China Vagina collection from Blighty Creations

Ruth Mclees

About Me

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. As a child I was always scribbling on pieces of paper and creating ‘doodles’ in all my school books. (much to the annoyance of my teachers). So by secondary school I had realised that my life would be in the art world. I first began doing serious art in my early teens and later went on to study a BA in fine art here in my native Cardiff. I am now a free lance artist and have done many works and exhibitions here in Wales and commissions for various people in the UK and abroad. I am always looking to broaden my horizons and work with new ideas and philosophies.

I am fascinated by light, reflection, and the interplay of overlaid images, especially pattern. It is the suggestion of an alternative world existing alongside every-day reality that captivates me and remains a constant source of inspiration.

I enjoy painting shadowy figures merging into the fabric of their surroundings, making it impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins.

The images I paint are alluring and stylish. Figures, largely female, are taken from the worlds of film, fashion and glamour modeling.

You can see more of my work at my personal website www.ruthmclees.co.uk

The China Vagina Collection

I find the patterns decorating ceramics intriguing. Today they are an art form often far away from the public eye, visible mainly in museums. It struck me that my method of painting using patterns and simple colour ranges would be well suited to creating a new ceramic art collection. At the same time, by adding a dose of contemporary culture to the mix, my works became uniquely different conversation pieces inspiring sophisticated collectors.

I stole away to my studio and ended up creating over 30 different pieces. Slowly I began the arduous process of narrowing them down to a collection of 6.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive response from collectors and fans alike.

It was about this time that a friend of a friend of Chris at Blighty told me that they were looking for Blighty-based artists to back and take to market. I had heard about their ‘Little Hooliganz’ collection and thought they might be interested in my work. We met in a pub and I am glad to say they were more than interested. The rest is history...

So why the China Vagina collection?

Well, at first I called my ceramics designs simply 'The Ruth McLees Collection'. One evening I had a brainstorm. The fragility and brittle beauty of fine bone china ceramics seemed to perfectly echo the delicate qualities of feminine sexuality. And so the name of the collection changed forever.

I hope you enjoy my work.