Miriam Jones
Reflecting over the last five years living in Manchester and its significance is the starting point for my current range of work. In Manchester I hoped to find new inspirations for projects around the city, as I grew dissatisfied with my home in Wales; but found myself returning to my Welsh background for inspiration through Welsh traditions, poems and history.
Exploring craft processes and materials in Manchester helped identify my strengths as a maker. I specialized in woodturning, and coming from a family of carpenters, wood work seems to be in my blood.
I began to realize that I cannot escape my background. Time away made me appreciate my home and I feel I have come full circle as I return to Wales to live.
I am a wood turner. I create objects and jewellery from reclaimed wood that incorporates farming objects and colour to contrast with the simple wooden forms.
The inspiration for the range of work I create is derived from the notion of "make do and mend", which is strong within my family, through re-using materials for other purposes around the farm. My grandfather used to hoard everything and say- 'everything comes into use after 7 years you know'.
I seem to have inherited his ethos, and tend to keep everything from turned ends of wood; salvaged furniture; scraps of timber or things I've found and kept, and turning them into beautiful objects which have a purpose and a meaning once again.
Colour features strongly in my work to imitate the manmade interventions in farming that have striking colours, such as ear tags, as well as inspiration from other farming cultures, such as the Massai tribe I learnt of in Africa after climbing Kilimanjaro, use colour as symbolism to their cattle through creating big statement jewellery.
