New but old Work now on the website

Well it's taken me a while to get it going and making the work as I want it (I'm still being frustrated some days but we'll gloss over that). But I have now put the leaf print vases, my first ever product in my newish website shop.

 click here for link to the shop 

I know that sounds a bit bonkers so I'll try to explain.......Since Arthur(ritis) I had to stop rolling out clay as it would be excruciating for days after and I couldn't use my hands. So I bought a slabroller and tried everything to roll out the clay to as thin as I wanted before. With a few modifications I kind of gave up as it still took a lot of effort to turn the wheel and tighten stuff up its a strange thing until you have it its hard to explain. Despondent I just used the machine as a really expensive table lol and tried slip casting. But after that little interlude I have well I won't say mastered it but I have conquered the slabroller after some really lovely guys motorised it for me! I know wow! 

So I am hoping to build up some stock of the new old work and contact some galleries who maybe used to stock them and see if there is any call for them again. I was thinking I may give some a twist with different coloured leaf prints and maybe so a colour for the seasons? what do we think?

 For now though is anyone would like one click the link above. Or email me at info@juliemiles.co.uk and we can have a chat if you would like to stock them again

seams

detail of the wrap around seams

lavender print

Playing with colour - new jewellery

So a few months a go I was given a box of brightly coloured underglazes. Me yes me given some colours to play with. Well its not like I didn't have some colours but these were something else. Bright cheerful tubes of Apple green, Hi ho Silver and the like, all taunting me to use them.
So I did. I've been playing with colour.
 I know it may come as a shock it's not white but I am getting a bit more confident in using it and playing with it and making spots and the like and even glaze yes glaze. 

small dotty dots

small hearts

Now if I can just work out how to put a colour selection on my web shop then I will get them up there it maybe I have to clone the products so more photos will be taken this weekend and uploaded too.

small daisies

 Honestly I could be dangerous if I knew what I was doing with technology!

Colour! dotty dots

 These I love and have been painting more today with a few more colours.
There's no stopping me now. 

This last pic is of our family dog Charlie. He's not been well and well he is just too gorgeous to not share a pic of. The vets just say hes old but we are his 3rd home that we know of and he could be anywhere between 10 and 15 yrs old. Crossing fingers, paws and all things he is back to his normal self soon its always a worry when they are older but just look at him he's just adorable and almost always asleep these day xxx

Review of 2015 well a little one

So 2015 seems to have been a busy one with a few bumps along the way. It's been different. 

I started the year with the Bowland exhibition and the birds stonechats, lapwings and snipes. I will be carrying the thread on hoping to make more and with my gift membership to the RSPB for Christmas. I have had my slab roller motorised too so hopefully back on the slab built porcelain too.

I am loving the dog commissions I know I need practice so I am having a go at a few friends dogs in the new year too. It's all very exciting. 

So more bird, dogs, animals and porcelain and maybe better health and less accidents (currently waiting for my new phone to be delivered after the last one got run over!) It's never ever boring is it! 

Here's to a happy and healthy 2016 to all. 

A Winter's Tale

 These came about after a conversation with one of the other mill artists Eddie Davies when I was playing with smaller animals and made a little mole for fun. As the exhibition we were working towards is called 'A Winter's Tale' it fitted well that I had a go at making the EH Shepard characters illustrating Kenneth Grahames Wind in the Willows so these were born. The glasses are actual real  lenses I swapped for a vase with one of Karens students and made with copper wire. The pipe is a long running prop that a lot of the other artists have too. It's a long story but it was in my studio!

Mole

Toad

Badger

Ratty

 I had fun can you tell? It was a bit of light relief after filling a skip last weekend with stuff from my studio yes a skip all be it a mini one but really I didn't think I could do it but I did! and I now have my kiln in my studio too. It's very exciting....but back to the exhibition........

heres the mole that started it off with a few hares too

a couple of wrens

Robins

Avocets 

And I have a few newish heads including Bernard the Ram and

Lucien the Bull with his own copper nose ring too 

Bernard

Lucien

Buttercup

Betty and Loch the mountain hare

the only drawings are Munroe and Nevis the Mountain Hare

So the exhibition opens tomorrow and I will be at the

Markers Market next week too with my porcelain and a few more hares. 

Sorry I have been neglecting my blog

I am sorry I haven't been feeling brill lately and voice is coming and going as we speak!

I have been making work but not really getting it out there maybe it is just lack of confidence I just don't know but I need to pull myself together to get things moving again. 

I have had my slab roller motorised and I am sat looking at it trying to get my mojo back for how I used to work before Arthur(itius) kicked in and then I am trying to create work with more character too in the animal sense but I am not sure as my confidence is at an all time low I think. Hey ho I will get it back soon when things stop going wrong *crosses fingers

So here's a few pieces I have been making these are at the Chapel Gallery in their 'Objects of Desire' exhibition on until 9th January 2016

Then these new and unfired pieces will be fired and shown be at 

Pendle Heritage Centre in 'A Winter's Tale' from 28th Nov