Bonham, Texas -- The Creative Arts Center is excited to have two exhibits and two opening receptions for the month of March.  The Tiny Art Show will officially open on Friday, March 6 with a come and go reception from 5:00-7:00 p.m. 

A special exhibit “The Artful Life and Work of Ruth Anderson” will kick off on Sunday, March 8 with a come and go reception from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  Ruth is a creative 96-year-old woman and will be at the Sunday afternoon reception.

Ruth Anderson was born Ruth Ellen Goeldner on July 22, 1929 in the second-story bedroom of a farmhouse in Greenfield, Iowa.  From an early age she was captivated by the patterns and designs she saw in nature.  In 1951 she graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Applied Arts, and she moved to Dallas that summer to begin her career as a graphic arts designer.

Between the years 1950 and 1980, the city of Dallas was a booming place for the arts.  As the wife of prominent architect Andy Anderson, Ruth immersed herself in the cultural growth around her, helping to launch such groups as The Craft Guild of Dallas, The Dallas Quilters Guild, The Dallas Needlework and Textile Guild, and The Dallas Area Fiber Artists.  From 2005 to 2022 she served as a board member of The Madi Museum (a place for geometric art) and curated several exhibits there.

Her career also included time as an instructor.  She taught quilting classes within the Collin County Community College District for over two decades, gave quilting seminars at Southern Methodist University, and she was frequently asked to give quilting demonstrations and workshops across Texas.  Her skills led her to the position of Quilt Show Judge at the State Fair of Texas, which she held for twenty years.  As a quilt designer herself she is meticulous, insisting upon fine hand-stitching, and she is a master of the technique of reverse-applique.

Over her lifetime she has been commissioned to create several art quilts for private collectors, and one of her works still hangs in the American Embassy at Luxembourg in Europe. Her skill as a graphic designer also continued to be sought after, as she was commissioned to produce signs and logos and even a “literary map of Texas” for the Texas Association of Libraries.

To this day Ruth Anderson continues to create.  Every day she is taking on new challenges and using her design skills to produce artful, often whimsical works using found objects or natural materials.  From her tiny wire-quilling collages to her hundreds of unique jars, from her hand-crafted papier-mache bowls to her origami jewelry, in Ruth Anderson’s own words, “Everything has potential.”

Both art shows will be at the Creative Arts Center at 200 W. 5th in Bonham.  Opening receptions are both open to the public and free to attend.  Art will remain on exhibit until the end of March.  For more information, go to www.CreativeArtsCenterBonham.org or call (903) 640-2196.