National Art School, Sydney.
Ruth grew up in the BOI, where she was first introduced to the art of printmaking by her high school Teacher, Mr Selwyn Wilson. He showed her how to create prints from bamboo husks; this love of print has been an ongoing passion throughout her art career. The graphic nature of print has seen Ruth explore lithography, etching and lately Lino printing. She has a small press, and works from home, putting her work in many local shows. She has been doing painting, printing and teaching for over 30yrs. She finds herself ever-inspired by the natural world around her.
ruth.bell.francis@gmail.com
The lino “Crayfish” was created to celebrate one of our favourite delicacies, abundant here in our Northland waters. It is a right of passage for many divers, come summer every year, to dive the beautiful waters of The Bay of Islands and enjoy this jewel of the sea.To create this image, first I had to explore the crazy encrustations of the NZ crayfish's body. I then drew and redrew, simplifying the shapes of the crayfish and creating a graphic version of this complex creature. From there, the image needed to be transferred from paper to Lino which is a product made from compressed paper stuck together with linseed oil, and backed with hessian.
Onto this lino image, I then cut or carved out the relief image, all in reverse, so when printed it is the right way round. The surface then has ink rolled onto it and then prints the image onto paper, by press or hand; I hand printed this one. Enjoy!
