Ruth Thompson: Judge for Maker of the Year 2024

Above Ruth Thompson @shed_at_144 with her Searush lamp in Tasmanian oak and parchment, a collaboraton with printmaker Phoebe Middleton. Shown on display at The Art of Making, Studio Woodworkers Australia’s annual exhibition at Australian Design Centre, March 21 to May 4 2024. Photo: Amy Piddington

We're honoured to announce Ruth Thompson is one of the judges for Maker of the Year awards, presented by Carbatec.

Ruth Thompson is chair of Studio Woodworkers Australia, an association of accredited professional woodworkers and wood artists, and brings not only expertise, but decades of experience as an educator to the table.

"After 35 years of teaching high school students wood-based curriculum, focussing on developing their design ethos and high-quality manufacturing skills, I am now developing my own work," says Ruth of her current direction.

Searush lamp, detail. Photo: Peter Thompson

Her preference is to use a mix of traditional and contemporary manufacturing techniques, solid timber and veneers and luxury textiles and other materials to create "products that provoke a response in the viewer". "As a designer maker I aim to create works that are visually complex, using simple elements", Ruth explains.

"I am strongly influenced by the clean lines of the Shaker movement and the avant-garde of the Bauhaus movement.  Although these design periods are separated by a century, they both epitomise the use of minimalist design while seeking to create works that are visually interesting."

As a former judge for Maker of the Year in 2022, Ruth also brings a keen awareness of the judging criteria and parameters of the Awards.

Learn more about Ruth at www.shed144.com

Enter Maker of the Year presented by Carbatec

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