Avant Guardians

By Leticia Gonzales

Artist Jill C. Miller emerged from the tragedy of losing a husband, and channeled that heartache into her art.

From heartbreak, beauty

Miller ventures into watercolors, welding, stained glass

Despite having many creative relatives help her hone her artistic skills as a child, Jill C. Miller didn’t become immersed in the field until her first husband died.

“When (Paul) passed from a car accident in 1990, I found myself a little lost and at loose ends,” said Miller, who grew up in Iowa but has lived in North Mankato since 1994. “That is when I found the ad in the paper for a watercolor class.”

Although Miller studied art for two years at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa, her growth didn’t take shape until she took that watercolor class and worked with instructor Jackie May, who soon became a mentor.

“I found my art was always something I could turn to when I was feeling lost,” said Miller, who will soon turn 60. “It felt like connecting with an old friend again.”

She also began experimenting more with her skills.

“That is where I first tried the ice crystal freezing thing,” she said. “I would never have thought about trying welding to produce lawn art, but here I am with a flower in my front yard and collecting items I hope to weld into more pieces. I have also become a little less critical of my pieces and more just go for it and see what happens.”

Through her mentorship with May, Miller said she also became more familiar with local art shows and art programs.

“She was a wealth of information. I was still a little sporadic in working on my art. I would mostly just paint

when the mood would hit.”

After Miller remarried in 2007, she created a new outlet for her artwork.

“My creativity would come out in my cooking or in decorating my home,” she said. “When my second husband, Randy, passed away after a short illness in 2014, I found myself feeling overwhelmed. I found it easier to focus on only one project at a time no matter how small the project.”

Once her projects were complete, Miller made a goal to enter local art fairs in 2019.

“My creativity would take a backseat when big events happened in my life, and it would sometimes take a while before I would get the creative bug again,” she said. “It has been more front and center in my life since I made the conscious goal of attending art fairs to try to make some money to help support my craft.”

Miller said she went to about eight art fairs that first year. But in 2020 the pandemic shut down most of them. She said she used that time to take additional classes to learn new skills, such as welding and working with stained glass.

Although Miller said she has always been drawn to watercolor “because of the fluidity of the paint and the ‘happy accidents,’” she dabbles in a variety of art mediums. She said her style is more abstract and that she is more of an intuitive artist.

“I recently found alcohol inks, which are similar to watercolor but much more vibrant colors. There is always a learning curve on how to control a new medium and how different colors react to each other on the paper.”

She often combines the two techniques, which can be a challenging process.

“It is difficult to retain the ice crystals on the paper,” she said. “The water content has to be just perfect.”

Miller recently had a piece in the Member Show at the Art Center of Saint Peter and has had pieces in the juried show for the Twin River Council for the Arts, even winning the McKnight Award one year.

“Everything you try gives birth to new ideas to try to see what will happen,” she said. “One is always learning when creating and new products spark the imagination. Jill C. Miller

There really is no limit to what you can experiment with and create. Confidence in yourself is the biggest and best influence.”