Ruby Porter

ARTIST STATEMENT

Photography This body of photography work is a retrospective look at my photography dating back 10+ years. Most of my work at that point was commercial portraiture of people or domesticated animals. These particular photos are of the natural world that surrounded me. Many times I would give myself an assignment; go out and find 3 moving objects to photograph, or hunt butterflies for the next 3 hours. At the time these assignments meant I got to play and be creative in my artwork and develop new skills within photography. Even though I took several photography classes in collage, digital photography allowed me to open up a whole new world where I could explore what I saw through the camera without having to come up with money or process film. When I was asked to do this show and I started to look back at my past work, I discovered new meanings to many of my pictures. Within the last few years I have explored my gender expression and the further I get in my transition the more I see subconscious signs and symbolism within my artwork and life that may have pointed me in the direction of my authentic self. I often grieve the within this show directly represent metamorphosis, hidden communities, beauty in nature and the more feminine side of myself that was not accepted within my life at the time.

Sculpture The sculptures in this show I created over 20 years ago. At that time I was exploring any and all media within the arts and found myself spending many months carving stone, cutting metal and welding. I was also very productive within 2D painting and drawing and at one point had a two car garage filled to the ceiling with work. I unfortunately lost most of my work and almost everything I owned due to hurricane Katrina. The water level was over the roof of my house for 4 full weeks. I returned about 6-7 weeks after the storm to find most all my work was unsalvageable and literally smelled of sewage. These sculptures and just 1 encaustic painting survived. It is interesting to me now that when I look at this work it represents me not being able to be myself and represents grounded, heavy and flightless birds, a symbol of resurrection and a figurative stone sculpture with both masculine and feminine sides that I molded freely without any real plan.

BIO

Ruby Porter Ruby Porter grew up in New Orleans. She majored in Fine Arts at Delgado Community College and explored many visual artistic mediums. When starting collage she focused on technical illustrations, photography and figure drawing. However, as her experience grew she was drawn more toward abstract expressionism through painting, stone carving, and creative welding. She was fairly successful in feeding herself through commissioned artwork for a few years before switching her major to science in pursuit of becoming a veterinarian. She did not end up going to veterinary school but did become one of the first 30 people in the nation to become certified in canine physical therapy from the University of Tennessee in 2003. Due to this being a very new medical field she needed to market it on her own to support herself. She never stopped making art and brought her skills as a photographer and story teller to the world of veterinary specialization through marketing. Having a vast knowledge base in veterinary pathology and treatments, as well as a skill set to communicate stories of survival allowed her success at any hospital she worked at. She also became very popular within the field for her creative approach to canine exercise and for developing the first progressive exercise program taught through positive reinforcement training. She marketed this program using patients she would treat, creating short films mimicking the "Hero's Journey". These short films generally focused on paralyzed patients that she would help to walk again using her exercise program. She says that these patients were the easiest to empathize with as she felt emotionally paralyzed for the majority of her life expressing a masculine gender. After 23 years of being "married" to the veterinary clinic life she left the clinic to pursue a specialized marketing career. She now works from home, giving her the freedom to explore her gender, engage with her community and make art as she pleases. She is part of Queer Northshore's production committee and recently created the iconographic, bigger than life, Pelican that led the Northshore's first ever Pride parade on the Mandeville lakefront. Her future aspirations for her art are to create a series of multimedia 2D work expressing her vulnerability and struggles transitioning in today's heated political climate.