Barbara Ruth - Brie Jongewaard:  

As I turned 77 I took on one of the most exciting and challenging projects of my life. I became a member of a local Santa Cruz artist immersion program devoting a year to creating a collection of art to wear clothing for the seasoned woman. With each piece I'm either learning a new skill or further developing something I've tried before. Of course I had to dye my hair coppery red for the experience. I won't do cartwheels down the runway like designer Betsey Johnson but I will, in all probability, break into a happy dance when I have everything assembled and wearable. I'm having a lot of fun. Working with fabric is much easier on my hands than the mosaics I'm putting on hold for a while, no gritty grout to contend with. 2017 update: As with many artistic journeys, mine took a detour and instead of creating clothing for other women, I focused on writing my memoir illustrated with the designs I create for each part of the story. I've posted two of the outfits of my memoir, "Old El Paso" which speaks to my Texas roots, and "From Strictly Formal to Street Fun", a tale of tribes and their recognizable decorations. As I continue with this quest to write and illustrate my life I invite others to share my journey. After all, they are only words and fabrics until I make something of them and then they are only threads and stories until we make something of them. The last few years I've worked more with mosaic tile than ...Expand for more