At nearly 90, Marilyn Ritchie lives a life of beauty & artistry
By AMY ROGNLIE | Photos by BECKY STINEHOUR
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing,” Helen Keller once said. At 89 years old, Temple’s own Marilyn Ritchie can attest to the truth of that statement. She has pursued her dreams and goals for decades and she is not done yet. A legend in her own right at the Cultural Activities Center in Temple, Ritchie has launched many an art student into his or her own dreams.
Inspired by her grandmother, an accomplished potter, Ritchie began dabbling in pottery-making as a teenager. After moving to Temple in 1979 with her husband, Ritchie was itching to make pottery again, so she took a few classes at Temple College and has never looked back.
In her long career as a ceramicist, Ritchie taught art at Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Temple for 15 years. She also taught pottery classes at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and served as the art director at the CAC for 25 years. In fact, the art wing at the CAC was named after her several years ago.
“It was quite an honor for them to name the art wing after me when I was retiring,” Ritchie said. “I had taught classes in all of those rooms.”
As art director at the CAC, Ritchie was tasked with creating and installing five art exhibits every six weeks, which entailed locating artists from around the world. She also directed the children’s summer art camps, put on a ceramics conference and taught adult classes, including a kiln-building class. And though she is officially retired, she still teaches weekly pottery classes at the CAC.
“There can’t be too many potters in the world,” Ritchie said with a smile.
Besides passing on her love of ceramics and pottery-making to others, Ritchie has created many stunning pieces in her long career. She has her own studio at her home in West Temple, and is always creating new pieces, many of which she sells at The Hub in Temple. One of her favorite tools is a mold made from the doorknob of her ancestral home in Redlands, California. She uses the mold as a form, making vases and other objects as well as a complete dinner set, all in honor of her father and his branch of her family.
One of her larger projects was a life-size outdoor nativity scene which she constructed from PVC pipes covered with concrete-soaked canvas.
The life-like pieces are displayed at Grace Presbyterian Church during the holiday season. During the pandemic, Ritchie even created communion cups and patens for the congregation at Grace so congregants could celebrate communion at home. In addition, she made kits, complete with clay and instructions, available for parishioners who desired to make their own communion cups.
Ritchie’s latest project is a pumpkin-themed drink set for fall. The carafe is finished, and she is looking forward to making many pumpkin mugs, complete with vine-like handles.
“I like handles with personality.” Ritchie said. “And I love nature, so I try to figure out how things would grow and make them look like that in my work.”
Ritchie’s work has been exhibited at several local art galleries as well as the CAC and is available for purchase at The Hub in Temple. But you might not find her there, because it’s almost her 90th birthday, after all. And rumor has it that she might be suiting up in a sky-diving outfit to celebrate a life full of beauty and adventure.
