Earthwise 26 February – 6 April 2026 Solo Exhibition.
Ruth Nicholas is a well known Upper Hutt Artist with a very active profile in local quilting circles. Over the course of time her practice has moved out from quilting into more exploratory textile practices. This is particularly obvious in the body of work she has created for Earthwise.
Ruth is inspired by the landscape of Aotearoa, our languages – both te reo Māori and English, and current issues.
Very active in a variety of fibre practices Ruth has created large quilts as well as more intimate mixed media works. Recently her art quilt ‘Reflections of Taranaki’ has been purchased at Te Matariki at The Waitara Artists Cooperative exhibition. The words of the late Sir Paul Reeves are an integral part of this art piece:
The history of Taranaki is a history of struggle, patience and hope. But over it all rises the mountain, a promise of unity.
I have invited Ruth to complete our written interview so here are her answers to shed more light on her creative journey:
What initially attracted you to quilting and stitching in general as your artistic expressions, how was your imagination captured? What or who were your early influences and how has your life/upbringing influenced your work?
I have always loved fabric – the textures, colours, and designs and what it can create. My mother taught me to sew and let me use her sewing machine when I was 8 years old and I began with making dolls clothes and I developed my skills and sewed my own clothes in my teenage years and twenties. I was recently looking at photographs from the past and I realised that I had made some very stylish long dresses to wear to balls when I was at Teachers’ College.
In 1998 I was working as an educational leader and had spent several years studying extramurally through Massey University. I was half way through a Masters degree in Education when I attended a series of Beginners Patchwork classes with Heather Harding. I loved it! My Masters Degree became a Post-Graduate Diploma as I gave away studying to have time to quilt and begin my textile art journey!
What was your route to becoming an artist?
Right from when I attended the Beginners Patchwork classes, I have always ‘changed things up’. Everyone else in the classes used a cream background for each of their blocks, and I used black. I think that the first two quilts I made were exactly the same as the pattern I was using and since then I have always ‘adapted’ a design when making bed quilts and created my own original designs in art quilts.
I remember the first time I entered one of my original designs in our local quilt club exhibition. It was both terrifying and exciting to put my work out for others to look at and to be judged. The first time I entered an original design in a New Zealand Quilt Symposium I did not receive an award, however, my art quilt was reviewed in a newspaper article as one of a few ‘stand-out’ quilts by the reviewer who wrote the article. This provided major encouragement to continue developing as an artist.
I enjoy learning and experimenting with different processes and have participated in several Fibre Arts workshops in Whanganui and two Fibre Arts Take Two Digital Courses.
Over the years my work has been included in local, national and international exhibitions and I had a solo exhibition of seven textile works relating to equity and education at Whirinaki Whare Taonga Gallery in Upper Hutt in 2021. These days I really enjoy sharing my art with others and I am excited to be exhibiting at Out of the Blue Gallery here in Opunake. It is a privilege to be able to show my ‘Earthwise’ textile art pieces, constructed using either silk, cotton or linen.
Tell us a bit about your process from conception to creation please.
I often have an idea in my head, many months before I make it. I make a drawing to scale and either create new fabric or identify fabrics in my stash I think I will use to create the art piece. Once I begin to create it, the design is usually modified. Often I feel that the fabric is ‘telling me’ what goes where or what stitching I should add. Sometimes I try an idea from my original plan and ‘it’s not right’ so I change it. I guess that I have learned to trust my intuition and to go with the flow.
My works using eco-dying and painting with soy milk pigments always involve ongoing design as each piece evolves because I am never exactly sure how the base fabric will turn out. I love that sense of wonderment when I have created the initial design, then the excitement of decision making about where I will add stitching and what type of stitching I will use. Then I need to decide whether the piece is complete……. Or does it need something more?
You have a wide range of patterns and arrangements and objects in your portfolio of works can you describe some of your chosen techniques and how you choose to use them?
My son and his family lived in Australia for a few years and once when I was visiting them in Adelaide, we went to see an exhibition of eco-dyed textile art by India Flint. I loved her art pieces, particularly the silk pieces. I loved her use of plants and fruits to create natural dyestuffs and the colours achieved during this process. I purchased her book ‘Eco Colour’ and began my eco-dying journey. I have worked with Merrilyn George to further develop my skills and continue to experiment with creating art works. In our household, a ‘boil up’ used to only mean a cooked pot of pork bones and puha, however now it also means boiled or steamed fabric in a special pot purchased for this eco-dying process. I have included some of my eco-dyed silk art pieces in this exhibition and have made and sold eco-dyed silk scarves.
Other textile art in this exhibition has been created using a process of painting pigments mixed with soy milk onto linen. I learned this process in a Fibre Arts Take Two digital course with Claire Benn, a British artist. I love the textures I have been able to create using this process and will continue to create new works using these techniques in the future. I enjoy adding hand stitching to these pieces. I have recently begun framing some of these works – some have been framed by a professional framer and others I have framed, with the help of my husband, in float frames, which I have purchased and painted myself.
What currently inspires you?
I create art pieces that make a statement about the world around me. I am inspired by the shapes, colours, landscapes and languages of Aotearoa.
