NALITY ■

COVER STORY

Ruthie Basham at work

in her Ann Arbor stu

ART AND

FAITH

A personal journey
leads to creating
healing mandalas.

BY SHARON

LUCKERMAN

B

efore going to college,
Ruthie Basham of Ann
Arbor wanted to be a
ballerina. She studied with world-
famous ballerinas like Suzanne
Farrell at the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C., and with
members of the Joffrey Ballet.
But it be came too difficult, she
said, and she gave up the dream.
In the time that followed, her
life felt increasingly empty and

20 • FEBRUARY 2005 • JNPLATINUM

A gift to her grandmother, this mandala is a picture of Ruthie's great-grandmother with flowers her

grandmother loves — and the importance of Judaism to the family in this circle of life.

dry — uninspired — even after
she began to study her other love,
art, as a freshman at the University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
To pull herself from this state of
numbness, she began to meditate
to figure out the meaning of her
existence.
"I believe everyone has a spe-
cial purpose," said Basham, a
warm, statuesque woman.
She just had to find hers, she
said, and she called on God to
guide her hands and fill her with
love and godly energy.
Her spirituality was first nur-
tured as she was growing up.
Raised in a Reform home, her
mother took her to various syna-
gogues, including the Ann Arbor
Chabad House.
"She always said we're all one
and it's important to explore all
aspects of Judaism," said Basham,
who became interested in
Hebrew symbols and mysticism,
like the mystical meaning of
Hebrew letters.
She has been a student of
Kabbalah for several years.
When a friend became ill in
2000, Basham found a direction for
the new art she was exploring. Her
research of sacred symbols led her
to a universal image in all cultures,
the mandala, which means "circle"
in Sanskrit, she said.
"It's a symbol for life," she said.