Category: Studio Visit

New Art, New Show: Ancient Earth Inspirations

#Earthartist, ancient-pictographs, New Works, Studio Visit, Visual Art

Hello!

It has been a long while…With the New Year, family obligations and Art demands, it has taken me needed time to sort through the challenges, Art studio fun and the care of my-self.  As we are well into 2026, my hope is that all is well with you, family and life.  For me I feel I am discovering new possibilities in my Art endeavors.  Already this year, I am finding, processing and developing new pigments and raw clays which lead to exciting explorations in Art. Two pit-fires and several paintings later my creative means are expanding.  I LOVE what I do! It brings me such joy to share what I do to make pigments, to paint and to build with raw clays.

If you are at all interested in joining me in gathering, processing or using raw clays and pigments in Art, please let me know. Send me an email for yourself or even a small group and we can put together some dates. June through October are good months.* 

*I plan to do two more pit-fires in April-May weather permitting…that is rain and wet weather are best! …And to do some clay and pigment gathering and processing, too.

Here are some possible dates:  April 11, 12 or 18, 19 or 25, 26 or May 2, 3 or 9, 10 or 16, 17.

gathering clay
grind
process
water drains
raw clay
pigment making
pit fire
smoldering and smoking

Mark Your Calendar!

April 4, 2026: Opening Reception “Ancient Earth Inspirations” at Piper J Gallery at 10250 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, California; 4-7 pm.  I will have a demonstration and a brief talk at 5 pm. Please come and enjoy an evening of Art, refreshment, and engagement with the artist. This exhibition will be up April 3 – 29.

February 2026 Wild and Scenic Film Festival and Art Exhibition: “Best in Theme” Diptych (two 36 x 48″ paintings put together as one “And Bear Will Lead them”.

Open Studios Tour: October 10, 11 and 17, 18

Always, ENJOY! Jennifer

Open Studios Tour: Nevada County West, CA. 2025

#Earthartist, ancient-pictographs, New Works, Studio Visit, Visual Art

Opening Reception: October 2, Thursday 5-7 pm

At Center for the Arts, Granucci Gallery, 314 West Main St. Grass Valley, CA 95945, 530-274-8384; thecenterforthearts.org or follow on Instagram @OpenStudiosNevCoWest

Exhibition at the Granucci Gallery is on display September 26 – October 20, 2025 Hours: Tuesday – Friday 12 pm – 5 pm. Come preview artists’ work to help plan your day. Open Studio Guidebooks are available here or at my studio.

Tour Dates: Two weekends, October 11, 12, 18 & 19, 11 am to 5 pm, tour number 39.

The Big News… A new Art studio! Yes, I have moved into a different space, mainly to maneuver the larger paintings. The studio is still at our home as well as our in-house Art Gallery, but is now located through the second gate entrance off Spring Road in a separate building. I look forward to sharing my new Art space.

I’ll have demonstrations on processing and mixing minerals and ochres into paints, preparing wood canvasses, and painting. New works are in the Gallery.

Please come join the fun, enjoy Art, meet new artists and visit some regulars.

In Joy, Jennifer

“Ravens Too” 18×18″ at the Granucci Gallery.

Save The Date! Open Studios 2021

Studio Visit

Open Studio Tour 2021 is HERE!


Wow! It is wonderful to have the opportunity to share my Art space once again. I have been able to exhibit my work and interact with people with the Covid mandates in place through Galleries, exhibitions and group shows. This year Art will be displayed outside in our garden and among our trees of the forest. The Pit Fire is quiet for now as we are still in “fire season”, but is open to viewing along with demonstrations in painting with natural pigments, the processes I use, and the exciting advances made with my sculptures. You are welcome to tour the Art, ask questions, and enjoy the atmosphere.

New works stem from the theme “Unmasked: Becoming Visible.” The process of my art is one of being unmasked and becoming visible. I Am an Earth Artist and so I collect, study and prepare minerals from the earth to make paints for my artwork. These ochres are ground, mixed with walnut oil and softened beeswax, and the true colors become visible. Charcoal graces the panel as figures of ancient animals emerge along with signs and symbols of early languages. The ochres refine and define the whispers from the Ancestral winds that the earth has experienced before, a past that belongs to us.

Unmasked are the deeper meanings and mysteries of the Ancients which appear in the images that become visible. As a lifelong artist and my relentless interest in historical roots, digging into the ancient past has led me on an intriguing journey to uncover forgotten times, stories and paths. These mysteries reveal clear intelligence and spiritual practices through their art and signs; these become visible through inspirations that emerge from and into my Art. The signs of the past become the visible signs of now.

Please join me for the the 2nd and 3rd weekends in October
for Nevada County’s Open Studio Tour.


See you in the garden!

Studio Tour 2020

Features & Fanfare, Studio Visit

Here it is! This year’s Fall Open Studios is a bit different, but full of spectacular art and phenomenal artwork by 75 artists. Come enjoy an outdoor walk around Art. I will be hosting Art in the Garden at my studio. I’ll be introducing new art works both in natural mineral paints and in clay sculpture with demonstrations of my processes. 

https://thecenterforthearts.org/event/open-studios/

October 10, 11, 17, 18, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am – 5 pm

Granucci Gallery at Center for the Arts showcases artwork from all artists on Main St. Grass Valley, California and has free guide booklets with maps to the studios. A virtual gallery of artists’ videos are available online!

Jennifer Rugge #21

Opening reception October 8, 5 – 7 pm RSVP required

Health codes by Nevada County are mandatory. 

From my Studio

Studio Visit

Another update is underway during these stay-at-home orders —

The Art council here in Nevada County has asked for photos, videos, or poetry/stories of where you spend most of your time during this “stay at home” policy in California. In my studio, at home is where I spend most of my time…preparing, thinking, creating inspirationally… in paintings, writing and sculpting. Enjoy the journey life sets before you. Enjoy!

Workshops!

Studio Visit

Oh how I love to do workshops! I meet so many interesting and enthusiastic people loving art and different art techniques. I love the sharing and connections everyone makes.

Workshop6

Recently I invited a few artist friends over who wanted to learn how to apply gold leaf into artwork. I was looking forward to working with them. Yet I discovered a dynamic that was different from other workshops. In doing these I get a lot of questions, interactions and discussions occurring around my demonstrations.

There was one woman and the rest men in this group. It was so silent, I began to feel nervous. Wow! That was something I didn’t expect! I had to laugh at the situation. My only female artist made a Workshop4JPGcomment that went into answering a question she had for clarification and assurance of the process. During this, one male artist even turned his back, did some more work on his art piece while glancing back over his shoulder so as not to seem too rude. At first it would seem it was just the difference between males and females, but I began to realize it was the artists attending. All the men were accomplished artists. The woman had very little experience painting, let alone, being introduced to gold leaf into an art piece.

Also, the male artists really wanted to get moving along with their art pieces…they knew what they wanted to do. The woman, new to the processes and creatives around her, held her own, one to be admired for her determination to create something different than what she has done before. Altogether, it was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed the varied approaches each applied to their individual pieces and the camaraderie that emerged in the few hours invested in the workshop.

— Upcoming Workshops —

Hat Ranch Workshops

Many Hands Make a Masterpiece

Studio Visit

It was a great time having our Art group come by to visit my studio. We laughed, had wonderful conversations, food and interacted to create an art piece together. We mixed red ochre, yellow ochre, and mica gold as our colors. We used recycled paper on a masonite board, 18 x 24″, for our canvas. Then we went paint-happy on our hands…with gloves, of course. What a bonding experience!