Julie Cliett

Julie Cliett was born in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. She and her sister and three brothers grew up in the suburbs about a mile from the beach where they spent lots of time. Julie’s love for the ocean developed early. The family enjoyed camping trips, which deepened her love of nature and the outdoors. Julie was very close to her grandfather, who was the photographer of the family, a lover of poetry and a musician. She remembers, as a child, she was fascinated by the images created by her grandfather’s box-like camera.

Julie attended a private girls’ school that focused on academics rather than the arts, but fortunately had a strong music program. She learned to play the guitar and wrote her own songs. She especially enjoyed writing poetry. She was fortunate that her school was in the city because on the way to the train station, she sometimes stopped at the state art gallery, a wonderful old building full of masterpieces. She would wander its many rooms for hours in wonder and admiration, making a point to check out the photography section where photo exhibits were changed regularly. One of Julie’s early boyfriends was a professional photographer. He taught her much about the art and when she bought her first camera, she was completely hooked. Julie also had a passion for travel, and she dreamed of becoming a photo-journalist for one of her favorite magazines, National Geographic. Her first big trip was a year-long working holiday around Australia, surfing and taking lots of photos. When she returned home, she got her old job back as a lab technician in a hospital hematology lab, worked and saved her money, and then took off for an extended trip overseas. On her travels, Julie met many creative and talented people. One of the people that inspired her most was Francois Bauchard, a French batik artist living in Hawaii. He had developed his own special style, very different from the traditional batik style, and Julie learned this art of batik from him.

While she was in Hawaii, Julie met her husband, Lee, a father of four children. They married, and her focus was raising children. Life changed dramatically, although photography remained a priority. Julie and Lee eventually moved from Hawaii and had four more children together. While very busy as a mother, Julie’s photography passion led her to photography classes at Portland Community College. In 1989 the family settled in the Valley/Chewelah area. Several years later, Julie met Gina Greenwood, who was an inspiration with an incredible amount of energy. Julie began volunteering and taught batik, tie-dye, photography, black-and-white photo tinting, making dream-catchers, hemp jewelry, and hat making and design classes at Greenwood Institute d’Art. She was also a member of the Greenwood Dancers for many years and did Middle Eastern dance with Orla Feay Colvin. She was also a member of the all-female band, the Hippie Chicks.

While Julie was a teacher at the Springdale Head Start center and going to school to get her degree, her husband Lee, died suddenly. She pushed herself to complete her degree and later became center supervisor. The entire staff there shared a real enthusiasm for creativity with the children they served. Julie retired after eleven years at the Springdale Head Start center. With more time for her own creative pursuits, Julie made the most of several winters spent in Palm Desert, focusing on photography there and in the surrounding landscape, working in her small studio. Her creative attention grew, and her gifts for poetry, for seeing and photographing her surroundings, blossomed.