Background
Ruth Gibson is an artist, master craftsperson, and teacher with over 25 years’ experience working with clay. She has exhibited widely throughout the UK and internationally, creating distinctive ceramics that combine photography, printmaking, and expressive glazes to evoke a powerful sense of place.
Self-employed as an artist for more than four decades, Ruth initially ran a successful handmade designer-gift business for fifteen years before returning to higher education. She graduated in 2003 with a First Class Honours Degree in Ceramics and Sculpture, marking a new chapter in her creative journey.
Over the past 25 years, Ruth has delivered numerous Community Art and Sculpture projects, encouraging people of all ages to discover the joys of working with clay. She is passionate about connecting creativity to the natural world and has a particular love for outdoor, landscape-based projects.
As an educator, Ruth has taught ceramics to degree level, covering a wide range of hand-building and surface decoration techniques, as well as professional practice and creative industry modules for final-year students. She regularly leads workshops in ceramics and printmaking, and gives talks and demonstrations in schools, colleges, and ceramic groups across the UK.
Ruth welcomes enquiries for bespoke workshops and creative retreats hosted at her home studio in Shropshire, where she offers small group sessions (up to five participants) that include a delicious home-cooked lunch. She also provides individual or ‘a weekend for two’ workshops with accommodation and meals. For more details or to book, please get in touch via her Clay Clubs at Home page.
In collaboration with Jackie Jones, an experienced yoga teacher and somatic practitioner, Ruth and Jackie deliver Creative Retreats in the landscape; offering a space to slow down, reconnect with nature, and rediscover your creative centre through mindfulness, movement, and making. These all inclusive retreats weave together clay, meditation, and gentle yoga to nurture calm, playfulness, and imagination.
Alongside her studio practice, Ruth co-founded Benchart, a public art collaboration in Shrewsbury where she works as joint lead artist. Her Arts Council–supported projects span sculpture, public art, and project management, combining brick and ceramics with reclaimed materials, wood, and metal to create works rooted in place and community.
Her work has been shown widely in galleries around the UK and at major national ceramic events including Earth and Fire, Art in Clay, Potfest, and the International Ceramics Biennial at Aberystwyth.
When not working with clay, Ruth finds joy and renewal through travel, cycle touring, hill walking, wild swimming, yoga, and tai chi. Music, singing, dancing and playing guitar are vital parts of her creative life, nurturing her spirit and energy — and grounding her artistic rhythm. Whether sleeping under the stars in her camper van or journeying with friends to wild and beautiful places, Ruth continues to be guided by an enduring curiosity and love for the natural world.
