We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle A M Miller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle A M below.
Michelle A M, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
It was an honor to have been the book artist-in-residence at Women’s Studio Workshop in New York earlier this year. I was there to produce a limited edition handmade artist book entitled, “Erebid/Materia,” with the support of some incredible humans. This project features two of my poems nestled among painted pulp interpretations of abstract drawings from my ongoing “Ouroboros” series. Conceived as an elegy for my father who died in 2021, the writing and imagery are meditations on my transcendent experiences of caregiving, grief, and the healing power of wonder. Many hands made this project possible from the papermaking and cutting to the printing and binding and I cannot wait for the release.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a multidisciplinary artist whose creative work spans drawing, writing, bookmaking, sculpture, painting, printmaking, installation and public art. I have been awarded residencies at Women’s Studio Workshop, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and IS Projects, and am a grantee of the Puffin Foundation. My work has been presented at CODEX, E/AB, NADA Miami, and I have participated in group exhibitions at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, Florida Atlantic University, and the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood. My work is held in collections at the University of Miami and the Jaffe Center for Book Arts in addition to private collections throughout the US. I received my BFA in Studio Art from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, and my BA in Art History from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. I live and work in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
“Ouroboros” is part of my ongoing experiment to redefine waste as material opportunity. Through this work, I explore the use of a biomaterial categorized as “nuisance waste” as a viable and beautiful fine art pigment. To do this, I collect discarded shells from local restaurants and use ancestral techniques to clean, cure and process them into an unrefined pearl white. Transformed, the shimmering calcium carbonate is then incorporated into my drawings on recycled fine art papers.
In my studio practice, drawing is an active meditation that links ritual, rhythm, and breath. As thinking and movement merge, my perception of time and space blurs, creating a calm, fertile space for contemplation. Drawing led me to examine my own habits and patterns, and a deeply entrenched philosophy of infinite growth, perpetual resource extraction, and endless waste production. My pivot towards a more mindful approach to what I make – towards regenerative and sustainable materials and techniques – creates an open and connected mindset of consequence, one that seeks solutions.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Having a mentor is hugely impactful. Creatives are sometimes solitary creatures, and having a guide to help us navigate these murky waters can make all the difference in how we approach what we do. When I did not really have a regular artist community for feedback, I was inspired to create one by a mentor. Now my creative community has monthly gatherings where we share our work, talk about opportunities, and the business of being an artist. I’ve met peers, made new friends and connections, and have become a little bit better at networking — all while having a good bit of fun. It’s been wonderful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mammiller.com
Image Credits
Artwork photography by Robin Hill