Ruth Chou Simons: GraceLaced

Sometimes the key to finding inspiration lies in the mundane parts of life. Fifteen years ago, Ruth Chou Simons was blogging about her life as a mother of six, which wasn’t very glamorous. 

However, it was through this blogging that Ruth discovered that Instagram could become a platform for her to share both her daily thoughts about faith and motherhood - plus, her artwork that she never thought she’d get the opportunity to showcase. 

“Most of the time it was just happening with my little ones all around right before dinner. And that authentic sharing with my audience became what would turn into the products of GraceLaced.”

The artwork in GraceLaced products is full of nature imagery, from plants to birds. Whether it’s the bounding landscapes of Colorado that her family loves to hike through or smaller everyday moments, plants inspire Ruth every day..

“I find that I get super inspired just by…seeing the way a tree is gnarly at its roots and it's been there for a really long time. And you wonder how many stories it holds.”

Connecting with God has brought Ruth a sense of freedom in her artwork through seeing how awe-inspiring nature can be. 

“It causes me to just feel small…That feeling keeps me humble. That feeling keeps me reminded that when I pick up a paintbrush, when I type out 5000 words for the day…that I'm just playing a part of a greater story.”

To see more of GraceLaced, visit their website.

Shot by Zach Huber.

Edited and produced by Joshua Wingard.