Liz Miller

New materials, new processes, new work. My studio is, once again, the site of experimentation. These changes have been happening in my mind for a long time, so it’s thrilling to finally have a spare moment to implement them! I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been up to once summer rolls around. But right now, I’m working in a way that is all about being selfish, and somewhat isolated. No studio visits, no exhibitions, very few process pics. Just me, my studio, a big cup of coffee, and two standard poodles. They’ve become my new studio assistants. For the most part, they’re on their best behavior. Note the addition of the lovely poodle silhouette to this image:

My recent explorations in the studio position me somewhere between a bad upholsterer…a bad costume designer…and, well, a bad artist! Still, I’ve never been a perfectionist in my studio. Instead, I tend to fail, and fail, and fail until, at some point, hopefully, I get it right. And, well, if not, it won’t be for lack of trying.

When I started this blog, I promised not to babble on and on about nothing. I try to save that for Facebook. And so, I’ll keep this brief and let you know that I’m out here on the frontier living the life of the artist, and, quite honestly, loving every minute.

Have a great week everyone!

I never set out to be a “felt artist.” It just kind of happened.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about the material’s wonderful versatility. Strong, fragile, resilient, crafty, industrial, tactile—I could go on and on. Over the past year, I’ve made felt do things it isn’t supposed to do. Felt became architectural, and, in some instances, menacing. I formed felt firing squads, bays of felt guns, and complex structures that challenged my abilities as a “felt architect” It was exciting.

Then I came home from six months of traveling. I took a week off. My brain did its work while I did things outside the studio. And let me tell you, after the intensity of the last six months, I was pretty happy to let my subconscious figure things out!

Change is happening in my studio. I am doing what I feel like I do best: I am playing with materials. Think fur. Think pleather. I am, as they say, “in the zone.” It’s really lovely. I’ll write more when I surface for air.

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s kind of been a crazy month. So, at the risk of bombarding you with blog posts, I want to tell you about Abstract Fiction, Ballistic Boondoggle, and my week in Milwaukee.

I left my truck in Denver and arrived in Milwaukee via plane for the installation of my work as part of the Abstract Fiction exhibition at UW Milwaukee’s Union Art Gallery. I was one of four artists–the exhibition also features fabulous work by Lisa Congdon, Deedee Cheriel, and Eddie Villanueva.

Once in the gallery, I found that the incredible UW Milwaukee Union Gallery workers had already painted for me (!!!) and I was met with another gorgous space, complete with soaring ceilings and unique concrete alcoves. And painted PINK, per my request. Pink paint…pink felt…lady trucker was glad that she had abandoned her truck and was ready to soar above the space in a cherry picker!

The transition from lady trucker to lady lift operator was an easy one, particularly since the student workers moved the lift around for me! And time was on my side. I had anticipated painting, but with wielding a paint roller removed from the equation, lady lift operator was leading a life of install leisure!

In all seriousness, the project marked a slight departure from previous projects in that the color palette was completely comprised of pink. As my always-astute mother said, “Wow! That’s a lot of pink!” Indeed. The narrowing of the palette forced me to contend with shape and composition in new ways. The gun forms that appear in the work are both more subtle and more evident, if that’s possible.

I have a confession: I was so frightened to do an all-pink project that I brought some green felt with me…and even started preparing it for install on-site. But I just couldn’t do it. There was something about the work that really resonated with me, a combination of bold form with subtle color. But is that much pink really soft, really subtle? I’ll leave that for the viewer to decide!

In the past 12 months, I’ve taken on many projects. Detractors would say it’s too many.  At times, I’ve wondered myself. But in the moment of this installation, I could see the relationship between all of the past projects and this particular pink project. It seemed a perfect culmination of all my recent work, both a building up…and a paring down.

While working, I was inspired by the work of the other artists in the exhibition. One of the best parts of group exhibitions is the energy that is created when all this work is in one big space together!

I worked alongside the amazing Eddie Villanueva, whose installation The Hunter creates an exciting and intriguing play between dimensionality and flatness while utilizing an array of humble materials:

Eddie Villanueva, The Hunter, mixed media installation, 30' x 25' x 8', 2012

You can learn more about Eddie by reading this awesome article, complete with photos of his install in-progress!

Likewise, the intimate two-dimensional works of Lisa Congdon and Deedee Cheriel offered windows into ambiguous narratives and a beautiful and poignant use of form and composition. I felt truly honored to be included in this group of artists!

The painting of the gallery by others put me so far ahead of schedule that I was able to spend time with some Milwaukee-based friends and former students, take a run by the lake, and get my hair cut. Who says that installation artists don’t lead a life of leisure?!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone involved in making this show happen, particularly UW-Milwaukee Union Gallery Manager/Curator Andrea Avery and the amazing student crew.

Now onward to Chicago for Pop-Up Art Loop! You’ll find me installing in Chicago this weekend at 150 N. State Street. Prime real-estate. So excited.  Thanks for reading and have a great weekend everyone!