My Faerie Tales
My love of faerie began long before I was kneeling in church years ago on that fateful Good Friday, praying for guidance. It did take a crazy, blended turn that afternoon. There I was: standing, kneeling, genuflecting obediently to the cues while my mind prayed different words than those my mouth muttered: rote and without meaning. "Why?" I asked God, "Why would you give me these gifts? What am I supposed to do? Where do I begin?" It was quite a litany of questions, and I asked repeatedly, "Please, show me how to begin." There, on what appeared to be a desk top in my mind's eye, lay a drawing of mine I recognized. It was an image of a small, semiconscious sylph, struggling to pull herself free from her chrysalis. In my own startled daze, on my kneeler next to my then Irish catholic husband, my mind blurted,"What the Hell is this?!"
"The title is, "The Day Rue Flew." a voice answered: calm and resolute and decidedly male.
It was a voice I'd heard before in my life, one I have since come to cherish.
"The title is, "The Day Rue Flew." a voice answered: calm and resolute and decidedly male.
It was a voice I'd heard before in my life, one I have since come to cherish.
I began to write, and write furiously. The words flowed out of me in verse, and occasionally using a vocabulary beyond my own. The stories came to me, one after another, until there were nine: three trilogies that comprise the books of Ruevelation, and a tenth: The Journey of the Fool in First Person. The process of writing and illustrating the tomes has been mysterious, arduous, and astounding. They are my avocation, my labor of love, my life's work.
(The Day Rue Flew is available signed, sealed, and delivered.)
(The Day Rue Flew is available signed, sealed, and delivered.)
Ruevelations
In the years that have passed since the first story revealed itself to me, I've experienced first hand the tenuous, shimmering veil of our reality.
The boundaries between the rich, symbolic and synchronistic world of myth and faerie tales is not distinct from my day in day out reality. Much had to fall away into the shadows under the beam of the shining light of truth. I now see self deception as a luxury I can no longer afford. Light is Love and I bask in the radiance.
The boundaries between the rich, symbolic and synchronistic world of myth and faerie tales is not distinct from my day in day out reality. Much had to fall away into the shadows under the beam of the shining light of truth. I now see self deception as a luxury I can no longer afford. Light is Love and I bask in the radiance.
The Journey of the Fool in First Person
When I first became enamored with the Tarot, I related most closely with the Fool and his/her journey. The story came to me in much the same way as the books of Ruevelation: In verse and seemingly sourced from outside of myself.
All of my books and art are autobiographical in a symbolic sense. I have come to believe that life can be a meaningful magical exploration, if we possess the courage (or the foolishness) to delve deeply into our subconscious minds and allow ourselves to imagine, and experience the otherwise improbable.
"Call me the Fool and say I am crazy
Because I threaten your sensibilities.
Your sharp edged notions become hazy,
You resent the undefined possibilities.
I may be the only one foolish enough
To proclaim what I know to be true;
You don’t have to be a genius to love,
But you have to be an idiot not to.”
~ so says the Fool ~
(and the Fool is me!)
All of my books and art are autobiographical in a symbolic sense. I have come to believe that life can be a meaningful magical exploration, if we possess the courage (or the foolishness) to delve deeply into our subconscious minds and allow ourselves to imagine, and experience the otherwise improbable.
"Call me the Fool and say I am crazy
Because I threaten your sensibilities.
Your sharp edged notions become hazy,
You resent the undefined possibilities.
I may be the only one foolish enough
To proclaim what I know to be true;
You don’t have to be a genius to love,
But you have to be an idiot not to.”
~ so says the Fool ~
(and the Fool is me!)
Studio of Rue
In 1990, I bought a house that became the House of Rue. I moved in, pregnant with my son and two years later, I brought my newborn daughter home. My children, Jake and Lily grew up together in the funky, art filled chalet in the countryside. Back then, we called my studio Out in Left Field, for our surname: Left. Inordinate drama ensued, a story that will surely find its way into the pages of one of the faerie tales. After being hoodwinked and hornswoggled, at long last, the house has been sold to a worthy and valiant party, who honors the spirit of the place and holds a rife love of the land. Jim and Karen Sundberg are two of the finest humans I know, the King of Cups and Justice in the books. The Studio of Rue, is now in my new home, also filled with art & love and surrounded by the inspiration of nature and the lovely Lake Charlevoix and near the Great Lake Michigan. Our family has grown to include my husband, Marty and his three wonderful grown children: Margaret, Gabby & Dylan. Life is truly an ongoing, glorious adventure. Happily Ever Now...
Rue
The Studio of Rue's namesake is the main character of the three trilogies of faerie tales that comprise the books of Ruevelation.
Rue shares aspects of the Greek mortal turned goddess; Psykhe.
Psykhe is the goddess of the soul; adorned with butterfly wings. Her name translates to 'breath'. The word 'inspiration' literally means the breathing in of Spirit. Ruah is an ancient Hebrew word meaning breath or spirit; sometimes the Holy Spirit.
Rue's wings of the Monarch butterfly are the vibrant orange of the sacral chakra of creativity and pro-creativity.
When I was a child, I saw a tattered little orange warrior on the beach of Lake Michigan and discovered the wonder of their migration. The amazing Monarch has been my hero ever since.
The Studio of Rue's namesake is the main character of the three trilogies of faerie tales that comprise the books of Ruevelation.
Rue shares aspects of the Greek mortal turned goddess; Psykhe.
Psykhe is the goddess of the soul; adorned with butterfly wings. Her name translates to 'breath'. The word 'inspiration' literally means the breathing in of Spirit. Ruah is an ancient Hebrew word meaning breath or spirit; sometimes the Holy Spirit.
Rue's wings of the Monarch butterfly are the vibrant orange of the sacral chakra of creativity and pro-creativity.
When I was a child, I saw a tattered little orange warrior on the beach of Lake Michigan and discovered the wonder of their migration. The amazing Monarch has been my hero ever since.