"As one who has never felt artistic, I can say that Ruth gave me the encouragement
and confidence to lose myself in the creative process." - Kathy Hellieson
I offer workshops and slide presentations as well as group and individual classes, which can be conducted at your location or in my home studio. Every class begins around a central table of material fragments: bits of wire, cut paper, cloth, photographs. We then begin to imagine how the fragments can be shaped, and how they can be connected to form a larger narrative.
Before I introduce new skills, I work with each student on the innate skills s/he already has. The atmosphere in the studio is always supportive and exciting. I call my classes "creating outside the box," because they tend to inspire people who think differently, or would like to learn how. |
Portrait.
How can we convey movement, expression, voice, and character in static media, so that the subject truly becomes present? Students may choose to work on a self-portrait or that of a friend, relative, public figure or even an animal. Artifact. In this class, students bring objects from their lives – old photographs, journal entries, newspaper clippings, or other fragments, and use mixed media collage techniques to weave them into a narrative. Journey. Experience often comes in the form of a journey, for which we are alternately prepared and unprepared. In this class, students document past and present experiences by mapping the routes and roadblocks. Home. The concept of home is a container for the colors, shapes, and textures that give context to identity. Students will construct abstract representations of home that evoke a familiar sense of place, origin, and self. |
"To know Ruth is to love her; it is an artistic experience." - Margie Coates