Ruth Marshall is an Australian-American contemporary textile artist. She interprets, designs and hand knits textiles of endangered animals & natural environments utilizing intricate intarsia and fair isle techniques and crochet. Her future goals is to explore natural environments in her original textile artworks.
These are the results of months of research and interpretation from collections in various natural history institutions and zoos. She holds workshops and lectures about her knitted designs and animal conservation. For several years Ruth has managed and gained public funding for community art programming and art installations in her neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.
My fine art textiles explore the creative possibilities of crochet and knitting with an emphasis of interpreting nature via flora and fauna. My intention is to execute these crafts to a high level of excellence. I wish people to see the fragility and beauty of our planet while exploring the wonder of nature. My efforts in teaching art and crafts while working with members of the community to create public displays inspires these skills to exist beyond the world of private nurturing that domestic crafts usually inhabit. Sharing knowledge about environmental and conservation practices and utilizing recycled materials where it is possible is a continual exploration. I am invigorated to continue these endeavors demonstrating the extent of expression possible in creative fiber and textile structures.
“The twenty-first century is gripped by the predicament of habitat loss and species decline. There is an urgent desire in me to say new things about this disappearing world and to contribute to the efforts to help wild animals and wild places endure. I am devoted to telling the stories of individual animals and natural environments who have been forgotten, lost, or who are in danger of becoming so.”
RUTH MARSHALL 