LaMonte Sculptor Honored
Sedalia Democrat

     Elizabeth Ritter, a Raku and bronze sculptor from LaMonte, received the Popular Choice Award at the 2004 American Academy of Equine Art in Lexington, KY.
    She also received best in show in the Western Spirit Show at the Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY, in February. In conjunction with the Western Spirit Show, Ms. Ritter's work is on view in the Award Winners Invitational Show at the Old West Museum along with four other artist selected by the museum.
    A Raku horse she created is scheduled to be place in permanent collection at the Plains Museum in Lincoln, NB< during 2005. It is part of a Plains Art Collection owned and donated by pastel artist Mark Moseman of Kansas City.

Fine Equine
Series of horse sculptures earns artist awards

By Ron Jennings
Sedalia Democrat

     LaMonte artist Libby Ritter is not just a horse artist; rather she's a prize-winning equine sculptor and ceramist.
     No prizes have meant more to her than winning best-of-show and best sculpture awards at the Western Spirit Art Show and Sale in March at the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyo.
     Her multi-honored entry was "Brabant," a 14-by-28-by-26-inch raku-fired ceramic sculpture of a massively muscled draft horse. Brabant is the name of a European breed.
     A record 153 artists entered 482 pieces, and 270 of those competed in this year's show. Ms. Ritter, a first-time entrant, received a $1,000 best-of-show prize and $400 for best sculpture. She also had five other pieces accepted for the show.
     "To win at this high level, I was really thrilled," said Ms. Ritter, who described herself as "63 going on 12."
     Robin Laws, of Cheyenne, bought the sculpture for $1,000.
     I think I got a bargain, and I'm going to keep it out where I can see it every day. I just love it," Ms. Laws said in a phone interview. She also had six bronze equine art pieces in the show. "It (Brabant) just took my breath away. To me, it shows strength, but also kindness. It is just striking."
     A former public school art instructor for three decades, Ms. Ritter has been sculpting for 20 years, the past 12 in a teaching studio three miles south of La Monte. She said those seeking purity in her non-commissioned works will have to look elsewhere. While they are representational, they are not true-to-scale.
     "I've been helped by ceramic artists Jeff Walker, Paul Allen and Alan Weaver...plus I've had the pleasure of being influenced by the wonderful collection of ceramic pieces contained in the beautiful Daum Museum of Contemporary Art," Ms. Ritter said.
     They key word is "contemporary."
     The prize-winning piece is only one in a series of horse sculptures in what she calls her "Da Vinci" line of ceramic equine art that she started about a year ago.
     The steeds in the series "are not necessarily anatomically" proportioned, Mrs. Ritter said, but "are sculpted in a more contemporary style to catch their attitudes ad gestures."
     A Da Vinci horse won honorable mention last year at the Missouri State Fair "Top 50" art show. Another entrant, Mark Moseman, bought the piece for $800.
     He is a collector of art of the American plains," Ms. Ritter said. "It is now on display at the Great Plains Art Collection at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln."
     Ms. Ritter also does commissioned works in bronze and ceramics. One of her favorites is at Central Missouri State University. Dedicated eight years ago, it is a 6-foot-tall bronze statue of a sitting coed.
    Ms. Ritter, who grew up loving horses, also raises Fox Trotters on her eight acres. She's had as many as six at one time, but she's now down to two. Her herd of Da Vinci’s, however, stands at seven and shows no sign of stopping.
     "I really love sculpting them," she said. "Each one has its unique characteristics."

2-April-04