Ruth Don Shevlin

Ruth Don Shevlin has been writing stories since she was a child. Her favorite homework was “Ten New Words,” where students had to use all ten provided words in a story. Ruth worked as a copywriter, proofreader, photographer and stylist at several ad agencies in Chicago. In Florida, where she raised her daughters, she was a scene proofreader, props manager and lighting booth operator at a local theater while teaching pre-school and volunteering for the Head Start Program. She also taught trick photography to young summer campers. Whether working in photography, advertising, theater or writing, it was all about telling stories. Teaching gave her the opportunity to help children write their own stories.

Art played a major role early in Ruth’s life. Watching her father decorate cakes in their bakery or watching her mother sew a dress or prepare a meal, Ruth learned to love the art of creating something, whether with paint or clay or pen or icing…or even with dinner ingredients. She painted backdrops for local ballet performances of “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Nutcracker.” She also painted scenery for theater productions. Art was an important part of teaching for Ruth, as the lessons of the day came together in a daily art project. A few students even tried to fail the class so they could keep doing the art projects.

“Rebecca’s Dream That Wasn’t” was actually written in 1978 as an eleven page booklet that sold at local performances of “The Nutcracker.” The story was even made into a play by an elementary school. A friend who is a professional dancer and owns her own studio still carries her original copy in her dance bag and reads it to her younger dancers.