RUA

Rua, is a Detroit-based, Canadian Artist with a vision to create a conscious art experience. Her Mesopotamian and Assyrian heritage have shaped and influenced her creativity. She comes from a long line of creative artists and designers. Her father, a physician by day, designed and handcrafted fashion jewelry and accessories by night. Rua's creativity was cultivated at age 2 by her aunt, an artist and teacher. For the next years she was designing family holiday cards, sketching fashion illustrations and children stories.

 

Rua's most admired work is her signature monochromatic technique where she creates with bold lines and dynamic flowing compositions. Through the techniques of repetition, line, and negative space, she brings depth and movement to the surface infused with forms of inspired calligraphy and arabesque. By utlizing this elegant complexity, she illuminates harmony and oneness of the parts while creating the whole. A reminder that we are all one in essence, that oneness is not just a concept but a way of being. 

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Among Rua's recognized artist milestones is being mentored by a pioneer and leading figure in Iraq's modern art movement, Jamil Hamoudi. She credits Hamoudi for influencing her love of calligraphy and arabesque in her artistic expression. She has also received the New Artist Award of 2010 Mesopotamian Day Festival, where she showcased her collection "heritage celebration" for the first time in Toronto.  Shortly after, she was commissioned to create and present a painting to his Grace the Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Collins in 2010. 

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After fleeing War in Iraq and leaving Medical school, Rua spent several years in Toronto practicing in preventative oral care and counseling, Rua pursued and received a BSc. in Marketing from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She currently resides in Birmingham, Michigan with her husband and son. She is passionate about raising awareness on conscious, compassionate living through her artistry and latest business venture "Planthropie" where she uses food and culinary arts as means to bring minds to the table. Rua aspires to use her vision to promote a mindful, healthy and sustainable lifestyle through collaborations within the community, locally and globally.