Luz Marina Ruiz "Ultramarino" Tunnel Book, Linocut Watercolor Paper Sculpture in Blue, Bay Area California Art, Original 6.5 X 12 Inches, 2021

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Stepped layers of printed paper climb from a patterned base to a crescent moon at the top, in ultramarine, teal, … Read more Stepped layers of printed paper climb from a patterned base to a crescent moon at the top, in ultramarine, teal, ochre and gold, with a large cream spiral at the front like a wave about to turn. Blue and white stripes run through the middle sheets, a polka-dot band edges the foreground, and the rear panels shift to charcoal gray with crescent cut-outs. The slim, tall structure gives a sense of depth, as if looking into a tide pool at night. Ultramarino means beyond the sea, and the piece has the rich color the name implies.

Compact and tall, it suits a bookcase, a desk, a mantel or a console in a study, a bedroom or an entry. Its blue, teal and gold palette pairs with wood, brass, books and ceramics, and it is a good match for white walls or deep navy ones. Place it where light can fall through the layers, and where it can be walked around and viewed from several angles.

Tunnel Book, linocut, watercolor and gouache, 6.5 x 12 x 7 in (16.5 x 30.5 x 17.8 cm).

A tunnel book is a sequence of printed and cut layers joined by folded side walls, so the scene reads in depth as you look through it. Luz Marina Ruiz combines printmaking techniques such as linocut, woodcut and monotype, sometimes with hand-applied watercolor and gouache, then cuts and assembles the layers, designing each for the passage of light through its openings.

Luz Marina Ruiz was born in Cali, Colombia, and raised in New York. She earned her BA, MA and MFA at the University of California, Berkeley, and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she teaches printmaking at the California College of the Arts.

Her practice moves between painting, drawing, printmaking and book arts, with linocut, collagraph, monotype and woodcut often turned into sculptural tunnel books and carousel books. Inspired by dreams and nature, she returns to water and boats as images of life's journeys. Her work is held in public collections including the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Library and Mills College Special Collections. See less