About William

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Allure: verb, powerfully attract or charm; tempt.

At this point in my life I identify as a self-proclaimed extraordinarily adequate fly fisher and flytier. I have spent many years learning to tie my own flies—learning through mimicry of many well‑known, published fly fishers.

I have come to think of the practice of fly fishing as a form of puppetry. The puppeteer creates the puppet, as object, and then simulates life by imparting life through mimicry in movement, as performance, to engage the audience and convey a message or narrative. 

In fly fishing the audience is not man but beast.

The practice of fly tying is a very repetitive and meditative process.

During these meditative times, I came to the realization that I could combine my art practice with fly tying. My work as an artist has been based in storytelling and theatrical devices. My work of the past and present is performance in nature, presented most often through mechanical reproductions of form through the use of indexical media. 

My objective, in regard to my work as an artist, is to explore my understanding of art making and to critique social constructs often not apparent due to our systemic blindness. 

William Jude Rumley (b. 1957, Minneapolis, Minnesota) moved at age of three to Denver, Colorado. 

Began at Arapahoe Community College studying biology, then transferred to the University of Denver to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography in 1981. While working as a public relations photographer and a full-time professional chef, he suffered a career-interrupting injury while cooking. He then applied and was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Denver. He began using all his past experiences, including working as a chef, performing in theater, and mastering photography and other indexical media. Explored multimedia methods of communication through installation and performance, thematically focused on social constructs. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in 1985 from the University of Denver.

Rumley has exhibited his works and installations nationally in many venues, including the Alternative Art Museum and Amos Eno Gallery in New York City. He was a member and exhibiter at Nexus Foundation for Todays Art and exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, and Moore College of Art. In the Denver area he has exhibited at the Denver Art Museum, Civic Center, University of Colorado-Boulder, Pirate Art Oasis, and the Arvada Center.

Another facet to his work in the arts was his work as an exhibition preparator in Philadelphia at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Fabric Workshop, The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, and the Jewish Museum of American History. And in the Denver area for the Denver Art Museum, and University of Colorado Art Museum. As a preparator, he worked as an artist assistant and fabricated works for for many artist including Chuck Fallen, David Ireland, Ann Hamilton, Louise Bourgeois, and James Turrell.

In addition to his studio practice, Rumley has taught courses in the arts for University of Denver, Denver Art Museum, and Trenton State College. For the last 24 years he has worked for the University of Colorado-Boulder in the Department of Art and Art History as Director of the Woodshop as well as teaching a course in woodworking and museum practices. 

Other practices include horticulture, culinary arts, livestock care, and fly fishing.