My journey…

Hi, I’m Kiersten “Ruthy” Haugerud—artist, illustrator, and the person behind Northwoods Naturalist.

Long before I ever studied nutrition, I wanted to be a natural science illustrator. I’ve always been drawn to the details of the natural world—the shape of a leaf, the markings on a bird, the silhouette of an animal—and to using art as a way of noticing and remembering the things around me. I began college at the University of Wisconsin–Stout with that path in mind, eventually earning a minor in Studio Art alongside my degree in Dietetics.

Life ultimately led me into a career as a Registered Dietitian, but art never really left. I kept drawing, painting, designing, and finding reasons to make things. Over time, I realized the work I felt most connected to was often inspired by the same things I grew up with: the woods and water of northern Wisconsin, wildlife, changing seasons, family traditions, and the ordinary moments that somehow become the ones you remember most.

That’s what Northwoods Naturalist has grown from.

It’s a place for my artwork, hand-drawn apparel, and the things I create simply because they remind me of a place, a person, a season, or a story worth holding onto. Some pieces begin with wildlife or something I notice outside. Others come from old photographs, a sweatshirt my grandma has worn for years, coffee around the kitchen table, deer season, summer evenings in lawn chairs, or the kind of little traditions you don’t realize are traditions until you’re older.

My work blends my love of nature with a little nostalgia—a mix of field-guide curiosity, vintage graphics, and the familiar character of life in the Northwoods.

These days, I enjoy working as a Registered Dietitian in dialysis, but I’m also giving myself the space to practice my lifelong love of art as a serious hobby.