Rubi Garyfalakis

Rubi Garyfalakis is a fourth-year student at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario. She will graduate in 2011 with a B.A., majoring in art and psychology. This painting is from her senior student exhibition entitled What Can Mere Mortals Do? (Redeemer University Art Gallery, December 2010 – January 2011).

For Rubi, painting is a way of understanding. Studio projects allow her to explore issues visually, thereby processing them on a less analytical level and bringing a unique sense of clarity. She is often surprised at how making a painting helps her to better understand herself—her joys, struggles, and questions. Rubi knows how valuable it is to have a creative outlet, and that is something she wants to share with others.

The desire to help and understand others led Rubi to the field of psychology, and she is constantly amazed at how her two majors come together to mutually enhance each other. She would like to include both interests in a future career as an art therapist. Rubi is excited by the prospect of visual communication giving a voice to those who are often unheard. As a therapist she wants to facilitate discovery of visual voice so that untold stories can emerge. Thus, she plans to pursue graduate studies in art therapy at Concordia University in Montreal.