Artist of the Month
Our Arran Artist/Maker for the month of January is Ruth Mae, who creates beautiful turned vessels at her workshop and gallery at Southbank Studio, Southbank Farm, East Bennan.
Ruth, how would you describe your work and the philosophy behind it?
All my work is made on a woodturning lathe where I create bowls and small vessels using hardwoods sourced mainly on Arran or mainland Scotland. I have been making in this way for about 14 years and am mainly self-taught. My current work with bowls grew out of an earlier period working as an architectural / artisan woodturner.
When I put a piece of timber onto the lathe my main aim is to produce as beautiful a form as I possibly can from that particular piece of timber. This is so whether the end product is to be an ash porridge bowl or a delicate vessel in holly. My idea of beauty in this case is simplicity and clear definition of line and form. I am interested in shapes and how particular forms can seem to hold meaning, perhaps not meaning that I find possible to articulate verbally, but that can none the less hold mystery and have the power to move and affect us.
One of the most interesting (and often frustrating) aspects of working with wood is its variability. It doesn’t allow for either a rigid or an absent minded approach and a full engagement with the individual piece on the lathe is vital. I may have an idea of what I want to make but cannot necessarily impose my own will! Through this ongoing process I have been able to develop coherent bodies of work and a distinctive style of my own. Ideas for my work develop slowly through making. And sometimes unexpected mistakes happen which may lead to something new.
Wood is a precious resource and I made a decision fairly early on in my work to use only Scottish grown timbers from sustainable sources or wood that was destined for landfill or burning. Rather than being a limitation, this decision has led me to a deeper exploration of the properties of a few woods such as holly and cherry. I do also use ash, sycamore and oak for more functional bowls.
With holly, I have discovered a material of great beauty and delicacy. In the trunk, prior to turning, holly looks fairly unpromising – it is the beautiful red berries and spiky shiny leaves of the tree which are most noticeable – however, when turned and dried, this creamy white, dense grained timber may take on subtle undulating and fragile looking forms with a texture and appearance that is reminiscent of porcelain or shell.
Cherry is sometimes more suited to geometric or architectural shapes. This timber contains a lot of naturally occurring tannin and when an iron salt solution is applied to the surface of the work it will gradually turn black. With holly, the same process results in a blue/grey shade (reminiscent of the shades of the seas surrounding Arran). This “ebonising” process can add definition and depth to a piece.
Where did you grow up, go to school, and go to college or university?
I was born in Renfrewshire in 1950. My father, a weaver at that time, worked in a lace mill near Barrhead. Early memories are of the magical and ever changing multi-coloured water that ran in the burn at the bottom of our garden – the effluent of the dyes from the mill I guess (not so magical). We later moved to the Glasgow area and I went to Rutherglen Academy. I left school at the earliest opportunity (not a good student) and it wasn’t until my late 30’s /early 40’s when I was fortunate to study as a mature student at Strathclyde University and gained honours in Psychology and Philosophy and then go on to Glasgow University to do an M.Phil degree in Philosophical Inquiry.
What other jobs have you done?
I left Glasgow for Dorset when I was 17 to train as a registered veterinary nurse in both large and small animal work. After training it was my main work over a number of years; I worked in veterinary hospitals and practices in London, Wiltshire and Somerset. Other employment has included working for a bookseller, fish factory work and three years stint as a night shift nursing auxiliary in Lerwick, Shetland Islands.
