I am are excited to welcome Nicolas Cheng to Ashes & Milk. As an artist, Nicolas investigates how poetic concepts can be emotionally merged with the latest technology and materials. Nicolas aims to provide new experiences through design, encouraging people to think and question.

Nicolas Cheng created the 150ml Collection above for Ashes & Milk.

Each design is unique and holds a capacity of 150ml. Playing with how volume is perceived, each piece is disguised by shape and size making dissimilar pieces’ true value exactly the same.

Above, prototypes of the 150ml Collection were created in wood and are ready to be molded.

Left, a collection of tree branches sits in Nicolas’s Studio. On the right, molds are being prepared to cast porcelain.

Nicolas Cheng in his studio.

You can see more Nicolas Cheng’s work right here.

I am honored to offer the work of artist Angela Simione who embroiders thread onto paper. Angela is inspired by traditional crafts in which her work embodies illustrations of everyday objects as metaphors of self-identity, boundaries and protection.

Above is the piece Territories 10 created by Angela Simione.

The Territories Series began an exploration of how the image of the picket fence could perform different metaphors. I was thinking a lot about notions of safety and boundaries and how fear can be a driving force behind achieving the latter.

The fence, as an image, is just such a wonderfully versatile metaphor that I began making pictures about my own inner “geography.” In a sense I am building a home for myself with my own two hands, guarding myself, or making the artwork a keeper of secrets. The ability to bounce back and forth across this fence is exactly what I’m after as an artist.

The Territories Series is completely made up of works on paper. This choice comes from recognizing that we all have daily interactions with paper whether it be making copies at the office or throwing away the junk mail, we all touch paper everyday. Paper is common, familiar, banal. -It is this familiarity that is perfectly suited to the personal nature of this work, paired with the delicacy and traditional look of hand-embroidery.

The hanging threads resemble hair, which I think begins to shift the work in the direction of something more psychological and supports my initial desire to make pictures of my inner landscape. The use of common materials alludes to personal associations, is a way to establish intimacy and makes these pieces feel more safe to explore.

-Angela Simione

You can see more Angela Simione’s work right here.