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MARY MICHELE RUTHERFURD has an extensive background in astrology and comparative religion.
She was exposed to a broad and worldly education from an early age. Her first school was the Ecole Francaise on East 61st in Manhattan which had an international student body. At nine years old Mary Michele was in school in Gstaad, Switzerland, while her parents were immersed in the studies of Hinduism, Vedanta and Carl Jung. On vacations in NYC she attended lectures of Krishnamurti and movement classes in the Gurdjieff work. Her next stop in NYC was at the Rudolf Steiner School. Steiner produced an alternative educational system in the 1930’s in Germany. Having studied Eastern Philosophies, he believed in inspirational exercises such as color therapy and interpretive body movements, he called Eurythmy. Her summer vacations were spent at “Les Chalets Francais” in Deer Isle, Maine. There she was able to keep her fluency in French active and also study Ballet with Audrey Estey of the Princeton Ballet Company. Her secondary education was completed at Wykeham Rise in Washington,CT. Wykeham was another experimental system whose charter proposed to expose it’s students to an equal measure of standard courses and an introduction to the arts. For eight weeks each student was immersed in one area of the arts including creative writing, music, dance, theater and fine art. |
Mary MIichele Rutherfurd is a
metaphysical consultant |
Attending the Sorbonne, the school of literature at the University of Paris was complimented by yoga classes with Swami Satchidananda, a personal introduction to the way of the Sufi by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, cooking classes with the “Mapie” the Comtesse Toulouse Lautrec at the restaurant Maxim’s and numerous lectures at the Musee des Arts Decoratif, the Comedie Francaise, and the palace at Versailles.
After a brief stint at a desk job at CBS in the public relations department Mary Michele was accepted at the Ford Modeling Agency in NYC. For ten years she worked in Europe and NYC, traveling to the Far East, the Soviet Union, and the United Arab Emirates. She worked for every major magazine such as Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Glamour. She worked steadily for the catalogue companies such as JC Penny, McCalls, Sears, and Vogue Patterns. She did TV commercials for Frito Lay, Listerine, and Arrowsmith shirts in the United States, and others in Europe and the Far East. In London she was the face of Miss Selfridge’s, performed on the runway and helped choreograph Fashion shows at the Royal College of Art.
Along the way Mary Michele studied acting with a variety of wonderful teachers. One of the most memorable was William Hickey at the Herbert Bergof Studio. She appeared on Broadway in the dramatic play “Wings” by Arthur Kopit. It explored the consciousness of a stroke patient. She continued to take classes and workshops in metaphysics, comparative religion and philosophy. Among her inspiring teachers were Jungian analyst James Hillman, John Michell and Keith Crichlow on Sacred Geometry, and John Anthony West on the Great Pyramid. She studied Astrology with Zoltan Mason of magically playful Mason’s Bookshop at 789 Lexington Ave in Manhattan.
At the end of her modeling career Mary Michele again became involved in Public Relations. She helped promote restaurants, nightclubs, and entertainers; including Stevie Wonder, Richard Gere and The Tibetan Ghyuto choir at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in NYC.
For two years Mary Michele had a simulcast radio/TV talk show in Westchester NY. The show was called “Taking Time” The concept was how do we take time to “be” with ourselves. Her guests included a Lutheran minister, a Zen priest, a Native American teacher, a Celtic shaman and a dance and yoga teacher. During this same period she had a live call-in Astrology program at Martin Stone’s WVIP, MT Kisco, NY
Mary Michele has worked in the charitable world as well. She has been a volunteer at the Lighthouse for the Blind in NYC, The Whitney Museum in NYC. Most recently in Miami, she volunteered at the Miami City Ballet and WLRN’s Radio Reading Service. While serving on the Board of Art In Public Places in Miami, she met Lea Nickless, right hand to Mitchell Wolfson, founder of the Wolfsonian Museum. Mary Michele helps Lea catalog Micky’s intriguing homage to propaganda.
Mary Michele is also involved with the Morton Library and Community Center in Rhinecliff NY. As a great granddaughter of former Vice President Levi P. Morton, she cherishes his accomplishments, particularly having accepted the Statue of Liberty from the French while he was serving as Minister there. A video biography of Levi P. Morton appears below.
After a brief stint at a desk job at CBS in the public relations department Mary Michele was accepted at the Ford Modeling Agency in NYC. For ten years she worked in Europe and NYC, traveling to the Far East, the Soviet Union, and the United Arab Emirates. She worked for every major magazine such as Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Glamour. She worked steadily for the catalogue companies such as JC Penny, McCalls, Sears, and Vogue Patterns. She did TV commercials for Frito Lay, Listerine, and Arrowsmith shirts in the United States, and others in Europe and the Far East. In London she was the face of Miss Selfridge’s, performed on the runway and helped choreograph Fashion shows at the Royal College of Art.
Along the way Mary Michele studied acting with a variety of wonderful teachers. One of the most memorable was William Hickey at the Herbert Bergof Studio. She appeared on Broadway in the dramatic play “Wings” by Arthur Kopit. It explored the consciousness of a stroke patient. She continued to take classes and workshops in metaphysics, comparative religion and philosophy. Among her inspiring teachers were Jungian analyst James Hillman, John Michell and Keith Crichlow on Sacred Geometry, and John Anthony West on the Great Pyramid. She studied Astrology with Zoltan Mason of magically playful Mason’s Bookshop at 789 Lexington Ave in Manhattan.
At the end of her modeling career Mary Michele again became involved in Public Relations. She helped promote restaurants, nightclubs, and entertainers; including Stevie Wonder, Richard Gere and The Tibetan Ghyuto choir at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in NYC.
For two years Mary Michele had a simulcast radio/TV talk show in Westchester NY. The show was called “Taking Time” The concept was how do we take time to “be” with ourselves. Her guests included a Lutheran minister, a Zen priest, a Native American teacher, a Celtic shaman and a dance and yoga teacher. During this same period she had a live call-in Astrology program at Martin Stone’s WVIP, MT Kisco, NY
Mary Michele has worked in the charitable world as well. She has been a volunteer at the Lighthouse for the Blind in NYC, The Whitney Museum in NYC. Most recently in Miami, she volunteered at the Miami City Ballet and WLRN’s Radio Reading Service. While serving on the Board of Art In Public Places in Miami, she met Lea Nickless, right hand to Mitchell Wolfson, founder of the Wolfsonian Museum. Mary Michele helps Lea catalog Micky’s intriguing homage to propaganda.
Mary Michele is also involved with the Morton Library and Community Center in Rhinecliff NY. As a great granddaughter of former Vice President Levi P. Morton, she cherishes his accomplishments, particularly having accepted the Statue of Liberty from the French while he was serving as Minister there. A video biography of Levi P. Morton appears below.
