Library to Honor Bacone College Art Professor

Library to honor Bacone College art professor
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer

Monday, November 25, 2013

Artist and educator Ruthe Blalock Jones, who has influenced several generations of artists through her work at Bacone College, is the 2014 inductee into the Tulsa City-County Library’s American Indian Resource Center’s Circle of Honor.

The induction will take place March 1, 2014, at Hardesty Regional Library’s Connor’s Cove, 8316 E. 93rd St. The event will also mark the start of the library’s month-long American Indian Festival of Words, honoring the achievements and accomplishments of Native Americans.

Jones called the honor “humbling and gratifying,” in large part because of the previous honorees, which include Charles Chibitty, Wilma Mankiller, Neal McCaleb, Bill Mills and Kirke Kickingbird

“As an artist, I believe we are all interested in honoring and preserving the culture and traditions of our families and tribes,” Jones said. “That is what I have tried to do, with help along the way from my parents, relatives and friends, teachers, collectors and others.”

Jones, who is of Shawnee-Delaware-Peoria descent, was born in Claremore, and began studying art with Charles Banks Wilson at age 10. Three years later, one of her works earned an Honorable Mention in the Philbrook Indian Annual, which at the time was one of the nation’s most prestigious art events for American Indian artists.

She attended Bacone College and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Tulsa in 1972. In 2011, she was appointed Commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board by Department of the Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar. She is director emeritus and associate professor of Art at Bacone College.

Her work — paintings, drawings and various styles of printmaking — focuses on traditional American Indian ceremonial and social events.

Jones’ paintings have been shown in Japan and Uganda as well as throughout the United States, and her work is part of the permanent collections of such institutions as the Heard Museum, the Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of Natural History.

The Circle of Honor ceremony recognizes an American Indian for his or her achievements by acknowledging the inductee’s contributions that have enriched others’ lives and by celebrating the inductee’s action in the face of adversity, commitment to the preservation of American Indian culture and legacy for future generations.

It is sponsored by the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, Cherokee Builders Inc., American Indian Resource Center and the Tulsa Library Trust. The award consists of a $5,000 honorarium and a medallion featuring the American Indian Resource Center’s turtle logo.

For more information, call 918-549-7323, or visit tulsalibrary.org/airc

From Tulsa World, November 25, 2013.