We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
When I started working in advertising at 22, I planned to become an art director. Advertising is (and was) a very competitive business. I didn’t believe my work was good enough and that intimidated me. I didn’t have the courage to show my portfolio over and over and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t measure up. When I looked around I saw men getting the jobs I sought. I didn’t believe I could achieve my dream.
I was terribly shy about showing my people my artwork in any context. Eventually, I followed a different career path and stopped doing art all together. Working in corporate America made me feel like my creativity was being drained out one teaspoon at a time.
I believed that my creative life and my corporate life were mutually exclusive. I didn’t believe I could make money as an artist, and I didn’t believe I could be an artist while I had a day job. This went on for years. Most of that time I felt regret for what I hadn’t done and envy for working artists. I had this fantasy that I’d fill my pantry with beans and rice, save a bunch of money, and work on my art in my garage until I ran out of money.
Then I had the good fortune of getting a seasonal job. I made enough money working between April and November every year so I could return to being an artist part of the year. At first, it was so hard, after many years of not sketching my skills were rusty. My paints had dried up. My sketch pads were dry and yellowing.
A big part of my story is recovering from eating disorders and learning to meditate. Gradually I looked at my art as a practice that would help me heal. Instead of trying to do an amazing painting I just tried to just express myself, to create a record of my internal landscape. The key became letting go of the outcome and just being in the process.
A completely new kind of art emerged, and I became much happier. As time went on, I began taking on commissions as friends and co-workers saw my work. I also created a website and started sharing my work in social media.
I wish I would have understood three key lessons sooner. 1) Art is a process not a destination 2) Commerce shouldn’t drive what I do as an artist 3) I can be an artist and work at a job at the same time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As soon as I was old enough to hold a pencil, I started to draw. I wanted to be a professional artist, (and a cowgirl) but I believed it wasn’t a viable way to make a living. I wasted so many years being ‘practical.’ I grew up in Southern California, graduated from UC Davis, and worked in advertising, branding and marketing.
My artwork is part of a spiritual journey. I see everything I do as a record of the human experience. It’s a voyage of discovery. The essential part of being an artist is learning to be authentic. I genuinely believe everyone is an artist and that everyone can allow their creative expression to emerge. Art is so much more than just being able to paint a still life or a portrait. Many skills can be mastered with practice, but everyone has an innate ability to express their experience through art.
I returned to art later in life as a way of recovering from years of eating disorders. I used it as therapy and a way to learn to play as an adult. Overtime I built more skills. To me, mastering art is learning to master the material or media. Most of the work I do is a learning experience. I’m always trying to figure out what different media can do. I enjoy mixing media, particularly watercolors, acrylics, and pastels.
During the pandemic my studio was closed, it forced me to do art at home. (One silver lining was having my little cat Arrow to assist me on a daily basis.) Cut paper collage worked great because it doesn’t take much space and it was easy to clean up. I love adding Posca paint pens, gel pens, and Dr PH Martins concentrated watercolors. I describe my art as spiritual art because I try to express my experiences as a meditator. I believe that our natural state is one of wholeness, generosity, and kindness. I include bones and open eyes to express inner wisdom and truth. I have a deep respect for the natural world, so I also include trees, flowers, and bees in my collages.
I’ve created five coloring books, all available on Amazon.The Fabled Land is designed to help people learn contemplative coloring. For those who think they aren’t capable of meditating I say, ‘Try coloring, it’s a form of meditation!.’ My book is intended to help people learn to focus on the present moment and to begin to enter into meditation. I believe everyone has a good heart, and that art is the best way to connect with it. I offer regular meditation on my Facebook. (Link here: https://www.facebook.com/
In addition to selling my art online I offer workshops and one-on-one lessons. I call these sessions the exploration of imperfect art. I especially like working with people who think they aren’t artists or aren’t comfortable doing art. I start my sessions with brief meditations and guide people to find their voice as an artist. My workshops focus on allowing people to loosen up and express their authentic selves. One of my clients is recovering from a brain injury and I’m helping her to rediscover herself as an artist. I also help people overcome their shyness or shame about their creative work.
I wrote and illustrated an art journal called “Create Here: Creative Prompts for Everyone Everyday” which offers simple daily prompts to inspire individuals to create. The prompts serve as a jumping off point to do a simple five-minute exercise or a more elaborate project. These prompts work for art, poetry, songwriting or even dance.
Another of my books, “Confessions of a Failed Perfectionist: How to get over self-hate, self-sabotage, and feeling like a failure” is a great complement to my workshops. It is about my journey in recovery. It provides tools and exercises to help overcome shame. It will be helpful to anyone recovering from addiction or co-dependance.
The thing I am proud of today is the work I create and the way I help others discover their authentic heart and voice.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I’m a fan of Samantha Bennett the author of “Get it Done” and “Start Where You Are”. Her work really taught me to just get on with it, stop making everything so precious and let go of perfectionism. Her sage advice on life as a creative entrepreneur is simple, practical and brilliant. I also recommend the work of David Nichtern, his book “Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck” is insightful and helpful.
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a brief but game-changing Facebook post that I recommend she in which she delineates the difference between a hobby, a job, a career, and a vocation. You can find it by searching “Elizabeth Gilbert Hobby Job Career Vocation” (Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/
I often read poetry for inspiration. I’m a particular fan of Gerard Manley Hopkins. I also love Rumi and I often use lines from his work for names of my pieces.
I’ve read many books on the topic of meditation. My favorite authors are Pema Chodron, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche who wrote an extraordinary book on managing difficult emotions called “Emotional Rescue: How to Work with Your Emotions to Transform Hurt and Confusion into Energy That Empowers You”
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
American society places a huge emphasis on productivity and commerce. In order to create work I love, I had to give up believing that my art is valuable only if it produces money. I have made money from my artwork, but it’s been really important to learn to create things that are true without worrying about who would buy them.
I really dislike the starving artist myth. I don’t believe that being an artist means you have to be poor. The subject matter, the color palette and the format need to come from a place of inspiration, not commerce. I wish I’d known sooner that people would respond to work that is unique and authentic.
I do believe that society doesn’t put enough value on artists’ contribution to society. We not only act as historians who record the unspoken emotions of our age, but we also shape society. Artists, actors, writers, musicians both shape and reflect society far more than any politician ever can. Stories and images tell stories that people remember and value.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
stephaniemillerartist.com/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
stephaniemillerartist/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
StephanieMillerArtist/
- Other: My books are available here: https://stephaniewoodmiller.
com/ and I offer meditation instruction on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/226077879244487