After my sculpture degree I went to work in a cafe, then at the BBC and then at various arts organisations, playing musical saw in a band which was my creative outlet. For most of that time I made very little artwork, apart from creating a lino printed Christmas card every year of the Queen. When I had my first child I dug out my Lino stuff and began printmaking again, I could just about manage to do it in the kitchen while the baby was asleep.


When I had my second child my partner insisted that I get a studio, our flat was too small and chaotic to host my inky endeavours. I found a place down the road, an old office building that had been turned into studios.
It was enormous, freezing and pricey and was demolished less than a year after I moved in, but by then I was feeling like an artist again and had also bought a colossal plan chest so there was no going back to the kitchen table.



I had a couple of exhibitions and my lovely friends bought my prints, but I really wanted to be a picture book illustrator, so I began to Lino print a picture book that a friend of mine had written.
I probably worked on it for six months, and when I finally unveiled it to some who actually knew what she was talking about, she said “It’s wonderful but it’s not a children’s book”. She was right. It was WAY too dark and would have worked better as a graphic novel.
But by then I was committed. I enrolled on Claire Alexander’s picture book course at the House of Illustration, and started having tutorials with Orange Beak Studio. I drew and drew and drew from life, and eventually felt ready to start trying to make illustrations again.
On an Orange Beak Residency Pam Smy taught us how to screen print at home, it’s a brilliant process and doesn’t involve photo emulsions or jet washers (although I do some wash my screens at the car wash).
Then I made an entirely screen printed book. I love the expanses of flat colour and the way you don’t really need to use very much linework. And unlike Lino printing which is very opaque, with a screen print the ink can be very translucent and layering one colour on top of another gives you a third colour.
The way I work is to screen print each colour separately and then assemble it all in photoshop. In fact I screen print everything in black and colour it digitally.


My forthcoming book, Animal Crackers, which is published by Rocket Bird Books in May 2023 is entirely made this way.
I just love screen printing. I also love Riso printing, but that’s another story…
So lovely to hear more about your history Ruby! It’s lovely to see your progression, and I can really see your journey. I can’t WAIT to feast my eyes on Animal Crackers!! ❤️
Loved reading this. Must try printing! Brilliant to see all your work.