News, In the News | January 2011
Old Lafayette: Popular artist had 'exotic' workroom Recollections of Sister Rufinia still rolling in
Old Lafayette: Popular artist had 'exotic' workroom
Recollections of Sister Rufinia still rolling in
Bob Kriebel
Memories of Lafayette art teacher Sister Mary Rufinia (1881-1959) still arrive since Old Lafayette told about her several weeks ago.
Typical is this e-mail from Sue Wilde down in Athens, Ga.
"I grew up in Lafayette and West Lafayette," Wilde's message began. "My parents are John and Mary Ruth Graham at University Place.
"My father sent me the Old Lafayette stories that mentioned the art museum's interest in contacting Sister's old students. I was one, on Saturday mornings.
"I graduated from West Lafayette High School in 1961, so perhaps I stopped going to her class when I started high school.
"Those classes were an important part of my childhood, and I credit Sister Rufinia with nourishing my interest in art.
"I received a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking from Miami University and a master of fine arts in ceramics from the University of Georgia. My parents have at least one, possibly two, paintings that I did during my time with Sister Rufinia.
"That may be something the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette would want to have for the 2011 show it is putting together. However, much of the paint on those canvases is Sister Rufinia's work, not mine. She had a habit of painting directly on our canvases to demonstrate how we could improve.
"The photo of Sister in Old Lafayette surprised me because it showed her as a young woman. When I first met her she must have been around 70, which seemed very old to me at the time!
"She also was one of the first people I ever met who spoke with an accent. She was German, wasn't she? I remember her as a no-nonsense woman who insisted that we concentrate on our work, and pay close attention to the still life we were painting. We weren't there to play!
"The workroom was large with a wall of windows to one side. There were signs hanging that said 'Stop, look, think.' The room was full of plaster casts, stuffed birds and the like, all of which felt very exotic to me. Behind the main classroom were her private quarters, which we seldom saw. I think classes lasted three hours with a break halfway through.
"During the break, Sister would drop down a small hinged table that separated the classroom from her back room, and sell us snacks, like candy bars. We usually sat outside the classroom on some steps during the break.
"There was also another room nearby that was a gallery of her work. That room was usually locked; but occasionally she would take us in there and show us the paintings to demonstrate some point or other. As a young girl, those large paintings inspired me with awe!
"Thanks for writing about Sister Rufinia. The articles have taken me back to a place in time that I haven't thought about in years!"
Wilde provides the e-mail address suewilde@hotmail.com
Kriebel may be contacted at 30 Wildcat Bluffs Road, Lafayette, IN 47905-8449; e-mail tejas30@aol.com