Ross Zirkle

Today, as the rains and thunder return and it finally seems to turn to spring, I find out that Ross Zirkle has passed away.

When I took Figure Drawing at the University of Kentucky, he was a new teacher there. Unlike the previous figure drawing teacher, who a friend of mine said liked to pressure the students to conform to a certain style, Ross brought models into our class and encouraged us to use the opportunity to study the human figure and make art. This was wonderful and extremely different than other teachers from before. I later took a printmaking class he taught and he introduced us to waterless lithography (part of his desire to reduce the amounts of toxic materials used in the art making process). He was one of my favorite teachers and I admired him greatly for his way of teaching and his insight.

I visited UK for a figure drawing class last spring and hunted him down in his studio space after the class was over. As I was telling him about how my life was, he lamented when I said I had lost my creativity somewhere and I wasn't really making art any more. It set in me the desire to pursue art more diligently again. I'm still working on that, as it is something I really want to do.

So, good luck on your journey Ross. I'm sorry the end full of pain and suffering and that you are leaving so many who love you behind. You were a wonderful, gentle and dynamic person and I'm glad to have known you and I will do my best to help your spirit live on in others.

Herald-Leader article
Blog about his fight with cancer