photo by Hyunsuk Erickson

As my practice has progressed, I have found that there is great beauty in aging, evolving and even in decay. As I return unused organic materials to the forest, I’ve realized that my works could be returned to the forest as well. Not kept inside, preserved, away from their natural environment. This idea led me to explore the theme of “Impermanence” while at an artist residency in France this past December.

I used only discarded tree branches and palm fronds I found on the grounds. I created a structure by lashing the limbs together, with hemp twine and toothpicks as fasteners. Once I was satisfied with the shape, I took the sculpture back into the landscape; and left it to decay into the ground. The act of making has always been extremely enjoyable to me. The sculpture became alive as I built it; aged at completion and died as I brought it outside again.

I was filled with immense joy while making it and mourned heavily when it was all over. 

The idea of impermanence is part of so many different philosophies, religions, and cultures. The Buddha taught that all phenomena, including thoughts, emotions, and experiences, are marked by three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering, and not-self. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a concept centered on the acceptance of the temporary and imperfect. This idea is sometimes described as appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature.  

I am continuing this exploration by going into the forest to forage for materials, bringing them into my studio and then when the works are finished, giving them back to nature. By documenting this process in video, photography, and recorded sound, I have the opportunity to tell the whole story over time and bring attention to the beauty of life ending in death. Nothing stays the same, everything changes, ages and dies.

Miller lives with her partner David who is an author/illustrator and their pup Amelia, in Connecticut.