inez biography March 1st 1920- March 12th 2010

Born: March 1st 1920. Raised in the White Oak Hills of Oklahoma with the Loyalist division of the Shawnee tribe. Her father was James Scott and her mother named Ersey.  Inez had two brothers, Freddy and Marvin.

 Children: Jimmy born July 11th 1938 (deceased 1945, age 7, when Inez was 24 years old, from accidental electrocution), Judy born about 1939, and Gary born July 7th 1947, and Robin born March 9th 1949.

1937: Married Richard Harold Henson.

1952: Moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Inez was a prolific potter and painter. Associated Artist of Philbrook Museum for 10 years, eventually becoming president of the association.

1960: Opened her first gallery “The Id Gallery” on Carson St. in Tulsa, OK.  She used a pallet knife to apply paint. Folk musicians, other artists, and poets were attracted to her gallery and set up an artist community in her neighborhood. This was the beginning of what came to be known as “Little Bohemia” art district, also known as the “Greenwich Village” of Tulsa, OK. About two years later she opened her second gallery, the “Persimmon Seed Gallery” on Carson St. in Tulsa, OK. Then she closed it and opened her third gallery.

1963: Inez made friends with some circus clowns and this began an annual interaction when the circus came to town. They let her draw and photograph them in their private quarters. Unfortunately, a photo of only one of the paintings remains (see below), and none of the photographs.

1968: The third gallery was “The Beginning Art Gallery” on 15th Street in Tulsa, OK. Inez was a staunch supporter of Civil Rights and Equality.  

1970-72: The fourth gallery was “The Raven Gallery” on La Cieniga Boulevard in north Hollywood, CA. 

1973: She re-opened the “Persimmon Seed Gallery” on Carson Street. in Tulsa, OK.

1986: Inez left Tulsa, OK. She sold her beloved two story craftsman house in downtown Tulsa, OK, where she had lived, worked and raised her children for almost 30 years. We all lived upstairs and the entire first floor was her “Persimmon Seed” art gallery. After her divorce in 1968, she became solely responsible for maintaining the property, the gallery business and life as an independent woman artist. It was during this period that silversmithing became another economic lifeline for her survival, adding to her pottery and many other multi artistic talents. By the mid 1980s, in her mid 60s, she grew tired of the enormous challenges she had to face as an independent business owner and artist. She also wanted to help her mother and father, now in their 90s and living in Chelsea, Oklahoma. 

1994: Inez moved to Chelsea, Oklahoma, joining her brother Freddie and his wife Kay in taking care of their parents. After her mother passed away and her dad went to the Veterans home, she opened her final gallery in downtown Chelsea, “Running-rabbit Arts” gallery in Chelsea, Oklahoma, which she closed in 2005 at the age of 85.

2006: Inez moved in with her youngest son Robin, and his wife , Susannah, who lived in Jenks, Oklahoma. She remained with them until her passing. 

Died: March 12th, 2010, aged 90.  She is buried in RollingOaks Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma (see image below). Her last words were “I’m feeling good. I’ll be all right. I think people have such a hard time in life because they don’t understand how good they really are.  Seems to me I’m understanding really well."  

Prolific Artist: Inez Running-rabbit was completely self taught.  It is estimated that, during her lifetime, Inez produced over 20,000 pieces of artwork. Her works include paintings, pastels, drawings, watercolors, silk screens, woodblocks, sculptures, beadwork (including bone beads, seed beads, metal beads, and thousands of clay beads totalling over 1,000,000), embroidery, quilts, clay pottery, jewelry, fetishes, dolls, leatherwork, silversmith, mosaic and volumes of poetry and more.