About Me - Ruth
So... a little bit about me. My name is Ruth, I'm in my thirties and I live in sunny Scotland. My favourite animals are penguins and my favourite activity is drawing, so I like drawing penguins a lot. I love making people happy with my artwork.
I'm currently a mentee on the 'Pathways into Children's Publishing' course, which I am really enjoying. I would love to become a children's picture book illustrator and illustrate books that feature characters that disabled children can identify with!
Some of my work has been shown in exhibitions at Project Ability in Glasgow and the Gallery on the Corner in Edinburgh. I have made and sold several art books, two about metaphors and one about how I experience the world with autism. I also illustrated a book called "Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club", which features neurodivergent characters.
I have studied web design and interactive media at college and I also studied computer animation and multimedia at university for a short period until I was forced to discontinue due to my health. I have a degree in Primary Education and I also completed a Post Graduate certificate in autism, so I was a student for quite a long time!
I sell my work as greeting cards, digital prints, coasters, mugs and commissions through my Etsy shop "Penguin Parade", and a smaller selection through local shops and craft fairs.
My drawings have been used to illustrate an online e-learning course about autism, first when it was originally created in 2011, then later when it was updated in 2021. The e-learning course was originally designed exclusively for the staff at my local council, but it was made available to the general public as well.
My mum helps me with all the business side of creating, producing and selling my artwork. I would not be able to do this myself due to my disabilities. I am autistic and have a genetic connective tissue disorder called 'Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome' (hEDS). Raising awareness of both autism and hEDS is very important to me. If you'd like to find out more about either condition, please click on the buttons below :)
I'm currently a mentee on the 'Pathways into Children's Publishing' course, which I am really enjoying. I would love to become a children's picture book illustrator and illustrate books that feature characters that disabled children can identify with!
Some of my work has been shown in exhibitions at Project Ability in Glasgow and the Gallery on the Corner in Edinburgh. I have made and sold several art books, two about metaphors and one about how I experience the world with autism. I also illustrated a book called "Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club", which features neurodivergent characters.
I have studied web design and interactive media at college and I also studied computer animation and multimedia at university for a short period until I was forced to discontinue due to my health. I have a degree in Primary Education and I also completed a Post Graduate certificate in autism, so I was a student for quite a long time!
I sell my work as greeting cards, digital prints, coasters, mugs and commissions through my Etsy shop "Penguin Parade", and a smaller selection through local shops and craft fairs.
My drawings have been used to illustrate an online e-learning course about autism, first when it was originally created in 2011, then later when it was updated in 2021. The e-learning course was originally designed exclusively for the staff at my local council, but it was made available to the general public as well.
My mum helps me with all the business side of creating, producing and selling my artwork. I would not be able to do this myself due to my disabilities. I am autistic and have a genetic connective tissue disorder called 'Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome' (hEDS). Raising awareness of both autism and hEDS is very important to me. If you'd like to find out more about either condition, please click on the buttons below :)