Daniel Miles

ABOUT Daniel

Daniel Miles has been honing his creative practice for over 30 years, taking inspiration from the natural world and the forces that move through it, he is a hoarder of influences from foraging for mushrooms, to creatures of the deep , to the erosion of sand and the micro and the macrocosm , attempting to invoke a suggestion of being, imbued in static natural materials , he is not specifically replicating actual natural objects but drawing inspiration from such forms in a dance of the familiar and the alien.

Daniel’s sculptural explorations are an interplay with materials and form, exploring as a way of meditation, the delicate edge between chaos and order, success, and failure. He works intuitively, drawn to the reductive process of carving into natural materials, mostly stone and wood using a multitude of tools, both power and by hand, to guide him through to the gentle caress of the finishing touch.

His process starts with a small choice like drawing a line and then following that choice it to its natural conclusion, before assessing and making the next. These slow and deliberate actions gradually reveal forms that were only partially imagined at the start. In this way individual works evolve, influencing each other as they slowly emerge. If not chipping away at a piece he is often staring blankly off into space immersing himself into the imagining of a form , though being a visual artist he does not actually see anything when he visualises , all he sees when closing his eyes is the dark red of his eyelids and simply senses where something might be in a way that you would perhaps know or imagine where and who someone is standing behind you.

A single piece can take a very long time to complete especially when exploring an unknown territory. Weeks, months, or years can pass, and a piece can end up sitting in the corner of his studio awaiting the next stage eventually to reveal itself. He prefers not to force a form , but to coax them out , although occasionally, he has a very clear vision and depending upon the size, it can be completed in just a few days. Daniel’s work is an evolutionary journey, and many works must fail in before those sculptural forms that do succeed, may emerge and create their own impression for the viewer, rendering a freedom to every aspect of the encounter.

“It is in those moments when we are not in control, but remain open to possibility, that we are exposed and vulnerable. I have to trust that I can feel my way through the darkness, to follow the kernel of an idea to its conclusion and its many possibilities,” explains Daniel.“Sometimes I can work on a piece for months and then reject it because it does not hit the mark.”

Daniel’s hand-crafted works are collected and appreciated throughout the world. He is available for private commissions and enjoys working directly and jointly with clients to get a feel for what the end piece will be. All scales can be undertaken from something that fits in the palm of your hand to more monumental and architectural pieces.