Ruth de Vos
Textile Artist, Western Australia
ruth@ruthdevos.com

Education:

University of Western Australia, WA, BSc (Zoology) / BE (Environmental, Honours)
Albany Senior High School (TEE)

Background:

I grew up in a very creative environment. Mum was always busy making something out of "nothing" - our clothes, posters, books, toys, a dollhouse, wallhangings, and other home decorations. She also made quilts. I don't recall her buying fabrics for the quilts. I think she used scraps, old clothes, and curtain samples from a friend's curtain shop. As a result the quilts she made were very creative.

As a result of this upbringing I have been working with textiles in one form or other for as long as I can remember - making doll's clothes for myself and my sisters, clothes for myself and a host of other projects. I made my first quilt when I was 12. I used an old machine which worked by turning the wheel on the side by hand. The quilt now lines our pram and has survived two babies, and the sewing machine still runs as smoothly as ever. I still use it, when we have a power failure.

I started a number of other quilts in my school years, but these were generally finished off by my mum, as I was not very good at finishing what I started. I produced my first art quilt as part of my TEE art requirements. This quilt was inspired by the work of Wendy Lugg, which I had seen at the Albany Extravaganza. The quilt featured hand printed fabrics in earthy colours, pieced to represent leaf litter. In hindsight it is a rather sorry quilt, but I was pleased with it at the time. My sewing was then put aside while I studied science and engineering, only to be taken up again with the birth of my first child. Now with four children and a very supportive husband I once again have the opportunity to pursue my passion for textiles and sewing.

In 2005 I started attending the Contemporary Quilt Group, a subgroup of the West Australian Quilters Association. These meetings have been very valuable, helping me to develop my designs and techniques further than what I might otherwise have done.

Selected Exhibitions:

2010
The New Quilt 2010
Creative Force '10

2009
Quilt National 2009
Art Quilt Australia 09

2008
Eucalypts in Focus - solo exhibition at Central TAFE's Showcase Gallery, Northbridge, WA
Best of Australia, Australasian Quilt Convention
Australia Wide
Minnawarra Art Award 2008
Quiltwest 2008
Stitched and Bound 2008
Expressions 2008 - The Wool Quilt Prize
Dare to Differ 2008

2007
Quiltwest 2007

2006
Best of the Best - A display of quilts from the West Australian Quilter's Association, at the Australasian Quilt Convention 2006
Quiltwest 2006

2005
Quiltwest 2005

Selected Awards:

2009
1st Prize - Art Quilts (Quiltwest 2009)

2007
Best of Show (Quiltwest 2007)
Best Use of Colour (Quiltwest 2007)
1st Prize - Art Quilts (Quiltwest 2007)
3rd Members' Choice (Quiltwest 2007)

2006
Best Machine Quilting (Quiltwest 2006)
3rd Prize - Art Quilts (Quiltwest 2006)
4th Viewer's Choice (Quiltwest 2006)

2005
Best Use of Colour (Quiltwest 2005)
2nd Prize - Art Quilts (Quiltwest 2005)

Selected Publications:

2010
SAQA Journal Vol. 20 No. 1 front cover, p8-11
1000 Artisan Textiles by Sandra Salamony & Gina M. Brown p228, 229

2009
Down Under Quilts Issue 138 p42-48

2007
Australian Patchwork and Quilting Vol. 15 No. 12 p76
Australian Patchwork and Quilting Vol. 16 No. 3 p64, 65
iQuilt Newsletter No. 2, Best of WA

2006
Down Under Quilts Issue 93 February p68

2005
Australian Patchwork and Quilting Vol. 13 No. 8 p72

Collections:

WA Museum (History Collection)
Private Collections - Australia & United States