MUNTHE ART MONDAY: ELLEN RUTT
Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.
My name is Ellen, I use she and they pronouns. I am a Detroit-based painter, muralist, quilter and organizer. Everything I make is part of a lifelong love letter to planet earth and a genuine attempt to move toward ways of living that support ecological and cultural regeneration and flourishing. This is, of course, rife with longing, despair and contractions. Outside of my personal work, I founded Studio For Now and run Queer Ecology Lab, an ecologically-focused workshop series for queer artists to access methods, materials and connections that facilitate growth within their own practices and lives.
ELLEN is wearing Skallo blouse and Shimo pants.
Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?
Hilma Af Klint - Legendary Swedish artist who was part of a secret spiritual women’s group called De Fem (The Five) Was she gay...we don’t know for sure but I like to think she was.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson - My personal hero, a renowned marine biologist, policy expert, and climate advocate known for her work in ocean conservation and co-creating solutions to address the climate crisis through an intersectional lens. Not an “artist” in a conventional sense but I would argue that advocating for climate solutions is art.
M.C. Richards - Potter, poet, teacher at Black Mountain College. Her book Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person remains a huge source of inspiration for me through her interdisciplinary approach that fused art, craft, and spirituality.
Mary Ann and China Pettway - Two historic quilters from Gee’s Bend, Alabama who I got to study under in 2023.
Vivian Suter - Swiss-Argentine contemporary artist known for her vibrant, nature-inspired abstract paintings, often created in her outdoor studio in Guatemala, where her works interact with the surrounding environment, incorporating natural elements like rain, dirt, and leaves. Basically... I want to be her.
What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?
Throughout my 20’s being a woman impacted my confidence using tools, machines and the types of equipment that we’ve been socialized to associate as Man Labor Stuff. And this is why I really value organizations that offer classes specifically for women and queer people to learn tool literacy and shop skills, because once you learn, it’s incredibly helpful and empowering.
ELLEN is wearing Salo dress.
ELLEN is wearing Skallo blouse and Shimo pants.
Can you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?
Through my work, I am speaking most directly to women and queer people. My relationship with my own gender or identity as a woman is mercurial, but all of it shapes my understanding of the world and influences what I make and why which most certainly plays a role in my career.
ELLEN is wearing Slowy dress.
What would you like people to notice in vour artwork?
I often leave secret notes in the paintings that you can read if you get up real close.
ELLEN is wearing Slowy.
ELLEN is wearing Salo dress.
ELLEN is wearing Slowy dress.
