Excellence in Arts - Judy Siler Boyette

Judy Siler Boyette

Excellence in Arts

EDUCATOR, ARTIST HAS HAD ENORMOUS IMPACT ON JOHNSTON COUNTY ART SCENE

By Randy Capps

Johnston County is a community that's alive with the creativity and energy of the arts. There are painters, sculptors, photographers, authors and many other types of artists plying their trades in this community.

Judy Boyette is one such artist. But, in addition, she has spent decades teaching the arts and fostering an environment for other talented individuals to shine. It is that commitment to growing the arts that has earned her the 2019 Johnston Now Honors Excellence in Arts award.

Boyette moved to Johnston County in the mid 1980s, and she spent 26 of her 37 years here as a public school art teacher in Johnston County — including a 25-year run as the art teacher at Princeton High.

“When I came here, from an education standpoint, there were only like seven art teachers in the county,” she said. “But now, we have one in every school. So, it's grown over the years.”

Her approach to introducing students to the arts was simple, but effective.

“When I was teaching, my goal in Art 1 was for you to find something you like,” she said. “You might not like drawing people. You might not like painting. You might like wood burning. You might like pottery. You might not like pottery, because you don't want to

get your fingers dirty. I call it the curse of the clean fingers. I just want you to find something you like.

“Whenever somebody else gets inspired, it makes me happy. And if I helped a little bit, then that makes me happier.”

She retired from Johnston County Public Schools in 2012 but is as tireless as ever as a promoter of the fine arts.

She joined the Johnston County Arts Council in 2012 and currently serves as its president. The council helps provide opportunities in the arts for county residents as well as assists in funding art programs and projects in the community.

“We raise money to give away money,” she said. “We give money to every 501c3 that has some kind of arts program.”

Art shows at the Frank Creech Art Gallery at Johnston Community College or the student art hanging on the walls at Johnston Health in Clayton are just two examples of the reach of the Arts Council.

Boyette is so dedicated to helping other artists show their work, she encouraged the photographer taking her pictures for this story to have an exhibit for his work.

“I like promoting other people,” she said. “I like to see their interpretation. When you are

an artist or a photographer or whatever, you learn to see. Everyone says, 'oh, what a pretty flower.' I want to see the old rusty car. I want to see the building that's about to fall down. There's beauty in that because it's got a story.

“At the beginning of my career, I was trying to promote myself. I was trying to make a little extra money. But now, it's more about promoting other artists' work. When I hang up at an art show, I'm so excited to meet that artist and hear their story and see their work. I get inspired.”

While she has dedicated her life to nurturing the arts in others, she's an accomplished artist in her own right.

She's painted murals in several local churches, including her home church, Princeton Baptist, area businesses, nonprofits, like Harbor House, and numerous schools. She also does mosaics in glass and illustrates children's books, like “The Borrowed Princess,” by Dr. Steve Underwood.

It's the same sort of variety she always encouraged in her students.

“Art is something that you're constantly learning,” she said. “You don't just learn it in class in high school or college. Every time you try a new technique or mix new colors or try a new brand, whatever. You're learning something new.”

July 2019 | 13