giulia maria beretta is an artist based in zurich switzerland. born on july the 9th 1965, from swiss-american father and danish mother, grew up in the italian speaking part of switzerland. she trained as a potter with an apprenticeship at her grandparents pottery on the monte verita above ascona (1982-85), and the studio pottery course at the harrow college of art and design in london (1986-88). she runs her own pottery studio since 1988. Motherhood in 2003 and 2005, made her concentrate mainly on commission work and one off pieces. having a family also changed her attitude towards art and life in general, leading to a new approach to her work. under the name giulietta degli spiriti she explores the expressive possibilities of scale and miniature worlds.

• having children made my life topsy-turvy. the new responsibility and the issues of being -or not- a role model, but especially the trial and error process of finding a place in an inexplicable system, brought me back to my own childhood. but it also set me free from being trapped in a time warp of mock-youth, forcing me to grow up overnight. i starded questioning the choices i had made, and came to the conclusion that most things in my life had chosen me instead. having less time made me reduce the pottery work. in 2007 i started to collect fashion dolls and vinyl toys, spending my days playing with the children. within a couple of years i had discovered the potential of doll and toy customization, taking a break from being creative for a living to be creative for fun. what seemed to be a simple pastime, has become a true passion. for the first time in my life, i have found a medium that truly channels my feelings and vision. all those thoughts that becoming a mother -but also getting older- have been spinning in my head, found a voice (and a face).
  
  settling down after a youth on the wild side, made me discover life on the fast lane. my current work illustrates the delusion of status and being trapped on the rollercoaster of conventional life ... fasten your safety belts and join me on the ride!