About The Artist
I have always been interested in narrative paintings and the whimsical sculptures of animals and machines that you would find in amusement parks. I am interested in the stories of human life that are reflected in these paintings and sculptures. I love the images that reveal themselves out of my scrapings of acrylic off of canvas. I love the changes of color and pattern. My work is influenced by the abundance of garden and animal life that surround our house
I grew up near Detroit, Michigan, and was the oldest of 5 children. As a child I was fascinated by birds and was one of those odd little kids that kept a notebook about my sightings of them since I was 8. I was always interested in drawing birds, other animals, and people. I went to art school at Eastern Michigan University, studying painting and printmaking, and earned a BFA in 1972. I became interested in printing books from etchings and fancied that it would help my career as an artist if I moved to the Bay Area, which I did in 1976. I continued painting and selling my work and also went to trade school to learn drafting, which I did along with painting when I wasn’t drafting. I got married in 1988 and my husband (a tile contractor) and I had 2 children. We lived in rural Middletown, CA. I stayed home with the children in a house he helped build (a mile down a rough dirt road in the middle of nowhere) . I painted in my spare time. We had an abundant garden and an abundance of wild birds. Sadly, my husband died in 2014. My children were grown. Three years later I met my current husband (who is also an artist) and we live in San Anselmo, CA where I continue to paint because I cannot “not” paint.
Acrylic Paint, Drawing, Mixed Media, Sculpture
Studio Information
Marin Society of Artists, 1515 3rd Street, San Rafael, CA 94901
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Marin Society of Artiists, 1515 3rd Street, San Rafael, Space 1, both weekends (main floor, far SE corner near the stairs)
Contact Information
(415)453-9346
Exhibitions & Press
SOLO SHOWS :
1989: Sonoma’s Own Quicksilver Mine Company, Guerneville, CA – “Narrative Paintings”
2012, 2015, 2018 : Lake County Wine Studio, Upper Lake, CA – “Narrative Paintings and Sculptures”
August, September 2023: Morris Graves Museum of Art, Knight Gallery “Narrative Paintings, Sculptures”
NATIONAL JURIED SHOWS:
4/20/19 “Expressions”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA. Selected: “Mickey in La La Land”
4/20/20 “Expressions 2020”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA. Selected: “Julupa Hills”
7/28/20 “Celebration of Art”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA. Selected: “Still, We Have Everything We Need’
6/21/21 “Expressions 2021”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA. Selected: “Down Time”
MARIN SOCIETY OF ARTISTS MEMBER SHOWS:
6/22 “Summertime 2022”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA.-“When the Muse Speaks”- Second place
2/10/23 “2 x 2”, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA- “Arranging Flowers”, “Still, We Have Everything We Need”- Second Place
3/23 “Art + Words”, Marin Society of Artists. San Rafael. CA- “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal” – Second Place
OTHER GROUP SHOWS
5/98 “Spring Show,” Jessel Gallery, Napa, CA
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
1989-2020 Jessel Gallery, Napa, CA
1978 “Ester, The Story of a Small Ghost” Woodcock Press, Oakland, CA. Printed by Platypus Press
5/24/19 Show: “ARTISTS VIEW”, Marin Society of Artists, Third Place – “Home Sweet Home”
5/24/19 Show: “ARTISTS VIEW”, Marin Society of Artists, Honorable Mention- “Lime Green Car”
1/9/20 Show: “A MOMENT IN TIME”, Marine Society of Artists, Honorable Mention- “Abbodanza”
10/16/21 Show: , Marin Society of Artists, Third Place- “Simple Gifts”
https://sica-usa.org/news/the-intimate-interiors-of-ruth-morgan-arietta/
North Coast Journal, Eureka, CA Archives, August 2023, review: “Ruth Arietta’s Illusory Interiors at Morris Graves Museum of Art” p. 14
Education
1972 BFA Eastern Michigan University, Painting and Printmaking
1974 Post Graduate work, Kent State University, Painting and Printmaking
