Ruth Clegg selected 2010-2011 Seasons' Pass Artist
“The morning sun lights up the sky and dances on the rocks as glistening waves chase one another onto the seashore by the Point Judith Lighthouse, a beacon of safety for mariners. It’s a New Day, full of energy and expectations. And so it is with blood donors, providing life and hope for blood recipients.”
That’s how Ruth Clegg, fine art photographer, describes the photograph that is now being distributed to frequent donors under the Rhode Island Blood Center’s Seasons’ Pass program.
Clegg’s photograph was unveiled at a press conference March 2, where Kendra Ferreira, a Middletown, RI artist was introduced as the Seasons’ Pass artist for 2011-2012. Ferreira’s work will be unveiled in March 2012. (See Kendra’s story on page 7).
This is the ninth year for a program that has featured some of Rhode Island’s most prominent artists, celebrating life and blood donation through works that have ranged from the late Maxwell Mays’ fictional village of Hope to Anthony Tomaselli’s Waterfire. It’s also a program that has seen the number of four-time-a-year donors increase from some 6,000 to nearly 10,000, and the number of four-time-a-year sponsors more than double.
Prints of original works are distributed to four-time-a-year donors, and framed prints are distributed to four-time-a-year blood drive sponsors. The Seasons’ Pass year runs from March 1 to the last day of February.
Anyone who donated four times or more from March 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011 can pick up their Ruth Clegg photograph at any donor center or blood drive. For a listing of blood drives visit the Blood Center’s web site at www.ribc.org and click on the e-donor section.
Clegg and Ferriera join a distinguished group of Seasons’ Pass artists that include Cindy Kelly of Block Island, the program’s first artist, followed by Maxwell Mays, Richard Benjamin, Harley Bartlett, Domine Vescera Ragosta, Richard Grosvenor and Anthony Tomaselli.
Clegg, of Potowomut, is the second photographer chosen as a Seasons’ Pass artist (Dick Benjamin was the first).
A fine arts graduate from the University of Rhode Island and member of the Providence Art Club, Clegg also teachers photography at Rocky Hill School, and is past president of the Rhode Island and New England Professional Photographers Associations.
An award winning photographer, Clegg has been part of the arts world for more than 30 years, exploring various forms of art, including printmaking, drawing, and painting. Her works, in all forms, have been on display in numerous galleries.
She has attained the highest levels of recognition, attaining the Master of Professional Photography Degree and Certification as a Professional Photographer four years ago, a designation that is reserved for only the top photographers nationally.