We recently connected with Ruth Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Ruth , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I honestly have no idea lol. I think I have always had a fearlessness about me that makes me resilient especially during periods of change.
The pandemic was definitely a moment of resilience for me as it was for most of us. When it hit, I felt like I was in a professional field where I could have a positive impact on the education industry which was all moving to virtual learning, but initially everyone’s budgets were frozen and no one was contracting out work. After a month or two of no work coming in, I ended up going on unemployment and worried every day about the future of my business. But I did not give up and things eventually picked back up. It definitely was a scary time though and made me appreciate every project and job I work on a little bit more.
That fearlessness is also important in my art. I very rarely ever give up on a piece I am working on. If I don’t like it, I just play around and morph it into something I am eventually happy with. Nothing gets abandoned or thrown out. I can always find a use for it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I run my own instructional design and learning development business, Rhombus Learning. I started it over 11 years ago when my first daughter was born and haven’t looked back since. My expertise is in helping clients (a mixture of university and corporate clients) to design and develop online courses. I work with faculty or subject matter experts who know the content really well and then I bring my creativity to the table to recommend different approaches, media, or technology to use to engage students in the learning process. And then I help with developing the courses based on these recommendations. I love it because its a mixture of visual design and pedagogy and it feels very much like both an art and a science. The process is very structured and methodical but my creativity (in how I design and in how I think about learning) can come through at any stage of the process. I would say I am most proud of the fact that I have never had to market my business. All my work has come about through word of mouth and that is a great feeling.
Outside of my business, I am also a visual artist. My main mediums are wood and acrylic paint / markers. My laser cut work tends to be very planned, intricate, and layered. In these works, I focus on the simple structures and lines behind people, moments or things – the branches of a tree extending out beyond its limits, faces overlapping to form something bizarre and wholey new. I love the sensorial experience of working with a laser cutter – the smell of wood burning, the texture of different wood grains and how stains respond to them, and the ability to add visual depth through layering. My other medium is acrylic gel printing and markers. These works tend to be very quick, fluid and expressive, either expressing a conscious mood or feeling or sometimes something subconscious that evolves out of a meditative yet child-like state of playfulness and exploration. I just started showing my work in galleries over the past few years and while it was intimidating at first, the feedback and support I have received has been fantastic. Right now, I am excited to be working on a my first big installation commission that will go up this summer.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would have to say confidence, being a good listener, and creativity. Confidence first because that is a must if you are going to run your own business. It sometimes can feel like a rollercoaster ride where you are way too busy or not busy enough so staying driven and focused is incredibly important. Second, being a good listenener. I am an extroverted introvert so I crave being around people but I prefer to be hearing their stories, perspectives, successes and struggles rather than my own and from there seeing what we can do together. I think this comes in handy both in my work and as an artist. Tied in somewhere there is also having a good sense of humor and not taking myself too seriously. Finally, creativity. Its part of everything I do – from laser cutting art, to creating infographics, to raising two girls to be creative themselves, to coming up with a design plan for an entire graduate program. I thrive on it and I need it.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents gave us a lot of freedom to be creative growing up and persue our own interests. They were both creatives themselves so it quickly became a part of my DNA. My mom is a visual artist and my dad is the assistant principal of a middle school and a musician so go figure I would get into instructional design and art. I also grew up surrounded by bluegrass musicians, playwrights and actors on my dad’s side and it was inspiring to see how they incorporated what they were passionate about into their every day lives. There was always some kind of jam session or skit being acted out when I was around them, Sadly, I did not get the acting or music gene but I am a great appreciator of both as a result. I think I also learned very early on from my parents to be independent and self-sufficient and that really helped to build the confidence I needed to start my own business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ruthcsmith.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodhalfthought/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthcsmith/
- Business Website: https://rhombuslearning.com/
Image Credits
Ruth Smith
