Emily Miller. Hand made porcelain. Urchin bowls. Food-safe, microwave sale, top rack dishwasher safe.
I have spent my life on the coast, and all my artwork has its roots in my love of the sea. I see the coast as a border between the known and the unknown, and a place where our connection to larger natural systems becomes clear. My artwork focuses on the delight of exploring this mysterious and beautiful environment.
I am a lifelong artist with a passion for materials. My work ranges from realistic watercolor painting to abstract encaustic wax and collage, as well as glass and metal sculpture, functional porcelain ware, digital and darkroom photo processes, and interactive installation work. So far I haven’t met a medium I didn’t like.
My background is in California, Kauai, and Down East Maine. I am currently based in Portland, Oregon. My work is constantly inspired by the links between life on these very different coasts.
Recent Work
“A vase can hold weeds or flowers, but can’t it just be a spot of beauty?”
– Rose Cabat, studio ceramicist
Lagoon pots and anemone-pots
My recent ceramics are functional and sculptural objects with tactile, touchable surfaces, based on ocean life forms and colony growth patterns. Sea urchins, anemones, and succulents inspire my ceramics, as well as landscape features from turquoise lagoons to cooling lava. –Emily Miller
Take note! Making a Difference: Emily Miller donates 10% of all proceeds to local ocean conservancy and art organizations.
My recent paintings explore the beauty and diversity of Oregon’s coastal landscapes and how water shapes these environments, from rain, rivers and wetlands to the sea. Plein air (outdoor) painting and multiple reference photos are essential to my work. Being out in the landscape, studying the details of each moment’s shifting light, color, and weather, creates a strong bond with the location and a freshness and immediacy in the finished artwork.
Encaustic Art. Squall by Peg Wells
Seaside summer time artist Peg Wells, who exhibits in the off-season at the Saddle Brooke Resort/ Primary Studio in Arizona, recently delivered a new encaustic painting. Perfect for the WAVES July exhibit at Fariweather’s.
“Peg Wells provocative style proves that a quiet approach can have a very powerful effect.” –Amy Kiefer, freelance Historic Gilbert District reporter.
“I have been fortunate enough to live in a variety of states and several countries and have enjoyed my exposure to a wide scope of artistic expressions. I have worked in various media including pottery, title and water-color.” –Peg Wells
Q: What is encaustic painting, you ask?
A: Pronunciation: en-caws-tick, is a paint consisting of pigment mixed with beeswax and fixed with heat after its application. –n. The Greek word is enkaustikos –to burn in.
Encaustic dates back to the ancient Greeks, as far back as the 5th century BC. Ancient ship builders used beeswax, resin to seal, and waterproof their vessels. Ultimately, they began adding pigment to the wax-giving rise to the decoration of spectacular ships. To paint with encaustic, a combination of beeswax, resin and pigment is combined and then melted to a liquid state. Encaustic paintings have many layers of wax and depending on the piece, it is not uncommon to have anywhere from 25-50 layers.
Grace Note:
“I am grateful that my art found a gallery presence for my sixth summer season with you! I so appreciate your support of my art and me as an artist. I hope that my art will find a new home and that it will bring as much pleasure to people as it has given me create. Thank you.” –Peg Wells
“My paintings explore the beauty and diversity of Oregon’s coastal landscapes and how water shapes these environments, from rain, rivers and wetlands to the sea. Plein air (outdoor) painting and multiple reference photos are essential to my work. Being out in the landscape, studying the details of each moment’s shifting light, color, and weather, creates a strong bond with the location and a freshness and immediacy in the finished artwork. ” —Emily Miller
Here’s a link to my Oregon lighthouses watercolor series so far: http://www.ejmillerfineart.com/painting/oregon-lighthouses
I’ll plan to have 4 new paintings in the series for the August 5th Art Walk at Fairweather’s. –-Emily Miller