Emily Jung Miller

In May 2016 I completed my BA in Studio Art and began transitioning my lifelong art practice into a career. Over the past year, my greatest challenge has been accepting and anticipating that each new project will always cover new territory: exploration, iteration, learning and growth. In other words, time.

Art takes time. It takes as long as it takes. And often it feels like it takes me even longer than that, because I can’t settle down to one medium or style. I spent the year cycling between painting, sculpture, and installation, and I loved every minute of my work.

I revisited my studio watercolor practice, traveled and painted the landscape, experimented with abstracts in encaustic wax, and completed a two-story acrylic mural.

In the ceramics studio, I worked with slipcasting, wheel throwing, and hand building abstract and figurative objects.

I created indoor and outdoor art installations.

I discovered a connecting thread between all my projects: a playful exploration of the mystery and beauty in the natural world, centered around the ocean. But I also acknowledged that this subtle theme is the only thing holding my different bodies of work together. My style, medium, subject matter, presentation, and palette are all over the place. My work does not have a single, clear voice that is shared between my abstract and figurative work, or my painting, sculpture, and photography.

So in 2017, I will be asking myself: how can I consolidate and create consistency across my range of work?