About Me

About me - Kate Ruof

I’m a mineral collector living in Lancaster County, PA. I’ve been collecting minerals for most of my life, and I’ve also been kind of obsessed with geometry and three dimensional forms. Long before I started making wood crystal models, I was making representations of mathematical and geometrical forms out of whatever materials I could. Here are some examples made of stained glass and card stock.

So I think it’s safe to say I’d be collecting minerals and making some kind of geometrical models no matter what, but I’ve had the good fortune to cross paths with two exceptional people who made the crystal models shown on this page possible.

The first of these people is Dr. Stephen A. Kirsch, a retired geologist who lives nearby. I met him when I was in 7th grade, volunteering at our local natural history museum, and he’s been teaching me mineralogy and crystallography ever since. Steve is a born teacher as well as an expert in crystallography, and without the time and patience he expended on me as a middle and high-schooler, I could never have hoped to work out the angles and measurements needed for models of complex crystals. Steve is a prolific model maker himself, and he’s pictured below with some of his crystal models. We’re great friends to this day, and there’s nothing I like better than getting together to discuss our latest ideas for crystal models.

The second person who made these crystal models possible is my father-in-law, Steve Ruof. He’s a talented woodworker with an interest in challenging geometrical forms and puzzles. Over the years, I watched him make wood puzzles, marble ramps, geometrical art inspired by M. C. Escher, tensegrity structures, and more. But when he started making wooden models of the Archimedian solids, I had to ask him to teach me how. He’s the inventor of the bevelling technique I use, one that allows me to achieve the accuracy I need when cutting the precise angles required. I knew nothing about woodworking until he began teaching me, and I’m forever thankful for his ingenuity, creativity, and patience. Here he is at work on one of his large-scale mathematical shapes, and standing with me in front of the wooden mathematical models he made. You can read more about the handbag he made for me here.

So the story about how I came to be making wood crystal models is really a story about the people I’ve met along the way. I’ve singled out the two whose arcane knowledge made my models possible, but there are others as well. Foremost among these is my husband, Jarrett Ruof. The more complicated my models become, and the more problems I must solve to bring them to life, the more thankful I am for his assistance and support. He seems to know about every commercially available tool or product that could be used to make specialized jigs and fixtures, and if something isn’t available he’ll machine the part himself. Add to that his consistent support, enthusiasm, and curiosity about a subject that - I’m told - many people find dry and difficult, and he’s the perfect collaborator.

If you’ve somehow managed to read all this and would still like to know more about me, you can look up my Artist Profile in the magazine Rocks and Minerals, vol. 100 (2025), issue #3.