Guide to the Ruth Rippon papers MSS 2017/16

Finding aid by Kelli Kauffroath and Lynn Drennan
California State University, Sacramento Donald & Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives
University Library
2000 State University Drive
Sacramento, CA 95819-6039
lib-scua@csus.edu


Contributing Institution: California State University, Sacramento Donald & Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Rippon (Ruth) papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2017/16
Physical Description: 11.5 Linear Feet (6 record cartons, 1 OS box, 2 Flat File Folders)
Date (inclusive): 1943-2018
Date (bulk): 1960-1980
Abstract: The Ruth Rippon papers contains letters/correspondence, exhibit documents (announcements, programs, pamphlets, foam mounted items), newspaper articles, publications, photographs, negatives, print sheets, slides, handwritten notes, sketches, drawings, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, gradebook, yearbook, certificate, poster, and thesis on R. Rippon relating to the life and work of the American ceramicist and sculptor.
Condition Description: Very good/Excellent.
Language of Material: English .

Content Description

Collection contains the papers of American ceramicist and sculptor Ruth M. Rippon. The papers document Rippon's artistic process, exhibitions, and sculptural work. Contains letters/correspondence, exhibit documents (announcements, programs, pamphlets, foam mounted items), newspaper articles, publications, photographs, negatives, print sheets, slides, handwritten notes, sketches, drawings, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, gradebook, yearbook, certificate, poster, and thesis on R. Rippon.

Biographical / Historical

Ruth M. Rippon was born in Sacramento, California in 1927. She attended McClatchy High School and studied at Sacramento Junior College from 1945 to 1947. She received a Bachelor of Education (1949) and Master of Fine Arts (1951) from California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts).
Rippon is an artist, ceramist, sculptor and educator known for her innovative and versatile range, form and subject matter, most notably her unique adaptation and application of the sgraffito-through-engobe technique to ceramics. An integral contributor to the Northern Californian Ceramic Arts Movement of the second half of the 20th Century, her accomplishments as an artist, teacher, and gallerist were celebrated by the California Arts Council in the summer of 2008 with its "Artist of the Year" award.
As the first female faculty of the Sacramento State Arts Department, and during her 31-year tenure (1956 to 1987), Rippon established the ceramics department and became a leading mentor to generations of Sacramento State student artists working in clay. Upon retirement, she was conferred both Emeritus status and the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts by California State University. The Ruth Rippon Ceramic Scholarship Endowment is a $1,000.00 award offered once a year to an outstanding Undergraduate Art major or classified graduate student in Studio Art who shows promise in making ceramic art a career.
Rippon is a prolific artist with multiple works installed on the CSUS campus, throughout Sacramento, and beyond. She is a founding member of the Creative Arts League Sacramento (CALS). In 2017, at the age of 90, she was featured by the Crocker Art Museum showcasing 90 pieces from the 1950s through the 1990s called Exuberant Earth: Ceramics by Ruth Rippon.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Library, California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item including date], MSS 2017/16, Ruth Rippon papers, Department of Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives, The Library, California State University, Sacramento.

Processing Information

Processed by Kelli Kauffroath and Lynn Drennan April 2021. Materials from Ruth and her depositor were not in a predetermined order or provenance. Collection Items were received from Crocker Art Museum following the Exuberant Earth Exhibit. While many like items are grouped in folders, i.e. photos, sketches, and diaries, Crocker representative statements report there is currently no order or provenance.

Arrangement

The Ruth Rippon collection is arranged into 7 Series which include: Biographical, Diaries, Sketches/Sketchbooks, Exhibitions, Articles and Press, Photographs, and Scrapbooks and Albums.

Accruals

Additions were donated in 2018.

