No Short Cuts for Dana Ruth

Canadian-born Dana Ruth is a fiery passionate goldsmith who strives for the freshest artistic expression in everything she does. Ruth’s career has been a long winding road of self exploration, finding her artistic identity and learning the craft of jewelry making.

Ruth was raised in South Florida where she spent much of her time in and around the water.  She admits she probably wasn’t the "typical girl" in that she would go scuba diving, fishing and even lobster hunting.  She never worried about how she was perceived as she was doing what she loved, an attitude she carries to this day.

A woman of her word, Ruth says she bypassed an opportunity to take an arts class as an elective in the sixth grade because she had made a prior commitment to the band instructor that she would participate in the band. Taking up the cello, Ruth played the instrument throughout the rest of her schooling until she reached the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra, where she played for two years.

After college Ruth relocated to Marietta realizing success while working in the high tech/government arena, but after 12 long years she tired of the corporate rat race and sought out something more meaningful with her existence.

“I began taking classes at the community center for drawing and painting, I was never very good at them; but when I took the class on jewelry making there was something that drew me to it,” Ruth says of her gravitation to a very specialized craft she would eventually learn at a high level.

Shortly thereafter, Ruth quit her job freeing herself of the enormous amounts of stress and pressure that came with the big paychecks.  Without the security blankets most artist attempt to put in place before making the transition into self employment, Ruth set out on a quest for realizing her creative freedom and truth for herself.

“It was a total leap of faith,” Ruth says of the transition. “I was still in the midst of learning the craft while I had to also establish the business, purchase materials and keep the mortgage paid.”

She says the stars were never really aligned for her, but she persevered, determined to find her place of happiness and satisfaction.

However, Ruth quickly learned that “everyone and their cousin makes jewelry” leaving her to defend her pursuit of the craft and the distinction she provides. Ruth makes her jewelry by hand and from raw materials. This, she says, only a handful of designers actually do.

She says most people really don’t get or fully understand what she means when she says she makes it by hand. When she actually took the time to explain it to one lady at an exhibition, the lady responded that it would ‘impossible’ for Ruth to have done so.

So, as a result of the need to distinguish her dedication to the craft from others Ruth has photos of works in progress she makes available by publishing them on her Facebook fan page. She says this helps people who cannot wrap their minds around it to have a better understanding and appreciation for the amount of work that goes into creating each piece.

“All of them [jewelry pieces] are little labors of love,” she says of the uniquely intricate one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces she creates by hand.  

Having recently visited the British Museum, Ruth says she was enlightened in learning how the techniques of the craft of jewelry making haven’t changed much since the pieces on display from the 7th century AD. 

“Sure, we have power now and the tools have changed, but the techniques we use are still pretty much the same,” she notes.

Drawing her inspiration organically, Ruth takes interest in anything that catches her creative eye. She describes her idea for creating a new set of rings based on seeing the inner molding of a Styrofoam casing of a mug her parents purchased some months ago. She also says she scribbles and doodles which will sometimes spawn ideas for designs. But, nothing proves to be as useful as the spontaneous–where her best creations often take shape.

Ruth describes her original work as feminine romantic images and icons with masculine applications–rough and edgy.  The original pieces, she made for nearly nine years, are what Ruth labels as "‘art jewelry."

Ruth’s journey has been long and hard fought with no easy victories. She recalls the early days of sitting in the dark wondering if she made the right decision, but then she pressed on. Her latest work represents a graduation from those days of darkness to a new plateau of enlightenment; a shift from edginess to refinement as she chooses to make fine jewelry now.  

It is clear in speaking with her, Ruth has found a place of tranquility and understanding in her life few will achieve.  This is a lesson she tries to pass along to her students who want the quick and easy ways to produce quality jewelry. She tells them “if you’re looking for a short cut you’re in the wrong place.”

Often having to reel her students back and resetting their expectations, they soon learn the basics of fabrication can take years to learn and master before moving on to the next steps.  This was a tough learning lesson for Ruth that she tries to share with her students so that they too will one day be able to pursue their dreams.

“I stand alone in my little vessel extrapolating from my surroundings and the things that I see,” Ruth says as she continues on her journey of self exploration and study of a thousand year old craft known as goldsmith.

Dana Ruth can be contacted for a commissioned work, showings, or classes at: Dana Ruth Designs (at Artisan Resource Center) 585 Cobb Parkway South Studio G-1; phone: 770.420.3818; email: dana@danaruth.com; Web sites: www.danaruth.com and www.atlantaartworx.com.