2018 Pacific Coast ghost baskets by Emily Miller
The baskets begin as ghost nets: fishing rope washed ashore on the beaches of Oregon. Cleaned, unraveled, and restitched, the colorful rope becomes a collection of unique baskets accented with local stones and other treasures.
The color and condition of each unique piece of rope serves as an artist’s palette – from freshly cut potwarp lines at local fisheries, to wild and eroded flotsam weathered by months or years at sea.
Encaustic beeswax and pigment art series by Emily Miller
River to Sea follows the water through brackish estuaries, out to the open ocean, and back again over tidal shallows up to a sandy coastline. River to Sea is the first in a planned series of “progression” pieces, exploring transition environments and natural cycles of change.
“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 unknown, amid constant cycles of change. My work explores these transition environments as a marker of our place within the larger network of natural systems. I believe that joyful exploration of the unknown creates a positive, active environment that enriches our relationships with ourselves, each other, and our world.” Emily Miller
Conservation
“The ocean is what I love most in the world. As I started weaving Rope Baskets with reclaimed fishing rope, and sculpting these 100 turtles, I struggled with the associated research that felt overwhelmingly negative. I found a positive voice in SeaLegacy, a conservation group creating a movement towards healthy oceans through visual storytelling. SeaLegacy’s expeditions bring the spotlight to critical regions and share success stories of people working in harmony with the sea. Their stance on storytelling rings especially true to me, as an artist whose work remains centered around beauty and joy despite the depressing statistics.” Emily Miller
“The ghost basket project and 100 sea turtle project got me thinking about my work with multiples, a fascination that has developed in my sculpture practice. I recalled the story of Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes, and how she turned to repetition, creation, and beauty in the face of despair. Repetition as meditation is a common practice around the world, engaging your body and freeing your mind to step back and take a different look at things. It is a way of making peace with things we cannot seem to fix, and centering ourselves in the knowledge of what we are capable of doing, so we have the energy to go out and try again to accomplish what seems out of reach.” Emily Miller
Copyright © Emily Miller/ Fairweather House and Gallery
“I am a lifelong artist with a passion for materials. My work in different media ranges from watercolor painting to 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. I am bringing 10-15 rope baskets and some abstract encaustic paintings for Shape & Color. See you soon!” Emily Miller
Shape and Color Fairweather presentation of the art by Emily Miller.
Photo collage by Linda Fenton-Mendenhall, photographer.
