Ruth Thomas

Ruth Thomas

I am fascinated by nature’s calligraphy: the myriad of lines on windswept beaches, tiny barnacles nestled in rock crevices, the delicate structures of rocks, shells and seaweed. Central to my art practice is the experience of walking, observing and building a bank of pictorial references from which I develop expressive compositions and intimate artists’ books. Whilst my artwork is deeply connected to the landscape, I do not seek to make accurate representation but rather portray my emotional response to the environment. 

Ruth Thomas is an Australian artist who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2014 with a BA in Combined Studies. She has lived just outside Edinburgh for over twenty years. She also has a home on the South Coast of NSW and the inspiration for her artwork is drawn from these two contrasting geographical landscapes.
Ruth makes handmade brushes from foraged materials that  give a freshness to her painting process. She also makes her own inks from plant material for her prints and collages. Other techniques she likes to employ include eco-dyeing fabrics and paper with pungent eucalyptus leaves, freehand machine stitching and Momigami, the ancient Japanese process of kneading paper into fabric.