Ruth Radcliffe
RUTH RADCLIFFE - STUDIO TOUR
WORDS: JO DOWSETT
PHOTOGRAPHY: CAROLYN CARTER
“The simple elegance of the female characters, each with a unique flower in her hair and the fluidity of ink and watercolour”
We first met Ruth many years ago at a craft market in Aldridge where she was selling her beautiful hand drawn portraits. We instantly fell in love with her designs, the simple elegance of the female characters, each with a unique flower in her hair, and the fluidity of Ruth’s chosen media of ink and watercolour.
When our Market idea was in it’s infancy, we wanted to choose a name that we felt represented us and what we wanted to achieve. ‘The Paperdolls’ at the time was a favourite book amongst our young daughters and we felt the concept of a chain of paperdolls encapsulated us and the creative industries we were looking to highlight. As our idea grew, Ruth’s beautiful female characters we had seen all those years before automatically came to the forefront of our minds. When we approached Ruth, she was kind enough to agree to design our Paperdolls logo in her own inimitable style and we have been using it ever since.
We recently visited Ruth in her home studio to find out how she became an artist, when she began to create the beautiful female faces with fabulous flowers in their hair and what projects she is currently working on...
How did you become an Illustrator?
Ruth studied Illustration at University but her exposure to art and the creative world was a constant throughout her early life. ’Growing up, with two artist parents, I was always surrounded by art.
Dad was a painter, engraver and author. Mum is an excellent artist, producing abstract work with a magical quality.’ Ruth recalls a childhood filled by her drawings and illustrations which were ‘always ladies with big hair and pretty dresses, inspired by my love of old films.’
After graduating, Ruth worked for a large publishing house, designing greetings cards, wrapping paper and stationery where her designs were sent across the UK and beyond. Following a career of teaching illustration, Ruth is now back to freelancing and is enjoying every minute of it!
What inspired you to draw the female faces?
‘As a young girl, my Dad gave me a black doll made
from African fabrics. He found it in a second hand shop
in London and it only had one arm but I loved it! When I drew faces as a little girl, they always had the same shape face as my doll; an oval shape with a flat top.’
The first faces Ruth drew as an adult were directly onto fabric, using only ink. As she experimented with the style, her collection of exquisite faces grew and people began to notice and like them. Her work developed organically and she began to give the doll’s faces a French feel by only using blue ink.
What projects are you currently working on?
Just over a year ago, Ruth became involved in the creation of the Walsall Creative Factory. This is a collective group of community arts professionals who opened a venue in an unused hairdressers in Walsall. They have been funded by Walsall for All’s Innovation Grant to deliver sessions in the community as well as ‘Let’s Talk About It’, to help local people improve their English skills.
‘The space has become an inclusive hub for women from a number of different countries, including Pakistan and Eastern Europe who felt very isolated at home due to existing language barriers. These women wanted to make friends and feel part
of a larger community but always struggled due to logistics and a lack of confidence and self belief. The women crochet, embroider and craft and subsequently, through their love of creating, have become firm friends with each other and with those from different communities.’
Ruth will be commencing toddler afternoon craft sessions at
the venue in the near future and so her involvement in the Walsall Creative Factory continues. Working with the other arts professionals, she is very much helping to change lives and improving community cohesion for the people of Walsall.
Ruth is also working hard on another beautiful project, ‘The Magical Adventures of Fig and Fi.’ She is working on a series of intricate illustrations which she hopes will be turned into a children’s book. Fi is based on her baby Granddaughter, Sofia, and Fig is Ruth’s huge black cat. ‘Fi is great for inspiration! She is such a little character and absolutely loves Fig.’
Ruth’s work is intrinsically linked to The Paperdolls and we always look forward to seeing her and her fabulous creations. We wish Ruth every success with her projects and always look forward to seeing her at our Markets.
Visit Ruth’s online shop here: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RuthyRadcliffe
Follow her work on Instagram: @ruthyradcliffe
And if you would like to book a studio tour with The Paperdolls you can find out all the details and how to apply here
