Ingrid, A Self-Fulling Life
by Karen Pecota

Filmmaker Morrisa Maltz is fascinated with artists who are not into fame. By chance Maltz is introduced to 73-year-old Ingrid Gipson, a German immigrant to the United States.

Ingrid is intrigued with stories Maltz wants to tell. It's through the creative craft of filmmaking Ingrid allows Maltz to shadow her for days on end over a two year period while she putters around the house she built with her own two hands. The up-close and personal life of Ingrid which Maltz is allowed entrance, gives the film audience a peak into Ingrid's survival of the fittest way of life she has created. In doing so we learn many things about Ingrid. We learn it is possible to live comfortably in a rural setting surrounded by exquisite nature that our earth provides. It's Ingrid’s' strong heart and joyful soul that sustains her, as well as, exemplifies the choices she has made due to a difficult backstory.

Ingrid and her siblings were raised by a very abusive father. As a member of the German Nazi party her father's violent tendencies were condoned by a culture and government they held allegiance. In 1960, Ingrid married an American soldier and moved to Texas. A far cry from the lush green landscape of good 'ol Germany but Ingrid was grateful to grab onto her dream to discover the beauty of what America could offer her.

Ingrid suffered from two failed marriages but raised two wonderful children while being a successful business woman. Ingrid was a prominent successful fashion designer in Texas in the 1980s. Her designs were celebrated with her own clothing label.

Her intense modern lifestyle was more than she could bare. She needed a place of respite even if it was for a few days at a time. Ingrid invested in property in Oklahoma's countryside and felt compelled to return to the country more than she imagined. As time passed Maltz says, "Ingrid slowly weaned herself off of her former life." She adds, "And, eventually became isolated from her family as she built her home and a new, Walden-like existence."

Like visiting an old soul, Maltz spent over a course of two years filming Ingrid's storytelling of her past and present existence. To come to grips with why she now lives in a remote area of rural Oklahoma far from the bustle of city life over time becomes clear. And, respected. Ingrid's world is one of solitude outside of her animals and close but distant neighbors. Proud of the fact she has built everything we see of her property by her own hands including an animal enclosure of solid rock.  Ingrid loves rocks and uses both big and small to decorate her environment. Maltz's cinematography gives credence to Ingrid's self-made habitat of beauty. It's a portrait of INGRID, A Self-fulling Life.