Wisdom of the Ancestors (1999)

Wisdom of the Ancestors (1999)
Ruth E. Edwards
Cloth bag with painted stone amulet, hand-woven African mudcloth from Mali, containing metal ball bead chain through single-hole punched in cards, with gold talisman hanging. Bag: H145 x W135 mm. Cards: H130 x W76 mm. 30 cards. Eclectic Art and Collections 23 October 2025.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

It appears the African ancestors had some inkling of and ancient words for the USA of 2016 and 2024.

Other expressions remind how best to learn. Others put growing anxieties about information overload in the shade of the ocean-wide context of knowledge.

The earth-tone cards “bound” with a metal ball bead chain and mudcloth bag imbue the thirty wise sayings with a further sense of the “make do” of craft and art, which carries its own wisdom

Further Reading

“Tia Blassingame“. 17 August 2020. Books On Books Collection.

“Sarah Matthews“. Books On Books Collection.

“Arial Robinson“. 15 May 2023. Books On Books Collection.

“Clarissa Sligh“. 2 September 2020. Books On Books Collection.

Center for Books Arts. 2024. “Ruth Edwina Edwards“. Accessed 17 November 2025.

Edwards, Ruth E. 1998. Book.Bronx, New York: Ruth E. Edwards.

Edwards, Ruth E. 1998. Read. Bronx, New York: Ruth E. Edwards.

Edwards, Ruth E. 2008. TITS : The Indignities Thrust upon Sisters. Bronx, New York: Ruthology.

Edwards, Ruth E. 2004. The First One Who …! : An Exhibit of Artists’ Books Paying Tribute to Individuals of African Ancestry Who Did It First! New York: Center for the Book Arts.

Edwards, Ruth E., and Tom Feelings. [2000?] With Care. Bronx, New York: Ruthology.

Litts, Doug. 14 September 2014. “A Visit from Co-op City and an Artists’ Book for the Collection“. Smithsonian Libraries and Archive.