Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

To be honest, I try to make “meaning” the core of everything I work on. When it’s a personal piece, it’s a chance to explore and express feelings and ideas from deep within myself, my life experiences, and my reflections on the world around me. For example my piece, “The Queen of Forgotten Toys: a Self Portrait” is a life sized sculpture of toys and items mostly from my childhood. I’ve always enjoyed “recycled art” pieces, and as it is with all mosaic and collage art, part of the joy is developing story lines and meaning by how each piece fits next to another piece.

When I’m working on a commission for someone else, it’s a chance to learn about them, explore their story, and express themes, ideas, biography, and symbols that have meaning to them. All these things can be expressed in both in the overall design of the piece, or all the way down to the materials, layout, and patterning that emerges as I create a work. Everyone of these commissioned pieces holds a really special place in my heart because of the honor I feel when someone trusts me with their story, and shares with me deeply personal and meaningful parts of their life.

For instance, with my piece, “Korlah” I had the honor of working with the YWCA’s RAPE CRISIS CENTER OF LOS ANGELES in Compton, to be paired with a rape and domestic abuse survivor to create a portrait. Getting to know Korlah and her story of recovery and growth, into a thriving young woman, was a life changing experience for me. I hand sculpted and glazed mosaic pieces to encrypt the symbols of her life, loves, and dreams.

With another commission, an architectural wall installation called “Tree of Life”, I had the chance to tell out an entire family tree of the client, in a mosaic wall mural. It’s loaded with symbols and images throughout, depicting their lives, passions, achievements, and careers.

These are just a few examples, but hopefully it gives a sense of the role that “meaning” has in my work, and the joy I find in expressing it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Tiffany Miller is an artist, designer, fabricator, performer, and producer who started in television both in front of the camera, as host of PASSION FOR LIFE (Sedona Now) and behind it, as an assistant post-production coordinator for the hit show BAYWATCH. She then made her way into the marketing world as a Promo Producer for several shows with Pearson Television and Telepictures.

Meanwhile her art career took off, with her main focus on mosaics, which can be seen internationally in private collections, businesses, galleries, and churches. Tiffany’s work has been sold at Julien’s Auctions and featured on MTV, VH1, ABC, In Touch Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boulder Times. Tiffany’s also made appearances on such shows as CRAFT LAB (HGTV Network), THAT’S CLEVER (DIY Network), and as a featured artist for the Goldenstein Gallery on Sedona NOW.

With a passion for telling stories through art and design, as well as her background in television and art, becoming a production designer for film and theater was a natural progression. She most recently has served as a producer and co-creator for a STAR WARS festival, celebrating the Pacific Northwest region’s role in the franchise, designed the L.A. stage production of INFIDEL, served as Set Decorator for HAPPY BOBBY GULLIVER, and as production designer for SACRED JOURNEYS (Amazon).

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The life path of an artist is very challenging for so many reasons– the vulnerability you must overcome when you express something from deep within yourself, the constant challenge of sustainability, and the cyclical pains of growth and pushing your artistic limits– just to name a few.

Early in my career, when to that point I had really only done small mosaic pieces on scraps of wood, I was referred to an architectural mosaic project at a large catholic church. There were two 10ft X 10ft alcoves, one on each side of the Sanctuary (the front “stage” of the church). The church asked applicants what they would do with the alcoves, if they were given the job? Perhaps, it was partially due to my naïveté– a lack of experience with what came out of my mouth, and what that would actually entail– but I just answered honestly. I said that I wouldn’t just mosaic the alcoves– I’d do the entire sanctuary from alcove to alcove, across a 100 ft wide, 70 ft tall wall! They seemed taken aback by the boldness of my proposal– more than quadrupling the scope of the job. They thanked me and sent me on my way to finish their interviews. Needless to say, shortly after, they called me back. I got the job.

The resilience didn’t so much come in proposing such an epic vision, but rather in the months that followed, and trying to pull it off. Doing a mosaic at that scale for the very first time pushed me to my limits, forcing me to learn many things on the fly. Like, never when mosaicking a picture frame, did I need to learn how to use scaffolding, drive a scissor lift, let alone think about how the design might read from 150 feet away, at the back of the church. These were all scary challenges, but I think a big part of resilience is feeling the fear, but continuing down the path anyway.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Surviving as an artist requires constant growth, adaptation, self reflection and examination– which will over time lead to pivots. These changes happen at all levels of your path– sometimes it’s in the art itself you create… A new style, a new medium, a new technique, a new technology. Sometimes it’s in the types of projects you go after or accept. And certainly, as the landscape for business, marketing, and the arts culture itself changes, you must adapt. Through all of these changes, the biggest challenge is often finding the middle ground between adapting, yet remaining true to yourself. This journey is different for everyone.

If your work includes larger projects, that take long periods of time to complete– you sometimes have to pivot around life changes. Like being forced to move in the middle of project, or dealing with a death in your family, or a birth, or an illness. Life happens. All of these moments require pivots and resilience to perservere. As challenging as these unexpected circumstances can be, if you remain open hearted and open minded, sometimes the challenges bring with them opportunities or inspirations. For instance, when I lost my mother, finding something meaningful to do with the tidbits I emptied out of her junk drawers inspired a portrait of her– and led to long line of “junk drawer” portraits I’ve done for clients for years now. You never know what leads to what. Such is the courage faith required for the life of an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tiffanymillermosaics.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tiffanymosaics
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/tiffanymosaics
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/tiffany-miller-80605b84/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL63B7C29073A65705
• Other: https://tiffanymillerdesigns.com

Image Credits

Tracy Boyd