Pepper Rueda is a Pittsburgh-based Latina artist originally from Raleigh, North Carolina. Being a disabled and chronically-ill single parent, she approaches her art with the seriousness of someone who has had to fight endlessly for her voice to matter. Blooming Books are where Rueda makes herself heard. 

Blooming Books are her primary art practice and Pepper is returning to them after several years of limited capacity and access to materials. The work is immersive and emotionally-demanding, Pepper often finding herself moving through grief from memories of times long-past while building each piece.

Rueda was raised in an evangelical cult that she left as an adult. Much of her worldview has been shaped by the long process of re-educating herself and disentangling inherited and harmful beliefs. This history directly informs her work. She is currently developing a series of Blooming Books that traces this healing process using books woven into her past. 

Playing with the traditional forms of floral design, Pepper's art explores her survival and transformation as a person -- leaving all she'd ever known and stretching farther than thought possible in order to truly thrive.

Alongside her art practice, Rueda is involved in mutual aid and direct community support, with a primary focus on local food access. She brings an anarchist approach to her relationships, parenting, and politics while prioritizing autonomy and equity. These values shape how she imagines the future of Blooming Books, both as a personal livelihood and as a space for connection and shared meaning.