Ruthe Blalock Jones (born 1939) is a Delaware- Shawnee- Peoria painter and printmaker from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

.Watson, Mary Jo
"Jones, Ruthe Blalock (1939—)."
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (retrieved 23 Aug 2010)

Background

Ruthe Blalock Jones was born on June 8, 1939 in Claremore, Oklahoma. Her parents are Joe and Lucy Parks Blalock. Her tribal name is Chulundit. She is enrolled with the Shawnee Tribe. Her father Joe Blalock was Shawnee/Peoria and her mother Lucy Parks Blalock was Delaware. She is a member of the Horse Clan of the Lower Band of Shawnee. She earned an associate degree from Bacone College in 1970. She then earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

in 1972. In 1985 she attended the University of Oklahoma and earned her master's degree from

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1989. Her art career began much earlier, when she was ten years old and students under

Charles Banks Wilson Charles Banks Wilson (August 6, 1918 – May 2, 2013) was an List of American artists 1900 and after, American artist. Wilson was born in Springdale, Arkansas in 1918; his family eventually moved to Miami, Oklahoma, where he spent his childho ...

Art career

At the age of 13, Jones entered her first juried art show at the Philbrook Museum of Art and received an honorable mention. She works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil as well as printing monotypes.Lester, 274 Her first art award was an honorable mention at the Philbrook Art Museum's annual show in 1954, when Jones was 15 years old.McDonnell, Brandy
"Nationally known artist-educator Ruthe Blalock Jones is named 2011 Red Earth Honored One."
''NewsOK.'' 3 June 2011 (retrieved 4 June 2011) In 1995 she was inducted in the

Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh "to honor Oklahoma women who are pioneers in their field or in a project that benefits Oklahoma; who have made a significant contribution to the State of Oklahoma ...

. In 2011, she was named the

Red Earth Festival The Red Earth Festival is a Native American cultural festival that takes places every June in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. Red Earth, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that hosts the festival and maintained the Red Earth Art Center, ...

's Honored One. In 2014 she was awarded the American Indian Circle of Honor Award by the

Tulsa City-County Library The Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) is the major public library system in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Overview The library system serves those who live, work, go to school in, own land in, or pay property taxes on land in Tulsa County. There are 24 b ...

. "Ruthe's art speaks volumes about the pride of her tribal relationships. ... She pays acute attention to authenticity in detail of dress and the ceremonial aspects of traditional tribal life, and some of her paintings could easily be her childhood recollections," writes art historian Dr. Mary Jo Watson ( Seminole). "Ruthe has many talents maybe others are not aware (of). She is a champion hoop dancer, war dancer and excellent cook."

Public collections

Ruthe Jones' work can be found in the following public collections: * Bacone College *

Five Civilized Tribes Museum The Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, showcases the art, history, and culture of the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes": the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes. Housed in the historic Union Indi ...

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

* George Gustav Heye Center *Murrow Indian's Children's Home *

* Okmulgee Public School System * Philbrook Museum of Art *Red Earth Museum *Sequoyah National Research Center *

Southern Plains Indian Museum Southern Plains Indian Museum is a Native American museum located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. It was opened in 1948 under a cooperative governing effort by the United States Department of the Interior and the Oklahoma state government. The museum feat ...

*Tulsa Performing Arts Center *

* United States Department of the Interior

Published works

*"Delaware Commentaries." Grumet, Robert Steven, ed. ''Voices from the Delaware Big House Ceremony.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. . *"The Bread Dance: A Shawnee Ceremony of Thanks of Renewal." Townsend, Richard F., ed. ''Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. ."Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand."
''Yale University Press.'' (retrieved 23 Aug 2010)

Notes

References

* Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. .

External links

Ruthe Blalock Jones online profileRuthe Blalock Jones online portfolio

* ttps://cdm17279.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/halloffame/id/65/rec/32 Oral History Interview with Ruthe Blalock Jones Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Blalock Jones, Ruthe 1939 births Living people People from Claremore, Oklahoma Native American painters Native American printmakers Painters from Oklahoma Peoria people Shawnee Tribe people Lenape people Bacone College alumni Northeastern State University alumni University of Tulsa alumni American women painters 20th-century American women artists American women printmakers 20th-century American printmakers Native American women artists 21st-century American women artists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women