Wow!   Artist of the Month!  I feel very honored to be in this position this month.  As you know my name is Christina Miles.  I have been with DS for a year and a half now, maybe longer. I don’t really remember how I got here but I really enjoy this group a whole lot. 

I have been an artist for a long time.  I started out as a wee tot finger painting, then moved up to colored pencils, ceramics, photography and other fun stuff as I moved along in life. As a young mother, I started sewing, crafting, and more sewing.  One year, when my nephews were about 10 years old or so,  I had them over during summer break.  I was in the mood to do some sewing and I asked them "What should I make?" ….and as they had just watched "The Little Mermaid" they said "Make a mermaid doll"…so I did!  That was around the same time I created my website. I photographed my little creations and next thing I knew I was selling my dolls.  I had one customer who purchased 12 dolls from me.  Every doll was different because she requested them to be different each time.  I loved it!  In 2002, I was published for the first time, it was a fairy gourd.  I guess you can say she is a doll too!  I also had a Cherub doll pattern packet which I created and had in a pattern magazine.  Unfortunately she was not a hit….but I think she is great!

After several years of sewing, I acquired carpel tunnel, therefore I had to ease off the scissors a whole lot. I couldn’t even turn a door knob…so I had a choice of surgery or stop what I was doing.  My phobias kicked in and I chose not to get the surgery. So, painting took over for several years.  I really love to paint and draw.  Scrapbooking became the latest rave but again, scissors, not my best friend.  So one day I purchased some glass bottles with cork tops.  Put them in a drawer and there they sat for, let’s say, 3, 4 years?  Then one day I was going through all my stuff so I could donate items I no longer wanted to the class I work in (my regular day job is working in Special Ed with moderate to severe disabilities – 15 years now).  And, when I saw the bottles….I knew exactly what I was going to do with them!  Dolls have always been my number one!  I bought this great book on soldering, and learned how to get the technique down fairly well.  I started making these dolls out of glass bottles.  I hadn’t seen anything like them before. 

I found my niche! 

I have searched for years to put together a creation that was mine and mine alone.  I have made lots of paintings, dolls, even clothes…but nothing like my glass bottle dolls.  Then just last year, in one of the Somerset magazines, I saw these snowman dolls made from glass bottles.  I thought…hey…what’s this?  But they are totally different from mine.  I have yet to submit my girls to a magazine.  I do plan on submitting my dolls someday soon.   So this is where I am today, still making dolls… just my way.  I have combined all of my artsy knowledge into these dolls and the creations are endless.  I have many more in my mind to create; we all know the addiction, obsession, and insanity…whatever you want to call it…hehehehe.

Thank you for having me as your guest artist.

Christina Miles

“WINGS N SCALES”
http://wingsnscales.blogspot.com/
http://www.wingsnscales.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wingsnscales
http://handmadeartistsshop.com/wingsnscales.html

Past AOMs:

Linda Misa

Cody Goodin

Michelle Munzone