Writer, producer, photographer has roots on island

Published 5:00 am Saturday, November 4, 2006

Kathleen Jo Ryan’s family has had roots on Whidbey Island since 1975.

Her parents — John and Edith Ryan — are known to many long-time islanders for their involvement in the Coupeville Lions, Coupeville Town Council and Coupeville Arts Center.

Before the Ryans came to Whidbey, the family lived in northern California where in the mid-1950s Edith helped found a chapter of Easter Seals, a non-profit, community-based health agency “dedicated to helping children and adults with disabilities attain greater independence.”

Because of this, Kathleen and her siblings grew up volunteering in Easter Seals programs and helping special needs kids and adults.

When Kathleen headed to college at Sacramento State University her studies focused on special education and pre-physical therapy requisites. Her minor was in recreation. Ryan interned at FitzSimmons General Hospital in Colorado and worked with amputees returning from the Vietnam War.

She didn’t finish her degree, but this education, along with her childhood days spent helping her mother help others, influenced her life greatly.

Ryan had taken a few art classes throughout the years and after college she picked up a camera.

“No one else saw what I saw and photography was my way of putting that in art,” she said.

Ryan published her first book, “Irish Traditions,” in 1983. She has since published five books, two of which are companion books to each other, one a coffee table photo book called “Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land & Legacy” and its companion, “Deep in the Heart of Texas: Texas Ranchers in Their Own Words.”

“Right to Risk” isn’t her only documentary venture. “Ranching with Charlie Daniels” is a companion video to her book “Ranching Traditions: Living Legacy of the American West.” Most recently, Ryan produced a one-hour companion documentary to her book “Writing Down the River,” which spawned accolades and a traveling photographic exhibit.

In addition to her books, her photography has been exhibited at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, Museum of the American Cowboy and more.

Ryan considers herself more of a producer of books than a writer. She admittingly migrates more to photography as her calling.

“It’s my art. It’s the way God gave me this way of seeing and playing with my art,” she said. “Writing is a necessity and form of communication.”

At age 60, Kathleen Jo Ryan is still a student of life and her craft of photography.

“I’m always learning,” she said.

Her creative goal is to produce photography books that have companion documentaries on television.

“Books have certain substance limitations and documentaries allow for so much action to be shared — they are really complementary to each other,” Ryan said.