Meet Ruby Michelle | Illustrator, Designer & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruby Michelle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruby, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Growing up I was surrounded by creative people. Some of my oldest memories of making art started with painting a mural with my dad in our garage, dancing with my sister or helping my mom to sew a costume. So, I think it’s always been a very natural thing for me to want to create. It was because of these experiences that I knew very early on that I wanted to be an artist.

At the same time, it was also the reason I spent a lot of time deciding just what kind of artistic career I wanted to pursue. It took a lot of life experiences, failed choices, and amazing opportunities for me to realize that I can do more than one thing in my life. I can learn different things and express myself in different ways and I am still constantly learning how to do that. But, one thing has not changed and that’s my desire to create.

Now I am a full time freelance illustrator and designer, teaching art and dance and running my own business and its an opportunity i’m thankful for every day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being someone who creates in many different ways, I don’t owe my career in the arts to just one thing. It took many different experiences to get me to where I am today professionally, whether it be studying art in school, learning new artistic skills on my own, teaching, writing or running my business.

With Makamae, I was able to dance, teach choreograph, and create music. And with all of these experiences, I also learned that rejection and failure only makes you stronger and more determined if you allow yourself to move forward.

As much as I can, I kept learning and I continue to learn. Morgan Wootten said, “You learn more from losing than winning. You learn how to keep going.” And I believe that the more we are able to create our own answers when it seems we have none the stronger we become.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sacramento is a city with so many subtle charms that I think a lot of people don’t realize until they have lived there themselves. As much as it is a growing city, I think the best places to visit are the small businesses and the local places run by familiar faces. One of the best things about Sacramento and the people inhabiting it is the community support.

Like Makamae, there are many small businesses that have been around for decades like, The Secret Garden, located in Elk Grove. The Secret Garden is a beautiful nursery and family run business that has been around since 2002. They encourage the “shop local” philosophy and are always involved with the community. I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to do art workshops with The Secret Garden and they continually support many other local artists and fellow small business owners.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A good portion of my artistic journey and big reason for pursing a career in educating and enriching others was due to my experiences with dance.

In 2001, my sister Rhea founded Makamae Melia O’ Polynesia, a school for Polynesian cultural and performing arts. With the both of us having been born in Hawaii and studying hula at a young age, it became a way for us to connect to our place of birth and the culture we surrounded ourselves with growing up. My sister established it as a club at her university and from there it grew into a business.

As business grew so did the many ways we reached out and connected with our community. I went from dancer to teacher and we began to show others not only dance, but culture, history, language, music and art.

Over time, Makamae became a place where families and friends could come to learn and share moments together. For me, it became an opportunity to share with my students what I had learned and watch as they in turn shared their skills and knowledge with those following in their footsteps. It helped me to realize that I not only wanted a life and career in the arts, but I also wanted to be able to pass the lessons and skills I learned to others seeking to do the same.

So, this is dedicated to my family, friends and all of my students who help me to grow as an artist and educator.

Website: www.rubymichelle.com

Instagram: @rubywenttospace

Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCiaAOiUwPsegY9gyRpi0M1w/featured

Other: https://www.makamaemelia.org/ https://www.secretgarden-online.com/

Image Credits
Robert Gonzales Photography