Ruth Eileen grew up in Monona Village, a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. She studied at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh for one year and then moved to Hawaii. In 1980 she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus. In 1985 Ruth Eileen moved to San Diego where she studied massage and was employed at the Old Globe Theater making costumes and working as a dresser back stage. In 1999 she was named Volunteer of the Year by the San Diego Board of Supervisors for 12 years of service as a "Special Friend" to a child in foster care. In 2000 she earned a specialized certificate from UCSD in Expressive Art Therapy. She is a former member of San Diego Playback Theater, an improvisational acting group. Ruth Eileen is a devoted student of the Course in Miracles. Currently, she is a Holistic Health Practitioner with a massage practice in the Normal Heights area of San Diego.


Ruth Eileen is a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner with a private massage practice at 2852 Adams Avenue in the Normal Heights area of San Diego. She has had her own massage business since 1985 and bills insurance claims. Through the years, she has worked with various chiropractors and is a currently associated with a group of acupuncturists in a holistic clinic called Acu-care. She received her massage training at The International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) and The Sports Massage Training Institute in Encinitas. Ruth Eileen is a former member of the San Diego Sports Massage Team and a current member of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). She has taught a continuing education class for the AMTA called "Difficult Syndromes and Client Favorites". A former faculty member at IPSB, Ruth Eileen taught "How to Create a Professional Practice". She is nationally certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork through The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB). Specializing in injury care and deep tissue work, Ruth Eileen practices a wide variety of massage techniques including therapeutic energy work, heated stone massage, pregnancy massage, cross fiber friction, deep tissue, passive joint work, lymph drainage, PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretches and sports massage. She stays current with at least 12 hours of continuing education classes each year and regularly integrates new and advanced techniques into her massage practice.

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Ruth Eileen is a multi-media artist who works with fiber, cloth, paper, plaster-gauze and discovered/recycled materials. In 1980 Ruth Eileen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii specializing in textile design and silk-screen printing. After graduation she worked as a color mixer and director of design for Hontex Print, a silk-screen printing company. In 1977 she created her own silk screen business called Specific Prints. Ruth Eileen sees art as a way to heal emotionally and surmount illness. Consequently in 1993 she began The Mask Project in San Diego. It is a series of classes in which adults make a mask of their face, decorate it with a story from their life and make a meaningful piece of art. Through the generosity of a private donor she was able to expand the program to teach cancer and HIV survivors. The program later broadened to include school children who decorated pre-formed masks in a day long class and wrote stories about the characters they created. Ruth Eileen's masks, and those of her students', have been featured in nine gallery shows around San Diego County.

In 2000 Ruth Eileen earned a specialized certificate in Expressive Art Therapy from UCSD. In addition to classes in her studio, Ruth Eileen has taught art classes for The Burn Institute, Glen Ivy Retreat Center, Self-Heal Women's Retreat, The Goddess Studio, St. Madeleine Sophie Center, The Wellness Community, Being Alive, Strong Hearted Women's Native American Coalition, as well as for numerous church retreats and summer camps. She teaches mask-making and a variety of other art classes including print making, silk painting, and altered books.

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