This exhibition is about landforms, the soil formed at the surface of the land where living things and the rocks of the Earth’s crust meet and mix, and about ownership of land.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Tikorangi, in North Taranaki. The quality of the soil structure and texture are very important to farmers and everyone else who grows crops as a business or vegetables to feed their family. Soil structure and textures control the amount of water and water-borne nutrients that can be stored in the soil and how much water can pass through the soil. The topsoil, subsoil and parent rock vary in colour, texture, consistency and structure and I have endeavoured to represent this in my art in this exhibition.
Is there a piece of your work that holds particularly fond memories for you and why?
Soils vary across Aotearoa, according to the topography of the area. My art piece – ‘Earth of Many Colours’ includes soil from three different areas of the North Island – Taranaki, from the farm where I grew up, soil from Ohakune, and soil from Paeroa, and they vary in colour from a reddish shade to mid-brown and dark brown. I am very fond of this piece as it represents who I am and where I am from.
How has your work developed since you began and how do you see it evolving in the future?
I have recently created and framed two abstract paper collages. I am planning to create more abstract fabric collages in the future, using fabrics I have created along with purchased fabrics from my stash.
What advice would you give an aspiring artist?
My advice for an aspiring artist would be to visit galleries and study other people’s art – What aspects do you connect with? Learn about colour and the elements and principles of design. Make art and keep on making art, developing your skills and processes and confidence along the way.
What is something you cannot take your eyes off when you see it – that fascinates and mesmerises you?
I am a keen walker and often walk in the bush. I am fascinated by the different trees, plants and leaves on the forest floor, at my eye level and high up in the tree-tops, and often stop to study the shapes and colours and ‘take it all in’.
What is your favourite way to unwind or de-stress?
A favourite way I de-stress is by sewing neo-natal or bed quilts for family or for charity. I find the process of sewing using my sewing machine to be very relaxing, especially if I am making something with a simple design. Walking is another way I unwind.
The Taranaki Collection 2026
Ruth was among the artists selected for The Taranaki Collection 2026. The work that was included is called ‘Coastal Walkway Boulders’. 55cm width, 44.5cm height, 3.5cm depth.
Ruth Nicholas creates textile art pieces that make a statement about the world around her. She is inspired by the shapes, colours, landscapes and languages of Aotearoa.
Ruth grew up on a dairy farm in Tikorangi, In North Taranaki. She lived in Taranaki for many years before moving to Upper Hutt. Ruth and her family return to Taranaki very regularly as it is still home to them.
Ruth’s work has been included in local, national and international exhibitions, participating with others and exhibiting by herself. She is looking forward to exhibiting her ‘Earthwise’ textile art pieces from 26 February here at ‘from out of the blue studio gallery’.
Ruth’s work that is included in The Taranaki Collection 2026 is ‘Coastal Walkway Boulders’
The Coastal Walkway currently extends 13.2km along the coastline from Ngāmotu to Bell Block. It is being extended and by 2027 there will be a 22.9km shared path from Ngāmotu to Waitara. Boulders support the structure of the walkway. My boulders reflect the impact over time of sand, sea and washed-up debris.
Artistic CV – Ruth Nicholas
1998 – Attended a Beginners’ Patchwork course
2001 – I joined Pinestream Quilters
Exhibited and won awards in Pinestream Quilters’ exhibitions
2008 – Distinction Award and Judge’s Award
2012 – Best Innovative Wall Quilt and President’s Choice
2018 – Innovative Quilt Merit Award and President’s Choice
2024 – Winner Contemporary Quilt
Quilt Symposium Exhibitions
2002 – The first time I had a quilt selected for Symposium exhibitions. My work has been exhibited in each NZ Quilt Symposium since then.
2022 – One of my quilts ‘Korero Mai’ was selected in the travelling ‘suitcase exhibition’ following on from the symposium held in Lower Hutt.
Made in New Zealand Two exhibition
2009 – My quilt ‘Waitangi 170’ was selected ( 1 of 21 Quilts) in the Made In New Zealand 2 exhibition in France, organised by Anne Scott.
Aotearoa Quilters
My work has been part of Aotearoa Quilters’ exhibitions to Ailsa Craig in Ontario, and to France and Japan, and to the United States.
Exhibiting with 3 Squared
I am part of a textile art group called 3 Squared and we exhibit regularly as a group. We have exhibited our work at Hutt Art in Lower Hutt, at Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt, at Rinitawa Gallery in Woodville, and at the gallery in Parliament.
Textile Studies
I have attended many Fibre Arts New Zealand workshops and have participated in two online courses, with Clare Benn and Cordula Kagemann, through Fibre Arts Take Two.
Wellington Regional Art Awards
I have had art work selected in these awards in 2016 and 2020
Waitara Artists Cooperative
I have exhibited and sold work at exhibitions in 2022, 2024 and at Te Matatini in 2025
Quilt Judge
I have participated in training to be a quilt judge and in 2025 was one of the judges of the Kapiti Coast Quilters’ exhibition and the Wellington Quilters’ exhibition.
Convenor of Upper Hutt Artists Meet Ups
I coordinate with the Director of Whirinaki Whare Taonga and organise and facilitate four meetings per year for artists who live in Upper Hutt to get together, share ideas and learn from each other and from guest artists.
Solo Exhibitions
2021 – Equity Exhibition at Whirinaki Whare Taonga. I was invited to be guest resident artist when the Upper Hutt Expressions Gallery was extended and reopened as Whirinaki Whare Taonga.
2026 – Earthwise Exhibition at ‘from out of the blue studio gallery’