Judith Vejvoda

Judith Vejvoda Dec. 13, 1952 – January 24, 2015 Judith passed away surrounded by friends on Saturday, January 24, 2015, in her home in Dixon, after a lengthy illness. She was daughter of the late Winnie and Jim Vejvoda, and a native Bostonian. Judith attended and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Judith contributed a large series of photos to the Boston Globe Magazine in the mid 1980’s cataloguing the demise of ghost towns in the Western US. Her collection features work shot in the US, where she was heavily influenced by Native American petroglyphs and pictographs, Canada, Ireland, Cambodia, Mexico and Argentina. Before moving to New Mexico, Judith was a performance photographer for the Boston Globe Magazine and the New England Foundation for The Arts. Judith earned a Master’s degree in Studio Arts and an MFA in Photography from UNM with an emphasis on alternative processes. She developed the photography courses at Northern New Mexico College in Española and taught there for 20 years. Judith's photographic work includes black and white infrared panoramic landscapes, mixed media using digital images, and experimental photographic alternative processes using digitally composed negatives. Her work is nationally exhibited and collected. Judith is the first woman in the Smithsonian's Panoramic Collection where she had a permanent piece. One of her photography students said of her work and her teaching: “Judith not only runs a first-class darkroom, she also gives great feedback on printing, and encourages boldness in exploring the world through the lens. She is an inspiration through her own exquisite work, and I will always be grateful to her for sharing her knowledge, creativity, and enthusiasm for this wild art form called photography”. Judith was sister to the late Pattie and James Vejvoda, and is survived by sister, Susanne Dooley of Boston, and brother, Eddie Vejvoda of Quincy, as well as nephew, James and nieces, Barbara, Kathleen and many other loving relatives and friends. Judith’s wishes were to be cremated and scattered at a later date when a memorial will be held. A donation to support animals would be the only thing Judith would want. The family of Judith Vejvoda has entrusted their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Española Valley.

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