Judy King

Judy King, potter, sculptor and writer, arrived in the bohemian village of Deià in the 1970s and, with the occasional sojourn, maintained an ongoing love affair with the island 

With a strong clear gaze, wrists resting on the arms of a weathered armchair, Judy King shows no inch of pride when recounting her life story. She hardly raises an eyebrow when I confess my admiration for her adventures. With a clear mind, this explorer of life’s torments holds more tales than the Great Library of Alexandria.

She has travelled the world à la Phileas Fogg, hobnobbed with artistic royalty and written a book which, albeit a work of fiction, simmers with real-life elements. Born in Sydney, she has lived in London and Deià, although today resides at the foothills of the mountains in a pleasant little corner of Sóller with, as our American cousins would say, ‘a million-dollar view’.

We chat in the shade of her garden, filled with tastefully crafted sculptures and ceramics by the author that glitter outdoors, surrounded by abundant fragrant jasmine. Judy came to Majorca in 1971 with her then husband, ‘we had just got married, travelled the globe and, on getting to Majorca, fell in love with the place. I just remember thinking how cheap everything was’. In Deià, they met Robert Graces, who took them under his wing, and socialised with the famous surrealist painter Esteban Frances, who would later emigrate to the US for a career as a stage designer.

Years later, and after her divorce, she bought Frances’s house where, hidden among antiques, she came across a poem Graves had written for the artist, now framed in her Sóller home. Over the years, she divided the Deià property ‘in order to pay for my son’s schooling’, and eventually sold what remained to purchase her home in Sóller. In fact, buying, renovating and selling homes was her main way to earn a crust. That being said, she also fuelled her creative side through sculpture and ceramics, even exhibiting at Hotel La Residencia in Deià. 

Her eyes sparkle when speaking about a life filled with comings and goings, romances, work and conflicting emotions. This quiet lady, perhaps mellowed by time, lives a solitary existence in her small patch of Eden, although if Judy is a hermit, she’s the most sociable one I’ve ever met. While walking around her home, I notice how her bright cheerful outfit matches her personality. She has just published Agnes, Broken Dreams, a cathartic novel written ‘to understand why I’ve failed in certain aspects of my life’. When asked about her relationship with Graves, the most Mediterranean, controversial and intractable of the English poets, and the most illustrious son of the creative oasis that is Deià, Judy simply replies, ‘he was a very cheerful, fun and selfish guy’. 

Xavi Solà

Photos: Pillar Pellicer