Petra Mills
Efail Feurig
Bryncrug
Tywyn
Gwynedd
LL36 9RW
Wales
UK
Email: spelltramp@yahoo.co.uk
Qualifications
2005 BA Honours Degree in Fine Art - First Class Honours.
Falmouth College of Arts, Cornwall, UK.
2002 Foundation Studies in Art and Design – Distinction.
Colchester Institute, Colchester, Essex, UK.
1987 O-levels: English Literature, English Language, Art, History,
German, French, Chemistry and Maths
East Bergholt High School, East Bergholt, Suffolk, UK.
Artistic Achievements
2006 Awarded ‘New Medallist’ by the British Art Medal Society; a twelve month scholarship which involves one months study at the Academy of Fine Art in Sofia, Bulgaria under the tutelage of Professor Bogomil Nikolov, work experience at the Royal Mint, continual mentorship with an established medallic artist and the invaluable opportunity to research and have access to the medal collections of both the British Museum and the V&A.
2003 B.A.M.S. Student Medal Project - Awarded the Worshipful Company of Cutlers Prize, for best dialogue between two sides for ‘Courage’. Original purchased by the British Museum for their collection.
2003 Currach Building Community Project with sculptor Holger Lonze, Porthleven
A group project to re-create a Currach (Irish Woven Fishing boat) using original documentation. The Currach was later donated to the Ulster Museum, being the only one of its kind in existence.
2003 Basket weaving project in Krolowka, Poland, working with the local community to build a wicker bridge.
Group Exhibitions
2006 September Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Wales- Young Curators Exhibition
2006 June Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Wales- Open Exhibition 2006
2005 June Falmouth College of Arts- Summer Exhibition, Degree Show
2004 October Falmouth Arts Centre- Seven Ways to Make Soup
2004 February Falmouth Arts Centre- Midstream II
2002 June Hayes Gallery, Colchester Institute- Foundation/Degree Shows
2001 July Y Tabernacl, (M.O.M.A.), Machynlleth- Open Exhibition 2001
Bulgaria 2006
The phrase ‘the chance of a lifetime’ became my mantra on the days preceding my flight to Bulgaria. Again and again I’d say these words, hoping to calm my nervous disposition. With no idea what to expect, I boarded the plane clutching a sketchbook of ideas and a head full of fear and trepidation.
The next four weeks plunged me headfirst in to the world of medal making. With tentative first steps, a new world opened out to me, previous ideas were laid aside, and I began to allow the materials and the beautiful but humbling environment to act as my guide.
My limited experience in medallic art was challenged, stretched and taken to a new level of understanding. There were times when I struggled to comprehend this new way of working, but to accept the challenge was to engage in a world far removed from my own artistic practice. This was to be my initiation into new techniques and a very different approach.
Most of my time was spent working directly into plaster; an unfamiliar process which, as time progressed, became increasingly addictive and rewarding. The challenge then was to see how these initial moulds would transfer into metal.
Having little experience of the process of sand casting, it proved hard to envisage how my work would transfer. Here the guidance of Professor Bogomil Nikolov and the other students working alongside me proved an invaluable, informative and stimulating resource.
The results, though varied and often unexpected, were always exciting; and to understand my mistakes soon became one of the greatest lessons.
Bulgaria is an amazing country steeped in a wealth of history buried beneath an exhilarating landscape. I shall never forget the friends I‘ve made and the experiences I’ve had. In what, in retrospect, sadly seemed like four very short weeks, I learned more than I could have imagined possible. This really turned out to be the chance of a lifetime.