Ruth Schowalter
Ruth Schowalter creates spaces where movement, story, and visual art help people remember what it means to be fully alive. An artist, educator, InterPlay leader, Dance Chaplain, Certified Art of Ensoulment Coach, and Sustaining International Sister Co-founder, she invites people of all ages, races, faiths, countries, and cultures to rediscover the wisdom of their bodies, the power of imagination, and the healing possibilities of play.
For more than thirty years, Ruth taught at the university level, cultivating communities grounded in creativity, connection, and eventuall – embodied expression. Through her community workshops with international women, dance chapels, and Deep Play gatherings, she weaves together storytelling, movement, visual art, and spiritual reflection. At the heart of her work is the belief that creativity is not just for a gifted few, but is an essential human birthright, leading us toward healing, wonder, and a deeper sense of belonging.
Ruth illustrated The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia (2012), a middle-grade environmental adventure co-created with geographer Ron Shaklee. Through more than thirty original drawings, she helped bring to life the fragile ecosystems of the Bahamas and the remarkable creatures inhabiting them. Rooted in a love of the natural world, the story invites young readers to become curious observers, compassionate caretakers, and active stewards of our shared Earth.
As illuminator and collaborator on The Great Dance by Cynthia Winton-Henry, Ruth created original artwork inviting readers into the poem's themes of authenticity, interconnectedness, and sacred embodiment. In the tradition of illumination, her images not only accompany the text, but also deepen its meaning.
Inspired by the wisdom of "Deep Time," Ruth understands the body as a living archive—carrying ancestral knowing, personal stories, and the enduring rhythms of life itself. Again and again, she returns to the simple truth that the body is already dancing, inviting us to trust the "me of me," and participate more fully in the great dance of becoming more of ourselves.
Based in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband, an ecstatic paleontologist, and their three cats, Ruth continues to draw and paint, facilitate, and collaborate on projects that honor the extraordinary hidden within ordinary life. She delights in dancing in community, making marks on paper, and discovering the many ways beauty can emerge through everyday acts of attention.
Through her books and and creative offerings, Ruth hopes to encourage others to listen deeply, play boldly, care tenderly for the Earth and one another, and embrace the unfolding story of their own lives.
