ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ruth DeWilde-Major
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, USA


I live on the island of Martha’s Vineyard where I live, research, write, garden and paint.

Currently I am focusing my attention on writing, painting, drawing, researching, and developing both my Family Maritime Museum and my art studio. With a little help from my Ancestors, Mindful Meditation, Water from the Tisbury Spring and Divine Inspiration, life will continue to be a gift.

FORMAL TRAINING

I descend from a long line of artists, scientists and writers who taught me to be a keen observer and appreciate the details in nature as well as the reflections, physical properties and shadows of objects. I graduated from the Newton Public Schools with a scholarship to Massachusetts College of Art where I studied with many talented professors for seven years. These were some of the most enjoyable years of my life, and I earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and an MS in Art Education at MASSART. Post graduate Studies at several colleges and universities provided another 30 credits in teaching, curriculum, assessment and child care and development.

My Directing/Teaching Licenses include (K-12) Art, (Grades 9-12) Child Care and Development, Director II, Group Child Care, and Lead Teacher: Infant, Toddler and Preschool/preK.

MENTORS

Dr. Russell Doucette, Professor Emeritus, Cross Cultural Studies Massachusetts College of Art
Dr. Diana Korzenik, Professor Emeritus, Art Education Department Massachusetts College of Art
Barbara C. Whitney, My Mother and Poet
Margot T. Frary, My Aunt and Portrait Painter



FAVORITE and INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS

Past                                             Present

• Alesandro Botticelli, 1445 - 1510        • Andrew G. Moore, Painter

• Leonardo DaVinci, 1452 - 1519            • Koo Schadler, Painter

• Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606 - 1669          • Craig Dripps, Photographer

• Johannes Vermeer, 1632 - 1675            • Duane Keiser, Painter

• Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828 - 1882      • Jan Brett, Illustrator

FAVORITE QUOTES:      

                “I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.
                  I learn by going where I have to go.” 

                “The darkness has its own light.”    
                               

                                                          Theodore Roethke

                "If you ever need a helping hand,

                 you'll find it at the end of your arm."

                                                          Yiddish Proverb