island quad. My absolute favorite place to surf is at home on 78th street in Har­vey Cedars, the same street where I learned to surf.

What’s your favorite meal?
My hus­band and I are veg­e­tar­ian. I love a good home cooked veg­gie filled meal. I don’t even care what it is as long as there are tons of vegetables.

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
MIA, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ting Tings, Radio­head, The Smiths, Otis Red­ding, Interpol

What causes/ projects/ orga­ni­za­tions do you sup­port?
The National Endow­ment for the Arts, Surfrider Foun­da­tion, The Monarch School, Women for Women Orga­ni­za­tion, PETA, Alliance for Liv­ing Ocean, Keep a Breast Foundation

What’s next for Julie Gold­stein?
Only time will tell. I will keep cre­at­ing, liv­ing each moment, and being true to my art and myself. I can only be grate­ful for what I have right now and I hope that what I cre­ate can speak to a larger audience.

Find out more about Julie Gold­stein and her art here.