 

Series 1. Biographical

box 1, folder 1

Biographical Notes (by RR?) 1971-1990

box 1, folder 2

Yearbook - C.K. McClatchy Senior High School 1943 Nugget 1943

box 1, folder 3

Resume and Commissions 1951-1996

box 1, folder 4

CCAC - California College of Arts and Crafts 1951

box 1, folder 5

Sac State Teaching [Restricted] 1965-1985

box 1, folder 6

Ruth Rippon Ceramic Scholarship Endowment 2001-2011

box 1, folder 7

Resolution honoring Ruth Rippon 2002

box 1, folder 8

Ruth Rippon Honorary Doctorate - Menu, Attendees - May 6, 2018 2018

box 1, folder 9

Clippings on Ruth Rippon's parents and Google search Results 1972-2009

box 1, folder 10

Tom Rippon brochure signed to Ruth and Remembering Tom Rippon 1993-2011

box 1, folder 11

Correspondence 1951-2015

box 1, folder 12

Postcards Europe 1957

box 1, folder 13

List of Names/Addresses

box 1, folder 14

Ruth Rippon - Address book, International driver's license (France), poems, flyers 1957-1970

box 1, folder 15

Various - Booklets, tickets, etc. 1950-1971

box 1, folder 16

"The Sgraffito Plates of Ruth Rippon" by Ruth A. Holland 1968

box 1, folder 17

Thesis - "The Ceramics of Ruth Rippon" by Ruth Adams Holland 1969

box 1, folder 18

Writings - "The Planning and Construction of Phyllis" and "Oil Slick or the Saga of a Petroleum Princess" 1965-1991

 

Series 2. Diaries

box 1, folder 19

Diaries - Gladys Rippon - 1970, 1971-1975 1970-1975

box 1, folder 20

Diaries - 1956, 1957 1956-1957

box 1, folder 21

Diaries - 1973, 1974 1973-1974

box 1, folder 22

Diaries -1975, 1976 1975-1976

box 1, folder 23

Diaries - 1977, 1978 1977-1978

box 1, folder 24

Diaries - 1979, 1980 1979-1980

box 2, folder 1

Diaries - 1981, 1982 1981-1982

box 2, folder 2

Diaries - 1983, 1984 (Sam J. Rippon, Sr., and Ruth) 1983-1984

box 2, folder 3

Diaries - 1985, 1985 (Gladys and Ruth) 1985

box 2, folder 4

Diaries - 1987, 1988 1987-1988

box 2, folder 5

Diaries - 1989, 1990 1989-1990

box 2, folder 6

Diaries - 1991, 1992 1991-1992

box 2, folder 7

Diaries - 1993, 1994 1993-1994

box 2, folder 8

Diaries - 1995, 1996 1995-1996

box 2, folder 9

Diaries - 1997, 1998 1997-1998

box 2, folder 10

Diaries - 1999, 2000 1999-2000

box 2, folder 11

Diaries - 2001, 2002 2001-2002

box 2, folder 12

Diaries - 2003, 2004 2003-2004

box 3, folder 1

Diaries - 2005, 2006 2005-2006

box 3, folder 2

Diaries - 2007, 2008 2007-2008

box 3, folder 3

Diaries - 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016 2009-2016

box 3, folder 4

Diaries - 2011, 2013 2011-2013

box 3, folder 5

Guest Book - Robert Elsy Gallery Retirement Exhibit 1987

box 3, folder 6

Guest Book - Reception CSUS Library , Waiting Sculpture 2000

 

Series 3. Sketches and Sketchbooks

box 3, folder 7

Skteches - Cats

box 3, folder 8

Sketches - Clouds

box 3, folder 9

Sketches - Cubes/Boxes

box 3, folder 10

Sketches - Figures

box 3, folder 11

Sketches - Notes

box 3, folder 12

Sketches - Religious

box 3, folder 13

Sketches - Vessels

box 3, folder 14

Assorted sketches, notes, lists

box 3, folder 15

Sketches

box 3, folder 16

Sketches

box 3, folder 17

Sketches

box 3, folder 18

Sketches

box 3, folder 19

Sketches

box 3, folder 20

Sketches

box 3, folder 21

Sketches

box 3, folder 22

Sketches

box 3, folder 23

Sketches

box 3, folder 24

Sketches

box 3, folder 25

Sketches

box 3, folder 26

Sketchbooks

box 3, folder 27

Sketchbook

 

