Fragments of Identity – Collections

I have such wide interests in different media, and lots of disjointed ideas that take me on exciting tangents…but over the past few years I’ve been developing as an aspiring professional artist and thinking more about clear collections of work.

My training is in Traditional Chinese Medicine, meditation and qi gong. I started with shiatsu training 20 years ago when I first decided to follow my heart’s desire to focus on helping others. Following this I spent eight years in Manchester training in many different aspects of TCM and Buddhism, and have been teaching and practicing for 18 years. Like many people, I was dissuaded from pursuing my first love, art, because I was very capable academically. So, I have a BA Hons degree and an MSc, but they have little relevance to my core identity. Of course, I did these for a reason, nothing was wasted, and I am where I am now because of all of my experiences. Throughout my life I’ve continued to be creative in many different ways, and more recently, I’ve put more work into being my authentic self by pursuing what’s in my heart.

I worked on this new collection since my Mum died in April 2019. However, the journey, of course, started when I was first making marks and having fun exploring colours as a toddler. And that is exactly how I begin the process of creating these mixed media paintings. Finding inspiration in Pauline Caughey’s art, I work in three layers, beginning with mindfully exploring how three-year-old me would be feeling/thinking/creating, then moving on to the point of view of teenaged-me, and the final stage is consolidating and refining the work because of who and how I am now, as an adult. Along with the paintings I’ve explored this concept of identity in other media too. My focus will continue to be the painting, I enjoy the therapeutic, self-exploratory process so much! It’s very exciting to feel more attuned to my voice as an artist.

Below are some example of work I’ve completed in this collection.

This hand stitched piece is called 60heart, looking at my Mum’s identity in the ways I connect with it.
This mixed media painting, ‘Day and Night’, follows the therapeutic, self reflective process of exploring my identity.
These ceramic spheres look at the patchwork of memories, experience and feelings that contribute to an identity.
‘Mum/Alice Falling’, exploring my identity through the giving process.
Ceramic fragment, leaves from my Mum’s funeral flowers pressed into clay. ‘Not letting go’
Throw Your Dreams into Space

More recently I’ve been developing a collection around leaves and women’s connection with nature. Check out my art pages on social media for examples.

3 responses to “Fragments of Identity – Collections”

  1. susan514652 Avatar
    susan514652

    beautiful work ruth. I particularly like the idea of patching one’s identity together mirrored in the patchwork quilt and drawings.

    Reply
    1. ruthbeech Avatar
      ruthbeech

      Thank you very much for your comments.

      Reply
  2. susan514652 Avatar
    susan514652

    I also very much like your use of textiles, ceramics and paper based arts – it mirrors my own interests in making.

    Reply

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