Vol. I, No. 7: 1. This Month's Local Artists: Time for a Change, The Art of Sy & Zina Budofsky

I took a class at UVM,
a basic painting course,
after I retired, and that's
what started it. ...
Sy Budofsky

When we'd moved to
Burlington, I took a class
with Steve Carter up at
UVM, then worked with
him for about five years.
Zina Budofsky

Sy Budofsky

Zina Budofsky

This month's look at local artists features the works of Sy & Zina Budofsky, former residents of Burlington who were born and raised in NYC, and who are now retired and living in Florida. But, unlike some who take retirement hard, or others who don't take it at all, for Sy & Zina Budofsky, retirement marked the beginning of something: time for a change ... and in more ways than one. ...

That it was time to change from the life of the work-a-day world is obvious. But so, too, is the fact that retirement meant they would have more time for a change. Yet it's what Sy & Zina Budofsky have done with a good portion of their new-found time that intrigued us and had us bring them to our DownStreet Arts & Craft pages.

Shortly after their retirement, about twelve years ago, both of them enrolled in courses at UVM. At least in one sense, before retirement, they had done what most folks do: They worked and raised a family. Sy had spent his work years as a mechanical engineer, and Zina, most of her work life as a teacher. And like most, there were things -- interests, call them, or even desires -- that had to be put off. There simply wasn't the time. But retirement, as we said, marked the beginning of something for them, rather than the end ... a vita nuova.

You would think that a work-life spent in a classroom would have had Zina looking elsewhere for leisure activities. But for her, retirement meant, among other things, an opportunity to study and learn more. She took a pottery course. But it didn't stop there. ...

"I took the pottery course in '87," she notes. What else? "Let's see," she says as she thinks for a brief moment. Then adds, "I also took a course in Political Philosophy, one in Comparative Religion ... I also took Music Theory ... then there was the course on the History of the Mid-East ..." She pauses for a moment. "I can go on, but that's probably enough, isn't it?"

Did we mention that Zina has also taken up classical piano and actually performed? Or that she's an avid tennis player and captain of her team? Or that she manages a few rounds of golf each week? ... And then there's the paper on world health she'll be delivering to her study group.

In a similar vein, Sy Budofsky's interests range just as widely. In addition to the painting course, he's also studied -- often on his own -- Hebrew, Spanish, History, and more. In fact, his love of Spanish culture, not to mention his fascination with the bullfight, have influenced not only their vacation plans, but his art, as well. "I first developed an interest in the bullfights when I was kid, during the Spanish Civil War, around 1939," he says. "But what really inspired me I guess was Sidney Franklin." ... Sidney Franklin? ...

"He was a Jewish-American guy, a printer from Brooklyn, who went to Mexico on vacation," Sy informs us. You could tell there was a story brewing here, and that Sy loved to tell stories and tell them well. "Franklin went to the bullfight in Mexico and, after he saw it, he thought anybody could do it, so they challenged him. ... A friend of his down in Mexico, a bullfighter, gave him a couple of lessons. ... And as it turned out, through pure sheer luck, he was fantastic at it. That started his career. ... Eventually, he went to Spain and became Don Sidney Franklin."

Sy is also a regular on the links and the tennis courts. But his first love in this realm is riding. Each week, he goes out at least a few times. In addition, he also joins some fellow retirees each week -- who together call themselves The Carvers -- for whittling.

We've included a sample of his wood carving here, though -- the Native American head with the eagle on the far right -- along with other carvings he's obtained.

Zina works in clay. She began on the wheel, after which she started doing hand-built pieces, and, finally, went on to sculpting. ...

In addition to the work shown here, she's also made numerous decorative pieces, as well, including dishes and vases, which they use both for everyday occasions and when they entertain. ...

As you will see from our exhibit of Sy & Zina's work in this month's DownStreet Gallery, the results of their efforts range from lighthearted & whimsical to genuinely evocative.

While we were shooting the works for our Gallery, I unselfconsciously referred to one of Zina's figures -- Woman with Pot -- as "she." I could see immediately that something struck a chord with her, and she confided that some of the pieces have taken on a life of their own. "That's how I think of them," she said. ... "They're more than simply pieces of artwork."

In a similar fashion, Sy, though somewhat reluctantly at first, will tell you what inspired this work or that, talking at length about a piece that originated from their visit to Kenya, or the haunting image of his Kosóvo Pietà.

If the "art of being was is the art of knowing what to overlook," we are glad that Sy & Zina have also shown us that the obverse is also true, i.e., that at least some wisdom resides in knowing what not to overlook.

Their works, then, are a testimony to two quite different sensibilities -- his & hers -- but also, to a common, abiding spirit that is testimony to the fact that a life of retirement can be the beginning ... of something both productive & wonderful.

Unless you have the good fortune of visiting Sy & Zina in their Florida home, which we did for this shoot, or being in Florida for a show, where some of Sy's paintings recently appeared, then the only place you'll see their work in our neighborhood is here at the DownStreet Gallery.

Ed. Note: It's fitting to note that in this, our May Day / Mother's Day issue, and with Father's Day not far off, Sy & Zina Budofsky are the parents of our Associate Editor, Laura Wisniewski. We couldn't let that go without saying. / lmc

If you know of any artists or craftsmen/-women whose work you think deserves attention, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at

And just in case you were wondering, self-promotion is acceptable. ...
The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you, as well as some brief background about the art or craft. If you are recommending that we cover someone else's work, you should ask that person for permission, then also include his or her name, address, and phone number.