Website: https://www.juliemilesart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliemilesart/
Growing up in the flat lands of the Midwest, Julie spent many of her childhood days playing outdoors in the field behind her home and the farmlands of her family. There, she delighted in the many type of bugs and plants that called that land home. In the summer, she would wave at the hot air balloons that were launched in a nearby field. Every fall, she would marvel at the thousands of birds that would populate the that same row of trees, and unexpectedly launch into the sky in mesmerizing murmurations. At dusk, she would look to the western horizon, the warm purple hue of the backlit row of trees and pretend they were mountains. So, it made perfect sense that she would some day call Asheville, North Carolina home.
Artist Statement: This sense of wonder and play infiltrated my art and her design career. So, upon discovering the rabbit hole of fiber arts, I dove in with pure joy. From processing, carding, and spinning freshly shorn sheep fleece, to experimenting with a myriad of fibers to weave – I discovered a new medium that could express both my reverence for my farming family and love of color theory. Naturally, Anni and Josef Albers became companions in my studio as I worked. This latest series of fiber work pays homage to the slow processes of creation. This quiet time serves not only as meditation, but also nurtures my sense of belonging to the long line of spinners and weavers that have created cloth for civilizations that span many thousands of years. A long-time admirer of Cindy Walton’s work, I was thrilled when the invite came to collaborate on this exhibit. The sophisticated, yet whimsical energy of line, shape and color in Cindy’s work has been a delight to pair with my work as we’ve curated this show. “
20″x16″, framed cotton, antique weaving shuttle
20″x16″, framed cotton, old wooden spoon, antique book
20″x16″, framed handspun NC green cotton, cotton yarn
29”h x 44”w fiber, paper, tobacco stick, old wooden wheels
55”h x 13”w nettle, sari silk, wool, antique pulley, wool, mixed media, silver clay
25”h x 29”w nettle, sari silk, handspun wool (hand dyed with madder root over an open fire), vintage garment stretcher
19”h x 65”w fiber, paper, tobacco stick, wood, old wooden wheels
20”h x 13”w x 3″d old wooden vice, paper
Zwartbles, Jacob, and Corriedale (sourced from Earth Guild) wool (all handspun by me), Lichen dyed wool sourced from Local Cloth This was woven in the wee hours of the night in the first few days of hurricane Helene.
Icelandic wool (handspun), Navajo-Churro lamb’s fleece (hand processed by me. The Navajo-Churro breed is on the critical list, so your purchase supports their species and the farms that raise them)
17″ x 51″ nettle, Jacob wool (handspun by me), Shetland fleece (skirted and carded by me)
