Natalie Miller
Natalie Miller takes organic materials and creates stunning pieces of colourful macramé art that loom over the audience.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
Natalie Miller in her Southern Highlands studio. Photo - courtesy of Natalie Miller.
[On creating the largest macramé chandelier] “It was the hardest art installation I have done yet the most rewarding once it was lifted in position in the large shopping centre space,” says Natalie Miller. Photo - courtesy of Natalie Miller.
The Southern Highlands artist uses Australian wool sourced from a sustainable mill, naturally hand-dyed in recycled tank water, to create an array of coloured weaved into sculptural forms that resist the very heart of the organic material.
Natalie Miller spent 30 years as an architect and interior designer in Sydney, working extensively with textiles, carpet, and fashion design throughout her career. These elements feed into her artist practice, as very evident in the macramé installations she made in Hong Kong; the structure, design and materials taking on an architectural form.
The installations in Hong Kong were the two largest macramé chandeliers in the world, and the artist spent eight weeks building the structures. “They incorporated 10km of 20mm red cotton rope which would hang in Pacific Place on Hong Kong Island for Chinese New Year,” Natalie shares. “It was an extraordinarily intense commission where the knotting was very extremely physical.”
“I take a great interest and appreciation into the way different cultures around the world dye, weave and create textiles,” says Natalie Miller. Photo - Annabelle Hickson.
“I fell in love with tapestry weaving, the colours and the fibres, and knew this is what I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I wanted to make and create with my hands again.”
“I am extraordinarily passionate about colour and the dyeing process. The colour creating is as important to me as the weaving,” shares Natalie Miller. Photo - Chris Court.
Natalie Miller at work in her Southern Highlands studio. Photo - courtesy of Natalie Miller.
The 12-metre-high by six-metre-diameter chandeliers became a career highlight and brought together macramé and her other love of travel. Natalie's travels through Asia and Europe visually run throughout her designs; drawing inspiration from art, architecture, and textiles from around the world. This feeds into the workshops she arranges in different countries, drawing on the local knowledge, from Japan to Bali, "uniting crafters around the world and bringing back the beauty of handmade.”
“Living in the beautiful Southern Highlands is an environment of constant inspiration. My studio is surrounded by green rolling hills, its beauty is incredibly inspiring.”
In 2019, Natalie began teaching workshops in her off-grid home in the Southern Highlands, with stunning vista views to inspire the students — as it does for her. "It’s a place for women to come and rejuvenate,” the designer reflects. “To be surrounded by serenity and to act on the meditative process of weaving.” The environmental, architectural building was designed by Natalie and features solar panels and tubing, heating through geothermal heating, and a tank water system. It's a whole way of returning to nature and ensures a sustainable practice for the artist.
“The colour creating is as important to me as the weaving,” shares Natalie Miller. Photo - Chris Court.
“I believe all colours work together and I am certainly not afraid to experiment,” says Natalie Miller. Photo - Chris Court.
Beyond creating giant chandeliers in Hong Kong and teaching workshops across Asia, macramé is taking Natalie to some exciting places. In September, the artist is turning the celling of a heritage-listed, Sydney restaurant into a mast of suspended woven sculptures. In another turn of events, she was invited to create three underwater coral reef models for the DreamWorks movie, 'Trolls 2 World Tour', to be released in April 2020.
For the movie project, Natalie used fibres like wool, cotton and rayon, and wrapped them around wire, foam and balsa wood. “I used different types of weaving techniques including Japanese Saori weaving, tapestry weaving and heddle loom weaving,” she adds. “The knots included square knots, half hitch knots, sinnets of half hitch knots and coiling.” The result was an interpretive techno coral reef scene, in three very different brightly coloured structures, before being digitised into the movie.