Painter
As a child, I was always creatively using scraps and discarded items to make other worlds and realms.
Ruth Proudfoot-Smith
EBENEZER GALLERY POLPERRO
NEWS & EVENTS
ABOUT US
These days, I am captivated by those little natural things that are in such close proximity to me: creatures in rock pools, critters in hedgerows and suchlike.
As an artist in Cornwall, I am joyfully inspired by the rugged landscape and glorious wildlife around me. I embellish my plastic poly-fusion pieces, and stitch into them. Plastic bags, sweet wrappers, waste materials, old books and textiles have all featured in my work. My iron and sewing machine blend together to make multi-layered pieces. I enjoy recycling and repurposing materials into works of art, unrecognisable from their original form. Stitching and printing are my key techniques and reflect my signature style. My pieces also link to my long standing interests in environmental concerns. These materials are a visual acknowledgement to the microplastics within the seas.
This technique started when I made carnival costumes from everyday packaging. My children were happy contestants- as two fishy tins of ‘Cornish Tiddlers’. I created homemade giant Pilchard tins out of old cardboard and the ‘fish heads’ from soft plastics and general household waste. This was the seed of an idea for a technique I have developed. I love the fact that items become something entirely new.
I am attracted to the ‘fabric and feel’ of the area I live in as well as how Cornish folklore and childhood stories colour perception and images of a place.
Commissions can also be undertaken.