Ruth Crittendon

Hello My Name Is...
Ruth Crittendon

             Ruth Crittendon and Melanie Barfield at the 2012 OAEA State Conference

     “All children are artists. The problem is how to keep them that way when they grow up.”

                                                          Pablo Picasso

I teach visual art at Elgin High School and sponsor the EHS Art Club and National Arts Honor Society.  The 2012/2013 school year is my eleventh year at Elgin Public Schools. I started at Elgin Schools teaching both Middle School and High School Art.  Four years ago, because of the growth of Elgin Schools, a Middle School teacher was added and I now teach only High School Art.

As an art teacher, I like to introduce my students to famous artists, both past and present, museums and art galleries, and new skills and techniques. I love to hear students say, “I didn’t know I could draw!”  Yearly art class activities include the Comanche County Fair, the Oklahoma Regional Scholastic Art Competition, Young Talent in Oklahoma, the Chalk Art Festival at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, poster contests, Youth Arts Month activities in March, art displays at local businesses, and field trips to area museums and art festivals.  The main event during the first semester is the Empty Bowls Dinner.  The community purchases clay bowls handcrafted by the students and receive a free meal with the proceeds going to hunger relief.  The highlight of the year is the Annual Student Art Show and Opening Reception.  Work by every student artist is on display for two weeks in the High School Library.  Awesome work by awesome students!   

I feel it is important to know which special exhibitions are on tour at the museums in OKC,
Tulsa, Dallas, and Fort Worth.  With that information, I schedule field trips and often arrange for students to accompany me when I visit museums.  Van Gogh, Chihuly, the Temples and Tombs of Ancient Egypt, Botero, J.M.W. Turner, Roman Art from the Louvre, and The King Tut Exhibition are just a few  of the many exhibitions we have visited. 

In 2006, I was honored to be chosen as one of 40 for the Teacher Institute: Dutch Art in the Golden Age held by the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, D.C.  The best part of my trip was being able to look and look and look at paintings I have only seen in books, especially those by Johannes Vermeer.  I am an active member of both the National and Oklahoma Art Education Association.  
In 2009, I received the Secondary Art Educator of the Year Award from the Oklahoma Art Education Association. 

I grew up in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas and graduated from Walnut Ridge High School in 1973.  I graduated in 1977 from the Memphis College of Art, Memphis, Tennessee, where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting.  I received my teacher certification from Arkansas State University.

I taught Middle School Art for one year at Forrest City, Arkansas before marrying Donny Crittendon, my husband of 33 years  We moved to Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, California.  While he finished Graduate School, I taught Art and English for two years at Trinity Christian High School.  We then spent eight years in San Andreas, California.  During that time, Donny was the pastor of First Baptist Church and I was a substitute teacher, the Activity Director of a convalescent hospital, a counselor at Oakendell Boys Home, and a stay-at-home mom.

I love having an empty nest after raising five daughters, ages 22-27.  I have three grandchildren, Haylee, Holden, and James.  My husband pastors First Baptist Church in Gracemont.  Mission trips are an important part of my life and have included Romania, Hungary, Mexico, Indiana, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and California.  Besides spending time with family and church activities, I enjoy reading, music, visiting friends and extended family, and going to art exhibits and museums.