Series 4. Exhibitions

Scope and Contents

Contains promotional materials, catalogs, etc.
box 4, folder 2

Exhibition lists and invoices 1949-1989

box 4, folder 3

California State Fair 1958-2008 Correspondence 1953-2008

box 4, folder 4

California State Fair Catalogs - 1952, 1958, 1965, 2008 1952-2008

box 4, folder 5

Crocker Art Gallery - California Crafts IV 1965

box 4, folder 6

Crocker Art Museum - Exhuberant Earth 2017

box 4, folder 7

Crocker Art Museum 1971 Promo/catalog 1971-1983

box 4, folder 8

"Ruth Rippon Retrospecive", Fred Ball in Craft Horizons

box 4, folder 9

Rippon, Ruth - CAGA Lecture 1971

box 4, folder 10

Fresno Art Museum 2001-2002

box 4, folder 11

Fresno Art Museum 2002

box 4, folder 12

Memorial Art Gallery 1977

box 4, folder 13

Michael Himovitz Gallery 1990-1991

box 4, folder 14

Exploring Movement: Feminist visions in clay 1995

box 4, folder 15

Lecture notes on "The Lollies" 1960-1989

box 4, folder 16

Exhibition Programs 1947-1987 1947-1987

box 4, folder 17

Exhibition Promos, 1953-1983 1953-1983

box 4, folder 18

Exhibition Promos, 1987-1996 1987-1996

box 4, folder 19

Exhibition Promos, 1997-2016 1997-2016

box 4, folder 20

Exhibition Promos

box 4, folder 21

Photocopies of Exhibition Promos

 

Series 5. Articles and Press

box 4, folder 22

Magazines - Ceramics Monthly - 1957, 1971, 2018 1957-2018

box 4, folder 23

Sacramento Sampler Number 2 1973

box 4, folder 24

2017 PR 2017

box 4, folder 25

Press Articles 1949-1969

box 4, folder 26

Photocopies of Ruth Rippon and her artwork 1955-2003

box 4, folder 27

1971 Exhibition - Press 1971

box 4, folder 28

Articles and Press 1974-1982

box 4, folder 29

Articles and Press 1983-2000

box 4, folder 30

Articles and Press 2002-2016

box 4, folder 31

Photocopies of articles about Ruth Rippon and her artwork with handwritten notes

box 4, folder 32

Articles and Press

 

Series 6. Photographs, Slides, and Negatives

box 4, folder 33

Ruth Rippon, Jack Rippon - High School Portraits, "Twins"

box 4, folder 34

Photos of Ruth Rippon 1943-1987

box 4, folder 35

Photos of Ruth Rippon 1946-1999

box 4, folder 36

Photographs from Ruth Rippon's position as Craft Director at San Francisco Presidio 1954-1955

box 4, folder 37

Photos of Ruth Rippon 1973

box 4, folder 38

Ruth Rippon - Pictures of Artist of the Year Golden Bear Award, August 2008 2008

box 4, folder 39

Photographs of Ruth Rippon

box 4, folder 40

Photos of Ruth Rippon

box 4, folder 41

Photos of Ruth Rippon - Chisel and hammer mallet

box 4, folder 42

Photos of Ruth Rippon - Close-up of hands and potter wheel, "Throwing"

box 5, folder 1

Ruth Rippon and other artists photos (1 of 2) c.1970s

box 5, folder 2

Ruth Rippon and other artists photos (2 of 2) 1928-c.1980s

box 5, folder 3

Paintings c.1980s-1995

box 5, folder 4

Photos from "The Planning and Construction of Phyllis" (Removed from Box 1, Folder 18)

