3030 — Bella Milroy

30/30

Beginning in 2015, 30/30 (30-works-30-days) is a month-long project founded by 12ø Collective and now run by Artquest that encourages making and experimentation. Participants are required to submit a new piece of work every day for the month of April. The project is open to everyone and any medium is encouraged.

Bella Milroy speaks about 30/30:

“Having participated in 30/30 since 2018, the artworks archived within this project represent an important catalogue of the my creative practice and what motivates my making. They are now all featured in one place, with image and audio descriptions featured throughout. Consider this as a virtual studio visit, where you’ll find artworks that are silly, fun, good and bad, offering small windows into how I make and what that making means to me.

As a process based artist, i am continually interested in how to make room for the internal space in which art emerges, and alongside my exhibiting practice, I also enjoy sharing work without the formality of those find in gallery contexts. 30/30 represents a fundamental part of how i approach making, and i love being able to take these small creative interruptions and pose them in a shared space. These daily artworks emerge within the context of chronic illness and disability, and i am interested in the ways i can collaborate with the various limits - both bodily and structurally - that present themselves within this project. They surface amongst the everyday of my life, and reflect a core driver in what excites me about art.”

2022

n image of a surface of a piece of plywood with watermarks on it in various shapes. The watermarks are scattered in a circular motion. There are other marks including dust, dog hair and scratches on the wood.

An image of an aerial view of a bin of organic material with a banana skin in the centre. Surrounding the bin is usual garden detritus of bamboo sticks, plastic pots and bags. There is an old wooden fence and legs of the person taking the photo.

An image of a collection of lumps of some kind of moulded clay-like material. It is sitting on a green cutting mat. The clay is rough in form with fingerprint marks. It is grey in colour with a couple of darker grey and purple pieces sticking to it.

An image of a tree in spring. There is a white blossom that covers the tree. A small bird sits on one of the branches and surrounding the tree are smaller tress/hedges. It appears the image is taken in the reflection of a window as it is blurry.

An image of clear plastic bags pegged to a washing line, blowing in the breeze. The bags of blue, some are white. The sky above is bright blue. Below the bags is a green hedge of long, wiry stems.

A pencil drawing of what looks like plans for an outdoor site. Underneath the drawing are the words “Perennial Allotment (with annual seasoning) 2022.

An image of the sky taken directly from below. The sky is cloudy and grey with some sun poking through. There are two pieces of square fabric hanging on a line, which cuts across the image.

An image of a person sat at a wooden table with a black notebook. We can only see their hands and forearms. They are wearing a brown puffer jackets and have pale white skin. Their shadow is cast on the table.

An image of what looks like some kind of dark plastic surface with half a red brick lying on top of it. It is dark grey/black in colour with what looks like sunlight reflecting off its surface in the creases and folds.

An image of a person hugging a small furry animal on the edge of a bed. The person has a blonde pony tail and are wearing a surgical mask. Their eyes are closed. They are pale and wearing a grey jumper. You can only partially see the animal.

An image of a wooden lollipop stick lying flat on grey pebble-dashed concrete. Its an aerial view with the lollipop stick in the centre of the image.On the top end of the lollipop is written text, which read “French marigolds strawberry blonde".

An image of a brown puddle of water on a grey plastic surface. There are pieces of leaves and mud in the water. It is rippled suggesting something had recently disturbed it. There are the shapes of shadows arching parts of the puddle.

A charcoal line drawing on a white paper of what looks like a support cushion. The cushion is upright with two arms attached at the side. The drawing looks unfinished as though still in progress.

An image of a series of shapes made with plasticine lying on a green cutting mat. The shapes are made up of colours terracotta, white, beige, grey and purple. The shapes are layed in the shape of the word “help”.

An image of some kind of fleshy plant-like object. The main structure is fleshy, red, round and is emerging from the ground. It is shiny, softly reflecting the light. In the bottom corners of the image are what look like purple/green leaves.

An image of some sprigs of rosemary laid onto brown paper or card. There are 5 curved pieces. Their spears of green leaves are bright and are also covered in blue flowers. There is light shining from both the left and right, creating two shadows.

An image of a rubbish bin filled with trash. It is an aerial view with the blue plastic sides of the bin surrounding the rubbish pile in the centre. It is a mix of objects and organic matter. There are bottles, bits of rope, dirt and grime.

An image of two sides of a white paper envelope, laying side by side on a grey surface. The envelope is used and torn open. Both sides have handwritten and typed text. It looks like a scanned image.

A large sheet of paper hung on a white background with masking tape at its corners. It depicts a wide oval shape with some handwritten text below it. The shape is filled in with solid black charcoal colour.

