| | Born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1970, artist Miro Davis has nurtured an intricate yet broad-based creative practice formed loosely upon her experiences and memories of growing up in the southwest United States. Formally trained at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (BFA ’95), Davis’ work, while rooted in sculpture, is best described as a mixed media practice, borrowing liberally from various visual arts disciplines ranging from painting to ceramics. |
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Rising to prominence in the late 1990’s for her collaborative community-based projects of sculptural murals, Davis’ work brings together disparate individuals and groups through visual art, and in so doing underscores the importance of creativity to our day-to-day lives and to society as a whole.
Davis currently lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a Research Fellow specializing in community outreach in the School of Extended Studies at NSCAD University.
This most recent project is a community collaboration with artists Miro Davis and faculty member Renee Forrestall called Truth. The artwork is based upon a large Nautilus form in which the chambers are designed and created by a collaboration of youth using mixed media and process. Miro and Renee are working with the youth of Spryfield and diverse learners from around HRM having them explore their own ideas about TRUTH in their individual pieces. Upon completion, this collaboration will be permanently installed in a public justice building in Halifax. NSCAD students who may be interested in collaborative art projects and working with youth and diverse learners are encouraged to inquire with Joann Reynolds Farmer, Coordinator of Community Service Learning about how to get involved – jfarmer@nscad.ca.
The Captain William Spryfield Community Centre and the community of Spryfield have spent the past year working with artist Miro Davis on a collaborative public artwork for installation at the Centre. The Water Falls project has been installed in the foyer of the Centre creating an approximately 5’wide and 15’ high interpretation of a waterfall. The individual water droplets are formed with recycled plastic that has been molded around individual clay pieces constructed by each participant. Miro worked with the students at the local schools, the residents of Melville Heights and community members who come to the centre regularly. Partnering with HRM, NSCAD University and the public this amazing piece is a wonderful depiction of the many, varied individuals that create a whole. The artwork was unveiled on December 7th, 2010.
_______________________________________________________________________This collaborative artwork was created in conjunction with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the participants of the 2009 Transforming Your Leadership in Nursing: From the inside out conference.
This mandala was created by the experienced and careful hands of nurses of Nova Scotia who came together for a day and a half focusing on their profession and passion. Unknowingly, through their individual creations, this Mandala remains as an imprint or map of each individual journey. Mandala means “circle” in Sanskrit, a symbol of a whole, made up of individual parts and meanings.
_______________________________________________________________________A collaborative project at Alpine Elementary School in California. This mosaic was created using clay and glass.
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Funded by the Justice Department of Nova Scotia, this mural now hangs in the Spring Garden Road Courthouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This hand is approximately 4' x 8' and was created using clay and copper.
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Although J.L. Ilsley High School is well know for its outstanding visual arts program, for many students, this collaborative project provided their first opportunity to work with an artist in the classroom — and for many, the encounter bordered on the magical and transformative. Everybody contributed: by lending support, by providing feedback, and by becoming involved in the art-making process.
The intent was to integrate art into the framework of the science curriculum, having each science class at the school contribute to the large-scale sculptural installation in its own unique way. In the words of the head of the science department: “There were many of us who travelled on this journey. Initially we were taking different paths, but eventually we arrived at a point on the road where science meets art, where equations ran into imagination and theorems encountered creativity. What an exciting place to be.”
Once the conceptual framework was developed by Halifax-based sculptor, Miro Davis, “The Feather Project,” (as it quickly became known) took on a life of its own. An 18-foot-long clear acrylic feather became the anchor for countless student-made objects depicting the timeline of flight in an evolutionary sequence.
- Sabine M. Fels, ArtsExpress Coordinator, J.L. Ilsley High School