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Ruth Holt MSDC

Woven Textiles

About Ruth
With a life that has been anchored in both the City of London and Suffolk, Ruth weaves silk and wool into scarves of subtle colour and elegance. The textiles evoke her abiding love of landscapes and of the many narratives they hold. Suffolk has a strong textile tradition, its wealth being built on the wool trade and with a strong silk weaving industry in Sudbury. Weaving in a studio in north Suffolk, Ruth enjoys working in this historic context, feeling a sense of engagement with weavers of the past.
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Ruth is a weaver for whom textiles had always been part of her life. After a career as an academic dentist the opportunity to enter Art School as a mature student was life changing and immensely rewarding and the choice of textiles and weaving as a design direction was a natural evolution. She now works with silk and with wool yarns, sourcing wools from rare British breeds and dyeing silk warps using simple ikat methods to achieve shifting nuances of colour. She loves the complex weave structures made easy by her 24 shaft loom but often returns to plain and twill weave structures to find an elegant simplicity that highlights yarn qualities and colour. Ruth’s designs grow from a response to her surroundings, Suffolk landscapes and gardens in the changing seasons offer a kaleidoscope of colour, other sources include the wilder landscapes of Orkney with their deep sense of narrative and history.

Resumé Back to top

Education

  • 2010-2012 Royal College of Art, MA Textiles 2012,
  • 
2007-2010 Central Saint Martins, BA (Hons) Textile Design, School of Art & Design
  • 2006-2007 Central Saint Martins (Diploma in Foundation studies with Distinction)
  • EXHIBITIONS
  • 2020, 2022 Loft Gallery, Orkney, Solo Shows
  • 2019 Suffolk Craft Society Meet the Makers Show Lavenham
  • 2017 Shipyard Gallery Wivenhoe, Christmas Cornucopia
  • 2016 Scottish Gallery Christmas Show
  • 2013-2020 Suffolk Craft Society Summer Shows
  • 2012 Show 2012, Royal College of Art
  • 2010 Final Degree show, Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design

Prizes & Awards

2011 -Royal College of Art: Project and Observational Drawing Prizewinner. MA Dissertation Pass with Distinction.

Elected Member of Societies

  • Liveryman, Worshipful Company of Broderers
  • Liveryman, Society of Apothecaries

Related Activities

  • Member of Volunteer Broderers Norwich Cathedral
  • Committee Member Suffolk Craft Society
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