An image of a scan of a piece of yellow paper with a small sketch on it. The sketch is a small dog with small, fox-like features with large eyes and ears. It is a line drawing with some areas with more detail.

AAn image of what looks like a person with two legs stood on a wooden pallet. The images is taken from above. They are wearing blue trousers and red shoes. The wooden pallet is browny green. Under the pallet is some kind of surface that is crinkled.

An image displaying black, bold and arial text on a white background.

An image of a lump of some kind of moulded clay-like material. It is sa on a green grid cutting mat. The clay is rough in form, with the marks of fingerprints. It is grey in colour with a couple of darker grey pieces sticking out of it.

An image of a clear tumbler drinking glass filled halfway with water with a handful of dandelions. The glass sits on a white backdrop, where only its shadow can be seen to the left of it.

An image of a small posy of flowers and leaves laying on its side on a pale grey surface and backdrop.The small coloured flowers are pink, blue and purple. It looks like it is tied up with a black twine in a bow.

An image of the inside of a greenhouse looking out into a garden landscape. It is sunny with blue skies and white clouds. The exterior is distorted by the transparent panel that is filled with vertical lines.

An image of a tuft of grass still attached to its roots lying on a surface of black pvc plastic. The roots are fibrous and yellowy. The grass itself is long with bright green shoots gently curling upward.

2021

An image of scrunched up towel or flannel. It sits lengthways on a white fabric surface with the same white backdrop. The material looks damp, as if its been rung out and is twisted. There is a purply hue.

A sketch of a cone-like tree.. In the foreground is an outline of a small pitched roof and a line runs diagonally across. Text below reads “You told me how you made yourself unhidden whilst I gazed out onto this coniferous column”.

An image of a brown wicker basket sitting on a wooden surface. Sitting in the basket is a furry animal, possibly a cat curled up tightly in a ball. In the bottom right corner is a prescription box which is labelled “diazepam tablets, 28”.

An image of a view of a small garden. The view is obscured by two dark bands at the top and bottom, which leaves only a small strip of a scene of a garden. It could be the view from inside a window.

An image of the back of a high backed chair. It is positioned next to a window with curtains drawn. The chair is draped with a black and white striped fabric. There is another fabric with a floral print on top.

An image of 7 small glass bottle vases. Most of the vases are blue, but 1 is green and 1 is pink. Each bottle holds flowers. There are small puddles of water under the bottles, staged on a white fabric of a photo-box.

A line drawing of a mid-century high backed arm chair draped in a striped blanket with cushions. Over the top of the chair is another blanket of a different, possibly floral pattern. It has wooden arms and legs.

An image of a pile of some kind of twiggy, plant material, perhaps rosemary. It is sat on a white fabric backdrop. It appears dry, faded, dull green and the stems are woody. The stems are twisted and there are dry leaves scattered around it.

An image of a very tired and broken tennis ball sat on a pale yellow surface. The image is lit with sunshine, which creates a shadow. The ball is broken, slimy and the green felt covering is ripped and tattered.

A landscape image of what looks like felt tip pen or some other blotchy markings on paper. The markings are a mottle of different sizes of dots, blobs and dashes. The markings allude to a shape or form of some kind, but it’s unclear what that is.

An image of a smallish furry animal on a windowsill. The animal appears as if it has no head or limbs, as if its crouched up vertically. It looks like it could be a tabby cat mid-cleaning itself. The window is backlit by bright sunshine and the image

A drawing of a high backed chair done in felt tip pen of different colours. The chair is draped in a striped blanket with tassels at the end. There is another blanket draped on the back with a cushion.

An image of the interior of a household window. To the left of the image, the face of a sleepy tabby cat is visible, lying on a wooden surface. To the right is the scene of a neighbours garden, with a line of dark socks hanging on a line.

An image of a tabby cat curled up on a wooden surface. The photo is taken at an angle, giving it a slanted, skewed look. The fur on the feet is white, and the pads of its paws are black.

An image of a close up of a door slightly cracked open. A furry object is sticking out of the crack. It looks like a cat paw. The wall and door are white.

An image of 7 small glass bottle vases. Most of the vases are blue, but 1 is green and 1 is pink. Each bottle holds flowers. There are some flowerheads scattered below, staged on a white fabric of a photo-box.

A piece of discoloured paper with a scattering of coloured markings; dots,dashes and faint lines. The marks look like they are made from felt tip pens of different colours, mostly greys, blacks and some yellow and pink.

A drawing in felt tip pen of a furry striped creature curled up on a grey surface. It looks like it could be a tabby cat. Its face is tucked right into itself, and its long tail pulled round its body.

30/30

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018