Juliette Bigley

Metalworker

©Nicola Tree

Making sense of life through metal

Juliette uses metalwork to explore the human condition
She has a varied background in music and healthcare
She was selected by the UK Design Council as ‘one to watch’

Juliette Bigley grew up in a family of musicians and worked briefly as a classical singer before going on to begin a career in healthcare management. Although she loved it, she was “always sort of looking for something else”. A chance encounter with a jeweller on holiday sparked her interest in metalwork, and after a series of evening classes she took a leap of faith and applied for art school. Juliette now uses base and precious metals to create unique sculptures that seek to express “why people behave the way they do and make the choices they do”, exploring this through the vessel form, which she feels is “a metaphor for the human condition”.

Interview

What are you trying to achieve with your sculptures?: In short, I find the world baffling and I make objects to try and understand it. My work looks at intangible aspects: memories, emotions, how we function in a physical dimension. Dialogue between material and idea is absolutely at the heart of what I do.
How has your background outside craftsmanship helped you?: Because of my years of music I knew how to practise, which I think is incredibly important when you are learning a physical craft. I also had a very real understanding of delayed gratification, that you just have to put the hours in and it will eventually deliver.
How do you approach your work?: A tutor on my MA set up the creative process like a scientific one. She talked about having a problem to solve. That made perfect sense to the way my mind works, which is quite logical and structured. It gave me control over a process that can otherwise feel absolutely terrifying!
What do you find most satisfying about your work?: Actually physically building the piece is incredibly exciting. At the point that you know you’ve nailed it, especially if it’s a new piece you haven’t done before, there’s a moment of satisfaction – but almost a slight moment of loss as well.

Juliette Bigley is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2013