Anita Woolf
“At times, something greater than ego takes over and the inner eye is opened.“
“Painting has always been a very powerful form of meditation, whereby the intense focusing on what I have been drawn to paint produces a stilling of the mind.“
Anita’s Story
Anita Woolf was born in Durban, South Africa, in April 1935. Her early artistic leanings resulted in her being awarded the Art Prize for the province of Natal on her matriculation. At 17 she trained in Fine Arts at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and went on to work in design and commercial art.
From 1956 to 1959 Anita lived and worked, as farmer and artist, on a kibbutz at Yiftah in Israel. During her time there she painted murals in the community hall, in the children’s houses and for community projects and festivals. To this day, Yiftah uses the “peach” logo she painted for them. It is the centrepiece of their sports stadium, and it still appears on every box of fruit distributed! During this period she went to Oranim, where she undertook a teacher training course in arts and crafts.
Life in London and Bedfordshire
In 1959 Anita moved to London, where she studied textile design at the Central School of Art and produced handloom rugs for Liberty’s and Heal’s. The next 20 years were spent mainly on raising her large family with little time for art, but when her youngest child was at nursery she attended classes in life drawing and painting with Richard Cook.
In 1981 she exhibited a series of paintings on the theme of music and musicians at the Fischer Gallery in Charlotte Street, W1, and taught painting in a London school. In 1984 she and her husband moved to North Bedfordshire, where her 10-acre holding was developed into an organic farm (referred to by the bemused locals as Anita’s Kibbutz!), a garden paradise which she opened to the public for charity twice a year and a thriving dried-flower business.
Portraits, Still Life, Landscapes – in England and France
Anita’s longing to return to the artistic and cultural hub proved overwhelming, however, and in 1997 she and her husband returned to North London, where she entered her most creative, and prolific, period. She took a studio in the “Chocolate Factory” in the cultural centre of Wood Green, where she successfully exhibited twice a year to much acclaim from visitors and fellow artists alike. In 2001 she was selected to become a member of The National Society of Painters, and regularly exhibited with them. In 2005 she moved her base to a purpose-built studio in her magnificent garden, where her watercolours and oil paintings reflected the richness of life about her – although she continued to accept portrait commissions. This period culminated in an exhibition in 2011 at Lauderdale House in Waterlow Park, Highgate, North London.
Inception of Maxability
However, life as the mother of Carl, her disabled son, intervened, and his needs were often the reason for laying aside her paintbrush. Withdrawal of local Council funding to support his and his peers’ social and creative centre, their very lifeline, provided the impetus for Anita and her husband Emile (Carl’s father) to establish an independent charity, Maxability. Its founding aim was, and is, to enhance the quality of life of disabled adults.
Maxability’s classes took the place of the creative workshops previously attended by Carl and his colleagues after Anita completed the lengthy process of re-acquiring the group’s studio at the Flightways Centre in Grahame Park, Colindale. There, she worked with them in weekly art and ceramics classes, funded mainly by monthly classical chamber music concerts hosted by Anita and Emile in their home in Southgate.
This process, which Anita undertook in her late seventies, was hugely challenging, especially as it meant relinquishing her lifelong passion for painting. However, Maxability’s desperately important work could not reach fruition without her inspirational involvement. Working with the Maxability group using clay and glazes provides Anita with ample scope for creative artistry, and this has now become her main focus.
Now in her eighties, Anita has stepped back from day-to-day management of the charity, and Maxability is being run by younger professionals, including a Project Coordinator and two extremely skilled teachers. Maxability is moving into a new phase of both online and in-house pottery courses, and its public profile is gaining wider recognition. Anita still occupies the Chair, and Emile is Treasurer.
Art’s Spiritual Dimension
Born a Jewess, Anita has always been a seeker of spiritual truth and has read texts stemming from many religions. These forays finally led her back to her Jewish roots. She discovered the Kabbalistic writings of Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi [Warren Kenton] and joined his study group in 2003. She is also nurtured by weekly insights posted from New York by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen, who first introduced her to the study of Kabbalah, meaning “to receive”.
The insights and spiritual support gained during these latter years have both empowered and added focus to everything Anita undertakes, a development exemplified by her exploration of natural forms in the small ceramic sculptures she is currently working on.
Peace and Art
Contemplating the ever-varied designs and structures in creation is my meditation. I am indeed blessed with having, at last, the time and the peace to experience this without the pulls and demands I used to battle with. I feel blessed in having a son whose own needs have led me to this rich place.
Family
I am continuously blessed by witnessing the ongoing creativity in all of my children and grandchildren. My husband Emile’s enduring love has provided stability, and his penetrating insight and incisive wit continue to challenge and keep me on my toes.