By Vicki Byrum Dennis
Special to the Herald

Nicky Ruxton calls herself a “thing maker, an improvisational collagist, an assembler of disparate objects.” She is the definition of a creative reuse artist. “Give me your rusted, broken, and unwanted things” she said, “and I will transform them into something extraordinary.” Ruxton’s discerning eye for assembly ranges from distinctive jewelry, shoulder bags and fabric accessories to art pieces called assemblage or compositions made from found objects.
Throughout August, Ruxton will be the featured artist at Gallerie Renee Marie, Benicia, in a much- anticipated exhibit of her new work called “Vitality of the Coincidental.” Gallerie Renee Marie will host a reception in celebration of Ruxton’s work on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited.
Ruxton, who started her career as a graphic designer and worked for more than 25 years in Silicon Valley, calls herself an accidental jewelry designer: she came to crafting jewelry not as a result of any plan but rather from buying several pounds of scrap metal one autumn day in 2010. “I’ve always picked up things off the ground; bottle caps, washers and such,” she shared. “But I nearly lost my mind that day at the salvage yard. There were bins and boxes of bolts and springs and things I couldn’t identify but just had to have.” As a result of that scrap yard encounter, her wearable art business, Ruxton Designs, began.
In 2013, she moved to Vallejo to continue focusing on her design business. She became active in arts groups in Benicia and was one of the first artists to join Gallerie Renee Marie last year. “I was honored when Renee Marie invited me to be a member of her gallery before it officially opened, especially since I was new in town,” she offered. “I’ve never been part of a gallery before, and I’m so enjoying the support and friendship there.”
As Ruxton develops her constructions from found objects, she strives for equilibrium between spontaneity and intentional design in a process she likes to call Ruxtopositioning.
“I move objects and findings around until I feel a deep calm and energetic ‘click’ like tumblers in a lock,” she said. “I add layers of elements to my designs until the artwork itself says to stop. At that point, my only job is to get out of my own way.”
Ruxton’s brand is easily recognizable and her art reflects strong graphic compositions, balanced spatial relationships and a distinct limited palette that she calls “so much color.” Her business tagline, “Assembled art for the unapologetic,” reveals a rebel’s spirit without the yell. “My work is for the unconventional who say ‘why not’, the quiet ones and the bold ones who live just outside the lines,” she added.
She has had juried work at galleries throughout the Bay Area including ARC Gallery in San Francisco; Dadas Art Gallery & Boutique, Red Dot Gallery, and Atelier20 Gallery, all in Sacramento; Artiszen Cultural Arts Center and Georgia Galleria in Vallejo; the Fairfield Visual Arts Association; Arts Benicia, and, of course, in her home gallery, Gallerie Renee Marie in Benicia.
In addition to local galleries, her reclaimed materials work can be seen at various art and street fairs throughout the rest of this year. Green Craft magazine will highlight four individual articles dedicated to Ruxton’s upcycled design artwork in their forthcoming August issue.
Ruxton is also an inspiring lecturer including speaking engagements at the Peninsula Wearable Arts Guild in Campbell, the Haute Coutour Societe in Stockton, and, most recently, at the Sacramento Center for the Textile Arts. Next year, she will be the July guest speaker at Berkeley’s Bead Society of Northern California.
“I make art because it satisfies me more than anything else I do,” she mused. “It’s a fascinating process, like I’m fully present and completely out of my body at the same time.”
Fans of Ruxton’s 3-D products eagerly anticipate her ever-evolving body of work. The upcoming reception will showcase more than 50 new constructions.
Gallerie Renee Marie is located at 1038 First Street, Benicia, and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. For more information call 707-480-5501, email galleriereneemarie@gmail.com or visit www.galleriereneemarie.com.

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