RUTH CHARLOTTE KNEASS is a San Fransisco-based artist who specializes in mobile sculptures created from a variety of natural materials. After studying industrial design at SF State and silversmithing at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Ruth returned to the Bay Area in 1986 to set up her graphic design, fashion, and accessories studio, Kneass Boat Works. A decade later, Ruth accepted a job designing and producing displays for Banana Republic’s worldwide fleet of stores, where she worked for more than twenty years.

Kneass's mother created small-scale mobiles for years and eventually inspired Kneass to see how she might express herself through this form. Incorporating materials ranging from foraged driftwood to concrete to steel and almost everything in between, Kneass's floating mobiles seem to defy gravity, with some towering up to a lofty 14 feet tall. The interactive, serene nature of Kneass's work is nothing short of awe-inspiring and evokes a truly majestic quality that is just a pleasure to experience.