Ramona Otto retired from being a full-time teacher of gifted children at a private school seven years ago. Otto, now a self-taught artist, starts with a concept then a search for vintage treasures at flea markets, yard sales, and antique shops. Collecting the materials for each themed piece often takes many years and provides her with many “thrill of the hunt” moments. Otto loves a treasure hunt: the preparation, organization, and research involved in searching for hidden gems, the thrill of finding the unexpected, and the payoff of completing a time-consuming endeavor.
Ramona’s studio contains several “cabinets of wonder” to keep everything organized. It is a time-consuming endeavor to put all her finds into the proper place and prepare the items to become art material. When she works on a “bling” piece, Otto surrounds herself with piles of jewelry with a combination of infinite possibilities. Searching for pieces with the right shape to convey the right idea is very much like completing a puzzle without a picture to guide her. “I love including “Easter eggs” within the design which are hidden images and messages placed within the object to be discovered for the pleasure of those with expert knowledge. I include references to culture, literature, patriotism, spirituality, and social commentary. Each time I find something that will work perfectly, my heart skips a beat”.
Otto learned about making “things out of things” from her father. While growing up on a farm in a family of Iowa Quakers, money was always tight. Out of necessity, her dad became a farm “MacGyver”, fixing broken farm equipment with whatever he could find in his scrapheap. He also was a folk artist. He would make letters out of old horseshoes, turn old pieces of wood on his lathe to make small pieces of furniture, and make little sculptures with his welder. His garage workshop was where Otto learned to use found objects and where she developed a sense of responsibility to rescue old things and give them a new life.
The inspiration for Otto’s artwork is based on stories, themes, family adventures, and word play. Otto makes pieces that she would want in her own home. Often, personal items are included in the materials so that the art becomes a scrapbook of her nostalgic memories.
Since becoming a full-time artist, Otto has had several solo shows and participated in numerous group shows. In 2022, her work earned the Lubbock Arts Festival a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts for exceptional work. Otto recently debuted her latest work, Holy Cow: Pray for Peaceful Co-Existence, at the 2023 LA Art Show. It was featured in the Argonaut: News and Culture and was one of 5 works highlighted in the press from the LA Art Show.