Mother Superior Ruckus
By Elizabeth Gerth
Published July 2025, Issue 139
In the mid-1990s, Mother Superior Ruckus ran a convent-slash-rec-center where troubled kids learned scripture, how to properly pronounce “RZA,” and how to believe in themselves. Just like Wu-Tang, she is for the children. She wore a massive gold Wu-Tang chain over her habit to show the kids she was the coolest nun in the neighborhood. With a cigarette always lit and zero patience for nonsense, she was the only nun to get banned from three dioceses and invited backstage by Method Man.
Mother Superior Ruckus is acrylic on Canvas (2025)
Elizabeth Gerth is a mixed media artist based in Vancouver, Washington. While she has always embraced her identity as an artist, her early work focused primarily on sculpture and mixed media. In January 2025, she began a new chapter — painting portraits in acrylic — and has since fallen in love with the medium’s intimacy and expressive power.
Elizabeth’s art journey has been an incredible, evolving experience that she documents openly on social media, inviting the world to grow alongside her. You can follow her creative process on Instagram and TikTok, or explore her latest work on her Website.
This is Elizabeth’s debut with Birdy. Keep your eyes peeled for more work by this talented creative. Head to our Explore section to check out more work by the artists and writers who make up Birdy.