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I sometimes say my first art exhibit was in our family’s encyclopedias. There were blank pages, and I thought they needed pictures. I drew all over them. I don’t know that everybody appreciated my choice of canvas, but I knew those pages had possibilities.
My mother always told me my art was a gift from God. When someone plants that in you early, it stays with you. Long before I knew how I would make a living, I knew I had something to share.
I grew up in Cincinnati and received my first professional art training at Aiken High School. They offered commercial art and college preparation, and I wanted both. So I asked. Sometimes you have to ask people to make room for what you see for yourself.
I went on to study art at the University of Cincinnati, served eight years in the United States Air Force Reserve and eventually earned my degree in interdisciplinary studies from National University. In the military, I worked as a graphic technician. My high school training helped open that door. I was creating training materials, displays and other visual work, learning how pictures could help people understand something. That lesson has followed me into just about everything I do.
I married in 1983, and we raised our children together during 35 years of marriage. We divorced in 2018. That chapter is part of my story, too. Being a mother, and now a grandmother, continues to shape how I love, create and show up for others.
Poetry came alongside the pictures. I would be drawing, and words would come. Later, when my nephew died in a fire, I shared my poetry publicly at his funeral. It was a painful beginning, but it helped me understand that words could hold something we didn’t always know how to say.
When I was ready to publish a book, someone told me I didn’t have enough money. I remembered what my mother had taught me about finding a way through obstacles. I kept going. That became part of my life’s work, too: creating something, learning what I needed to learn and taking the next step.
My work with children grew from a visit to my niece’s kindergarten class. I watched their faces as we talked about the art. Their imaginations were wide open. They weren’t worried about giving the perfect answer. They were looking, wondering and making connections. I wanted to keep making room for that.
Over the years, I have brought art and poetry into schools, museums, churches and community spaces. I founded Eye of the Artists Foundation because I wanted more people, especially young people, to have access to meaningful arts experiences. Through A Ruth Creations, I have continued creating artwork, books and programs that invite people to discover what they have to offer. Some of those ideas have grown into projects with lives of their own. Dada Rafiki became a way to honor women whose contributions deserved to be seen and celebrated. What’s the Word? READ! brings together my love of children, art and literacy. On Her Shoulders gave me a way to work through difficult truths while sharing the strength, struggles and humanity of Black women.
The work has taken me beyond Cincinnati, including opportunities to create and learn with children in Kenya and Nigeria and to build relationships with artists and communities elsewhere. I enjoy those connections. There is always something to learn when you are willing to listen.
I have received awards and recognition, and I appreciate them. I also treasure the encounters that happen years after a program ends. A grown person remembers something we created when they were a child. A student recognizes me in the grocery store. Someone tells me a poem gave words to what they were feeling. Those moments stay with me.
These days, I am also learning what it means to be an elder. My grandchildren call me Bibi. Others call me Mama Annie Ruth. I receive those names with love. They come with opportunities to encourage, guide and sometimes step back so someone else can take the lead. I am a visual artist, poet, author, educator and veteran. I am a mother, grandmother and neighbor. I enjoy a good game of pickleball, and I still have ideas that send me looking for a pen or a paintbrush.
My mother told me I had a gift. I’m still finding ways to share it.
I am Annie Ruth.
My mother always told me my art was a gift from God. When someone plants that in you early, it stays with you. Long before I knew how I would make a living, I knew I had something to share.
I grew up in Cincinnati and received my first professional art training at Aiken High School. They offered commercial art and college preparation, and I wanted both. So I asked. Sometimes you have to ask people to make room for what you see for yourself.
I went on to study art at the University of Cincinnati, served eight years in the United States Air Force Reserve and eventually earned my degree in interdisciplinary studies from National University. In the military, I worked as a graphic technician. My high school training helped open that door. I was creating training materials, displays and other visual work, learning how pictures could help people understand something. That lesson has followed me into just about everything I do.
I married in 1983, and we raised our children together during 35 years of marriage. We divorced in 2018. That chapter is part of my story, too. Being a mother, and now a grandmother, continues to shape how I love, create and show up for others.
Poetry came alongside the pictures. I would be drawing, and words would come. Later, when my nephew died in a fire, I shared my poetry publicly at his funeral. It was a painful beginning, but it helped me understand that words could hold something we didn’t always know how to say.
When I was ready to publish a book, someone told me I didn’t have enough money. I remembered what my mother had taught me about finding a way through obstacles. I kept going. That became part of my life’s work, too: creating something, learning what I needed to learn and taking the next step.
My work with children grew from a visit to my niece’s kindergarten class. I watched their faces as we talked about the art. Their imaginations were wide open. They weren’t worried about giving the perfect answer. They were looking, wondering and making connections. I wanted to keep making room for that.
Over the years, I have brought art and poetry into schools, museums, churches and community spaces. I founded Eye of the Artists Foundation because I wanted more people, especially young people, to have access to meaningful arts experiences. Through A Ruth Creations, I have continued creating artwork, books and programs that invite people to discover what they have to offer. Some of those ideas have grown into projects with lives of their own. Dada Rafiki became a way to honor women whose contributions deserved to be seen and celebrated. What’s the Word? READ! brings together my love of children, art and literacy. On Her Shoulders gave me a way to work through difficult truths while sharing the strength, struggles and humanity of Black women.
The work has taken me beyond Cincinnati, including opportunities to create and learn with children in Kenya and Nigeria and to build relationships with artists and communities elsewhere. I enjoy those connections. There is always something to learn when you are willing to listen.
I have received awards and recognition, and I appreciate them. I also treasure the encounters that happen years after a program ends. A grown person remembers something we created when they were a child. A student recognizes me in the grocery store. Someone tells me a poem gave words to what they were feeling. Those moments stay with me.
These days, I am also learning what it means to be an elder. My grandchildren call me Bibi. Others call me Mama Annie Ruth. I receive those names with love. They come with opportunities to encourage, guide and sometimes step back so someone else can take the lead. I am a visual artist, poet, author, educator and veteran. I am a mother, grandmother and neighbor. I enjoy a good game of pickleball, and I still have ideas that send me looking for a pen or a paintbrush.
My mother told me I had a gift. I’m still finding ways to share it.
I am Annie Ruth.
