Film screening: "A not so still life" at Foundry Vineyards

WALLA WALLA-A documentary about the remarkable artist Ginny Ruffner will be presented at The Foundry Vineyards in Walla Walla on Friday, April 15. "A Not So Still Life: the Ginny Ruffner Story" will be followed by a Q & A session with the film's director, Karen Stanton-Gregutt.

The movie, produced in 2010 by ShadowCatcher Entertainment, took 12 months to film and another six to edit.

After the film debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival, Gregutt arranged a showing for her Waitsburg neighbors at the Plaza Theater on August 19, 2010.

The film documents Ruffner's life from her childhood in South Carolina to her success as a world-renowned artist.

The road to her success was not easy. Seven years after Ruffner relocated to Seattle to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School, she was involved in a near-fatal accident. She was in a coma for over a month and needed extensive speech, vision, and physical therapies. She continued creating art as she recovered her mobility, speech, and career.

The event may have left evidence of the trauma and injury, but it does not define this artist. Ruffner is engaging, generous, and innovative. Her work has continued to evolve, embracing new materials and technology to build her singular vocabulary. Always bringing beauty to the conversation. While many artists shy away from beauty and decoration, Ginny embraces it, "I feel like my purpose in life is to make beautiful things."

Since the movie was released in 2010, Ruffner has created and recreated her work. She has found ways to rediscover and articulate the beauty of the natural world–using digital technologies and apps.

If you are unfamiliar with Ruffner's work, visit her website at ginnyruffner.com to see her body of work, including lampworked and fused glass, drawing, painting, and augmented reality using a digital app to make images come to life.

To learn more about her augmented reality work, visit "Smithsonian Magazine" online at tinyurl.com/ginnyr. The article "This Artist Imagines How Nature Evolves Following an Environmental Apocalypse" was written in July 2019 and reviewed the exhibit "Reforestation of the Imagination" at the Smithsonian Museum. It includes short films showing how Ruffner combines traditional glass, drawing, and digital imagery in her "not so still life."

The Foundry Vineyard hosts a variety of community and private events, including art exhibits, chamber music, and workshops. This year is the vineyards 20th Anniversay. visit foundryvineyards.com for more information.