"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