Ruth Singer, is an artist & maker exploring personal and collective narratives through textiles. She creates for exhibitions, commissions and projects. She also write books, supports other creatives through mentoring and consultancy / research work and loves generating her own projects, artist residencies and making things happen.
How do you describe what you do?
I help creative people work their way through challenges and blocks which are holding them back from doing the work they want to do.
What would you say is your style or approach?
I aim to be a critical friend, who can listen to what’s bothering you, without judgement. I ask a lot of questions and will suggest activities, research or things to try if that’s what mentees need. But I never tell you what to do. I throw in ideas and options and allow you to figure out what is best for you.
What sort of clients do you enjoy working with?
I thought I mostly worked with textile makers but it isn’t that simple at all. I love working with artists and makers, but I also really enjoy the challenge of different working practices including retail business owners and academics. I love working longer-term with people who want to develop an area of their practice over a few months.
Are there any particular issues/topics/themes that you specialise in?
I have worked a lot with people who are changing career as that’s something I’ve done myself. I also work closely with people on funding applications as again this is something I do myself, as well as running projects, exhibitions and community work.
How does your background, your artistic practice or your previous career etc affect/influence how you work?
I often work in collaboration with other artists as well as with organisations on projects and partnerships. I love working with other people and problem-solving together so I think this comes out in my mentoring. It also impacts the kind of experiences I can share as I focus more on exhibitions than retail.
What motivates you to do this work? What do you love about it?
I love talking to artists and creative people about what they do. It’s endlessly fascinating to hear about ambitions, inspiration and ideas. I created my Gentle Goal Setting course at the end of last year to support people I mentor with some review and planning structure. We had a couple of group sessions online which I really loved. Getting people together to share and support each other was amazing and something I want to do more of.
What else would you like people to know about you/working with you?
I hear from a lot of people I work with, or who would like to work with me, that they are struggling with their confidence and if they are ‘good enough’ to spend time mentoring. I have done a lot of work myself over the last year on supporting creative people with confidence issues and I really hope that I have learned some useful techniques which I can pass on. Mentoring is for whoever needs it and is ready to learn and grow, whatever stage you are at. I love speaking to mentors and coaches myself, even though I have been working for 16 years. There’s always more to learn and discover.
You can find Ruth on Instagram @ruthsingertextiles or visit her website: ruthsinger.com