Elena Ruiz

Elena Ruiz is an illustrator and writer from the Chicagoland area. Driven by a fascination for the natural world, Andean folklore, and idle sketchbook musings, her work offers a space for contemplation and vulnerability. Her traditional watercolor paintings explore these themes in a playful and whimsical manner, revealing the fantastical amidst the mundane. Recently, she has begun to expand upon her passion for story through animation. Whether in the delicate details of a cicada’s wing, the hidden kingdom of the garden, or a friendly mountain giant wandering through the mist, Elena is constantly searching for that bit of strange and wild wonder to bring back into the world.