i am an activist, everyday bicyclist, community historian, bread baker, urban farmer, international disaster recovery volunteer, collage/mixed media artist, dancer, writer, and weaver. i have co-edited two books and assisted with or project managed five public murals in San Francisco. i’m a west coast north american – born a washingtonian who now calls herself a san franciscan. i am inspired by the stories and landscape of san francisco—of yelamu and its creatures—as i learn about and steward unceded ramaytush ohlone land.

i am interested in living a conscious and creative life, which at its base is a collaborative yet self-reliant act, and thus political. i’m constantly evaluating my balance between consumption and creation.

while i thrive in the urban environment, I am necessarily nomadic as well as drawn to a strong rooted sense of history and place. I am interested in the seeming paradox of wanting/needing to be on the move by desiring to be energized by deeply finding out about where I am. In the past 27 years san francisco has been home, i’ve lived four of those abroad (in germany, austria, spain, and thailand), in addition to traveling for discovery, study, volunteerism, and disaster relief on 6 continents.

travel, other ways of knowing/doing found both on the road and at home, and caregiving for the dying have been key elements in shaping my world view and my orientation to work. as much as i thrive in my new homes on the road, i love constantly exploring the unknown (to me) areas of and ways to experience this city by the bay. some of the projects i have been lending a hand to and earning a living from are san francisco community and social movement history, public mural making, and urban bicycle advocacy. my roles in these various projects have taken the form of grantwriter and fundraising consultant, project manager, artist assistant, and editor. i also have spent a lot of time around bicycles – parking them, fixing them, riding them, and getting other people on them.

lisaruthcreates.com is a place to connect to and exhibit various iterations of my creative work.