Meet Susan Ruach
Susan W. N. Ruach began her love of photography over 40 years ago as a way to share the beauty she saw on her travels around the world. Her photographic art has further developed to include nature images, macro work and abstract photography.
From Susan’s Artist Statement: “If I’m not creating, my soul dries up. Photography is currently my favorite way of creating, and my favorite images are abstracts. I believe abstract photography (and abstract art in general) can surprise us and invite us to think and feel differently, to move us to a different place, by bypassing some of the barriers we put up for getting in touch with our deepest selves. My art is about inviting myself and others to pause, to breathe, to go beneath the surface, to feel and think more deeply, to wander inside our own souls, to reconnect with our creative energy and perhaps to touch the Mystery.”
Fifty-three of Susan's photographs were published in Journeying Through the Days, 2006, a calendar and journal for personal reflection. She was the featured photographer in the national magazine "Alive Now" in its May-June 2009 issue.
Nashville Arts Magazine published “Abstract Nashville: A Photographic Series” of Susan’s images in Dec. 2012.
Previously she received the Award for Excellence in Composition and Design in the Stillpoint Art Gallery online exhibit “The Time for Home”.
Susan has had two solo exhibits at Scarritt Bennett Center Gallery in Nashville, TN in 2017 and 2023.
In Tennessee Professional Photographers Association Competition (TNPPA), Susan has received First Place in the Abstract Category (2015); a Judge’s Award and Best in Show in the Illustrative Category (2016); and was one of TNPPA’s Top 10 Photographers in both 2017 and 2018.
In 2024 Susan was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association.
Susan also has taught two workshops or sessions on Abstract Photography for Professional Photographers of Middle Tennessee in 2024; an evening program for the Brentwood Photography Group in 2023, two classes at the 2024 Spring Convention of the Tennessee Professional Photographer Association, an evening program and day long class for Professional Photographers of East Tennessee and two online classes in 2017 and 2018. She has also taught a class on Spirituality and Photography for OSHER Life Long Learning Institute in Nashville.
Her images have been seen in exhibits in Indianapolis, IN; Nashville, TN; online in Shanti Arts exhibits and in Still Point Arts Quarterly. In 2014, she won the Honorable Mention award at the Chromatics Gallery exhibit “The Built Environment”. She is a frequent contributor to “Sight Psalms” a free, daily, online photo devotional found at www.sightpsalms.org .
Susan has studied with photographers Dewitt Jones, Freeman Patterson, Andre Galliant, Byron Jorjorian, Mark Lissick, Pam Hawkins, John Paul Caponigro and others.
Artist Statement
My name might help others understand my photography. Many married couples consider keeping their own names or hyphenating their names. Richard and I decided to choose a new name. We chose “Ruach” – which means “breath, spirit, or wind.”
My images invite viewers to breathe more deeply, to go beneath the surface, to feel and think more deeply, to wander inside their own souls seeking their spirit, and to touch the Mystery.
A friend once emailed me a stunning image of mountains and a lake. When I saw it, my whole body relaxed. Some images have the power to change us: to reduce stress, to inspire us, to teach us, to energize us, to heal us, to be a “thin place” in the Celtic sense or even to connect us to our soul.
Photography helps me switch perspectives. When I zoom a lens in or out, or take two steps a different direction, my perspective changes. This is great practice for me in my spiritual journey, because what I am trying to do is switch from my own perspective to Divine perspective. Photography also teaches me how to shift my attitude, my understanding of the world and others, my place in the universe and to see the world differently.
Photo by H N James/ Punk Rock Photography
All images © Susan W. N. Ruach. All rights reserved. Copyright Notice