box 5, folder 5

Photos of Sculpture - Blocks

box 5, folder 6

Photos of Sculpture - Bull and People

box 5, folder 7

Photos of Sculpture - Clouds c.1970s-1980s

box 5, folder 8

Photographs - Sculpture - Discs

box 5, folder 9

Photos of Sculpture - Figures c.1980s

box 5, folder 10

Photos of Sculpture - Figures 1980-1987

box 5, folder 11

Photos of Sculpture - Figures c.1980s

box 5, folder 12

Photos of Sculpture - Figures

box 5, folder 13

Photos of Sculpture - Figures, Animals

box 5, folder 14

Photographs - Sculpture - Figures, Blocks

box 5, folder 15

Photographs - Sculpture - Figures and Jars 1970-1987

box 5, folder 16

Photos of Sculpture - Fish, person

box 5, folder 17

Photos of Sculpture with Judeo-Christian themes

box 5, folder 18

Photos - Mother and Children

box 5, folder 19

Sofia Child and Mother Bathers

box 5, folder 20

Photos of Sculpture - Mother and children at the Pavillions

box 5, folder 21

Photos of Sculpture - Plates 1961-1966

box 5, folder 22

Photos of Sculpture - Porcelain

box 5, folder 23

Photos of Sculpture - President Wives Series 1968

box 5, folder 24

Photographs - Sculpture - Various c.1960s-1990s

box 5, folder 25

Photographs - Sculpture - Various 1961-1970

box 5, folder 26

Photos of Sculpture - Various 1963-2000

box 5, folder 27

Photos of Sculpture - Various 1966-c.1980s

box 5, folder 28

Photos of Sculpture - Various c.1970s-2000s

box 5, folder 29

Photos of Sculpture - Various c.1980s

box 5, folder 30

Photos of Sculpture - Various 1996

box 5, folder 31

Photos of Sculpture - Various

box 5, folder 32

Photos of Sculpture - Vessels c.1970s

box 5, folder 33

Photos of Sculpture - Vessels c.1970s

box 5, folder 34

Photographs - Vessels, Porcelain

box 5, folder 35

Photos of Exhibits - "Lollies" Pavillions, Sac. 2008

box 5, folder 36

Photos of Exhibits - "Lollies", Voulkos

box 5, folder 37

Photos Retospective Opening Reception, November 23, 2002 2002

box 5, folder 38

Photos - Sketches, Ceramics, Sculptures - Rio Americano Gallery Flyer

box 5, folder 39

Photographs - Contact Sheets

box 5, folder 40

Slides

box 6, folder 1

Slides removed from Scrapbook pages (Scrapbook 2) 1960

box 6, folder 2

Slides from Scrapbook - "Ruth Rippon Archive Mar 30, 2011" 1964-2003

box 6, folder 3

Negatives

box 6, folder 4

Negatives from Scrapbook Pages (Scrapbook 2) 1990

box 6, folder 5

Negatives from Scrapbook "Ruth Rippon ARchives Mar 30, 2011 1955

 

Series 7. Scrapbooks and Albums

box 6, folder 6

Black Bound Scrapbook (1 of 2) 1961-1965

box 6, folder 7

Black Bound Scrapbook (2 of 2)

box 6, folder 8

Scrapbook Pages (Scrapbook 2) 1954-2003

box 6, folder 9

Scrapbook - "Ruth Rippon Archive Mar 30, 2011" - Front pocket (1 of 3) 1949

box 6, folder 10

Scrapbook - "Ruth Rippon Archive Mar 30, 2011" (2 of 3) 1954-2011

box 6, folder 11

Scrapbook - "Ruth Rippon Archive Mar 30, 2011" (3 of 3) 1970-1998

 

Series 8. Artifacts

box 6, folder 12

Ribbons - 1948-1966 (Ca. State Fair, LA County Fair, Sacramento Co. Fair, Kingsley Art Club) 1948-1966

box 6, folder 13

Prize Ribbons 1957-1965 (CA State Fair, N. CA Art Inc.) 1957-1965

 

Series 9. Oversized

box 6, folder 14

Sketches, Glaze Notes

box 6, folder 15

Sketchbook

box 6, folder 16

Photocopies of Articles about Ruth Rippon and her Artwork 1976-2002

box 6, folder 17

Photocopies of Articles about Ruth Rippon and her Artwork with handwritten notes 1986

box 6, folder 18

11 foamcore pieces with newpaper articles, etc. on them 1974

oversize 1, folder 1

Photo in mat - Ruth Rippon, tool and clay pot, Newspaper article with drawing of Japanese women 1950

oversize 1, folder 2

Flyers and Drawing 1968-1987

oversize 1, folder 3

Newpapers and clippings 1959-2017

 

Series 10. Flat Files

flat_file Flat File, folder 1

Newspapers and articles 1971-2002

flat_file Flat File, folder 2

Poster - Rippon A Retrospective Exhibition. E.B. Crocker Art Gallery/Sacramento. March 6- April 11, 1971 1971