A Tour of Her Home and Grounds
with Ruthellen as Your Guide
The following video postcard was composed and addressed to Ruthellen’s parents Harriet and Bob, on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary. This milestone coincided with the realization of her dream home. As you will see, there were many proverbial balls in the air at the time; an accurate reflection of Ruthellen’s dynamic nature and creative nonstop energies.
CLIP #1: Right in Your Livingroom
CLIP #2: Every Day is Different
Note that the house surrounds the tree as if her home were part of that same natural space that contained her gardens.
CLIP #3: Home, Hearth, and Gallery
Mom always had a soft spot for folk art and for folk artists who only found those talents as late bloomers. The works and artisans showcased atop the fireplace is a testament to Ruthellen as both talent agent, curator, and the crowning achievement of her second act: the realization of a home cradled by the majesty of Monument Valley.
CLIP #4: Sculpture Park
It wasn’t just a class assignment. It was a challenge to fulfill it with natural materials. And those tiny sculptures might one day scale to contain an entire sculpture park. Time and space constraints followed her whims. But her capacity for artistic expression was transcendent. She was constantly wishing the possible into life.
CLIP #5: Navajo Chief Blankets
Ruthellen’s imaginative energy nurtured her students. It was especially gratifying when a Navajo student not only took inspiration from their own heritage but transformed it to become their own.
CLIP #6: $24 Library
For every ball in the air that landed in Ruthellen’s favor, there were the works-in-progress that required a plan B. For someone who painted outside the lines, Ruthellen was well-acquainted with a world of adjustments and work-arounds that formed the placeholders for her unfinished visions.
CLIP #7: Scenes and Sketches
The storm is rolling in as we enter Ruthellen’s Studio. The indigenous legacy of Monument Valley is conveyed through the meticulous shading and highlighting of late pencil artist Wilton Charley.
CLIP #8: A Very Good Place to Start
“I don’t know where to begin so a tree is an excellent start.” Not only a start but a relentless collaborator for the painter who saw her scene from every window as a potential work of art.
CLIP #9: The Shade Garden
On this day the blending of a wooded shade garden as a respite from the harsh overhead sun was firing Ruthellen’s summonings of landscapes to be.
CLIP #10: Cow Tea
Nothing marshaled Ruthellen’s powers of design more sharply than when the natural beauty surrounding her was disrupted by the industrial dregs of building site debris. Here you can see how she conspired with local plants and minerals to gain the upper hand on the slop that dared for her intervention.
CLIP #11: The Mountain Range
“We’re getting some interesting light. It’s no different tonight!”
The driveway is the edifice for delivering the opulent gateway of the Abajo Mountains. The vistas are sweeping. The visions are soaring. The elevations are epic and Ruthellen is both our guide and cultivator of these dreams come true.
CLIP #12: Closing
Requiem for Ruthellen’s crowning achievement.
