Ruth Ann Howden - Book Text

Ruth Ann Howden

Fine Art

Artist Statement on hand made book

I have long dwelled on my loss of not having a personal connection with my Grandmother who only spoke Norwegian. She was an immigrant pioneer and a survivor. She had nine children, eight who survived infancy. She was a widow at 37, her youngest was two and oldest 15 at the time. She survived the depression keeping her family and farm intact. Self discipline to complete the hard work brought her success; and I suspect that her nightly ritual of brushing her hair 100 strokes was her form of self nurturing that allowed her to maintain her focus. Based on her example I have a daily routine of yoga and drawing before breakfast. I too am a survivor and thank her for helping me find my own path.

Book Text
“Self Discipline – Self Nurturing
Grandmother’s Braid”

She never told me her story: About her childhood in Norway; how she immigrated at the age of sixteen with a sister to North Dakota or how she managed when she became a young widow with eight children aged two to fifteen; I did see the results – her large healthy family and a successful farm; and her beautiful hair that she wore in a tight braid wrapped up in a bun. I loved to watch each night as she brushed it out, then rebraided and wrapped it back into a bun. And I wonder what did she think about each night as she brushed out her hair what memories sustained her all those years?

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