Biography of An Artist
Fern Joan Ritchie, Artist, Her Life, Times, and Work
For our 50 th anniversary, 1998, I wrote a short chronology of our lives together. I vowed to write a more complete account of our time together and this time it would cover what Fern has accomplished.
Fern was an artist from her first breath. Her father was a machinist by trade and a fine craftsman by nature. Other than him, I know of no earlier family members with an artist bent.
It’s not easy to be an artist of this sort. Their work is basically solo and it is done right or it is essentially worthless, a discard. In contrast, a performing artist practices and rehearses until the performance has reached the desired perfection and then comes the presentation. On top of that, she chose watercolor as her preferred medium. This painting technique has finality in nearly every stroke.
I am biased. I treasure all of her work, whatever the medium. I have watched her work with metals, as in jewelry and casting, with clay as in ceramics, with stone and concrete, as in sculpture, with fibers, as in weaving, with oils, acrylics, and watercolors in paintings. To see her hand dart around canvas or paper and a subject form, whatever the medium, is fascinating beyond description.
It is autobiographical, as told by one of the participants. Our stories could not be separated because they are closely interwoven. Since this is a retrospective catalog of her work and her accomplishments, its focus is on Fern. I will endeavor to remain backstage.
We developed a way of working together: If it was her project, I gave her all the support she required. If it was my project, she supported me to the fullest extent. We didn’t hold back. The things that were routine, not necessarily distasteful, we did together to get them out of the way. The necessary acts of living have finally balanced out. It was mostly her burden to provide meals and keep the house while I was teaching and consulting, but from Encinitas on, preparing meals and the housekeeping has been shared effort. Fortunately, during her graduate work, I was able to take over the housekeeping and meals along with the support she needed, or the house would have crumbled down around us and we would have starved. She really knows how to concentrate.
Here is an account of a very active artist, dedicated to her craft. She is more accurately described as a designer, the medium of her expression is not limited, indeed, Ritchie Unlimited is not just a title.
Realize that she accomplished what is shown here during the activities the two of us had together, building houses, running a business, farming, the household chores, and being delightfully social during all of this. Well, almost. The works are mostly done solo and that means "ARTIST AT WORK- DO NOT DISTURB" with an implicit addition, "But feed me when I'm hungry."
Sculpture Samples By The Artist
Painting Samples By The Artist
Contents
Preface
Foreword
Dedication
Ch. 1. Beginnings 1948 - 1952
Ch. 2. Bakersfield 1948 - 1950
Watercolors: 1 Plate
Ch. 3. Santa Barbara 1950 - 1952
Watercolors: 5 Plates
Ch. 4. Ontario 1952 - 1969
Watercolors: 12 Plates
Oils: 7 Plates
Acrylics: 2 Plates
Illustrations: 3 Plates
Concrete:
Walls. 5 Plates
Fountains. 2 Plates
Other Media:
Paper: 1 Plate
Nails and Wood: 1 Plate
Plastics: 1 Plate
Ch. 5. Encinitas 1969 - 1986
Ch. 6. Studios West
The Studio: 5 Plates
Ch. 7. Fairs, Garden Shows, and Commissions
Ceramics: 35 Plates
Acrylics: 4 Plates
Prints: 1 Plate
Bronze. 4
Ch. 8. Mohawk Valley, Oregon 1986 - 1996
The Farm: 2 Plates
The Greenhouse
Weaving
Ch. 9. Springfield, Oregon 1996 - Present
Ch. 10. Books and Publishing : 8 Plates
Ch. 11. Fern’s Books
Catalog of Fern’s Books
General Catalog of Ritchie Unlimited Publications. Weaving.
Ch. 12.. Weaving
Weaving is assembled in this chapter, although the mention made above indicates that a plate from that period is located here.
Ch. 13. Conclusion
Appendix
Curriculum Vitae
Note about the Separator Pages : Fern spent many hours studying and sketching animals at zoos, animal parks, and in the wild. Some of the time, she was in the cages with them, as shown on the page of skunks! She did not have to go far to find snails, we grew plenty of them. The life drawings were of models, not caged.
Realize that a "Plate" may contain up to 16 photographs of her work.
Copyright, 2002; all of the works contained are individually copyrighted by the artist.: 400 photographs on 90 Plates, of her paintings, drawings, ceramics, crafts, sewing, weaving and her books.
ISBN 0-939656-63-9, CD Edition only. $31.95,
Complete the order
April 6, 2006December 13, 2008