By local ceramic artist Sarah Bing
At first glance, Miriam’s illustrative works are a delightful melange of rich jewel tones, animalistic themes and graphic iconography, but she provides lots of useful clues to help the viewer into the work.
“A lot of my art is about the inner life…connecting to nature, each other, our inner selves, safe spaces, reflecting on movement through time and layers of reality. These all really interest me.”
Miriam spent her formative years here in Raglan, always wanting to return to the happy memories of a nurturing community.
After stints studying fine art, politics and economics, and WWOOFing and working around the world she returned here post covid with a determination to commit to the artistic practice which has provided lifelong nourishment.
Her illustrations often come to her as fully formed images inspired by time spent in nature.
Once a vision comes, Miriam puts ink to paper drawing the outlines, uploading this into digital format and filling it with that gorgeous zingy colour palette.
She enjoys working quickly, and is enthusiastic about the process of co-creating commissions – something she engages in more these days.
Give her 7-10 words and she creates a work for you around her interpretation of those words.
Her previous work was black and white and heavily detailed, but Miriam is relishing the freedom of her current process.
“I’ve stopped using black completely [and] working digitally has allowed me to really build that confidence around colour, something which would have taken a lot longer were I working in an analogue way.”
And in the future?
“I have ideas that I’d like to animate at some point, a workbook helping the user connect with nature and their own creativity. And, of course, the idea of collaborating in different ways is really exciting to me. I feel creating is essential, like water, it gives me a vehicle by which to navigate the beauty, mystery and everything in between that life holds.”
@bittersweetjoy
