Ruth Shelley

Glass fuser | Cardiff, United Kingdom

A colourful life from textiles to glass

Ruth’s passion is colour and pattern in glass
She has won several awards in the UK
Ruth studied textiles prior to working in glass

Ruth Shelley is an award-winning glass artist whose main interest is colour and how it is affected by shape, form, and pattern. Her background is in textiles, but she has been working with kiln formed glass since the early 2000s. Ruth attended many masterclasses including North Lands Creative Glass, UK and Bullseye Resource Centre, USA which enabled her to develop her skills. Ruth won the Glass Sellers Award at the British Glass Biennale 2015 and also exhibited at the British Glass Biennale in 2017. She has received many awards from the Arts Council for Wales. Her work can be seen in many UK galleries including London Glassblowing.

Interview

©Haydn Denman

Why did you transfer from textiles to glass?: Returning from a research trip on South East Asia’s textiles, I found glass a way to express my findings and love of colour and pattern. I still adore the creative process of working with glass and love the excitement of overcoming its challenges.
How do you approach designing glass pieces?: I love to travel and I am often inspired by a place or scene which I record on my phone or take mental pictures of. Returning to my studio, I make layered glass samples from my notes and sketches before planning out my design.
Why is colour so important to you?: Having been brought up in the Welsh rural landscape, I am continually amazed by how colours sit together in nature and how perfectly they blend in tone and balance. I often take inspiration from it. I believe that colours need to speak to each other.
Can you tell us about your most recent project?: I recently returned from a trip to Uzbekistan, after receiving an award from Wales Arts International, to research evidence of Celtic Design Connections on the Silk Road. The trip proved inspirational and I will translate my findings into glass.

Ruth Shelley is a master artisan: she began her career in 1994 and she started teaching in 2002