Anne Ryan Miller—Nature in Glass

As an artist, I have found that Brown County is just one of the most beautiful, gentle, and spiritual spots in the world. The soft, misty, hazy air, the rolling hills and the sweet, loving people, many of whom I include as friends, have all contributed to … decades of my landscape and glass art.

~story and photos by Bob Gustin

Often, the inspiration for Anne Ryan Miller’s unique stained glass creations is just outside the door of her studio, in the forests and natural beauty of Brown County.

Her work encompasses a variety of projects, many nature-based, some abstract, and some special designs for commissioned jobs.

One of her latest projects is to create big glass panels for a church in Lansing, Michigan. Each panel measures 90 by 48 inches and has 550 individual cut glass pieces. So far, the project has taken nearly two years as designs have changed along the way to suit the needs of the church.

Stained glass windows have had a traditional home in places of worship and spirituality, and Anne has some thoughts on why that is.

“It has to do with their relationship with color,” she said. “Originally, stained glass was all transparent, and the light coming through them was rather magical. Light hits the glass and it spills all over the floor.

“It has to do with the whole idea of how color affects us emotionally. Color can be exhilarating; it can be calming.”

She notes that scientists have identified a “God part” of the human brain, an emotional and spiritual center.

“Light, color, and sound (music) are all keys that open the door to that part of the brain.’’

One of two panels commissioned for a church. 7.5’ x 3.25’ trees depicting Michigan’s white pines against a Michigan sunset.

Anne describes herself as a spiritual, but not necessarily religious, person. Her background is in science, and her spirituality is based in nature.

While she thrives on pieces which spring from her own creativity, she also enjoys commissions.

“It’s fun to get into somebody’s head and get images and ideas. It’s in connection with others that those creations evolve.”

And human connections are important to Anne. That’s one of the reasons she loves living in Brown County. In addition to the natural beauty, the county provides a sense of community and safety, she said.

An unusual aspect of Anne’s work is her use of metal overlays. Stained glass pieces are traditionally fused together in one of two methods, either with lead came (lead channels which are soldered together to form a framework to hold the glass) or with copper foil (thin copper strips folded over the edges of the glass, then soldered for strength).

Glass can either be transparent or opalescent. And opalescent glass comes in a wide freeflowing variety, sometimes with swirls and combinations of colors which are reminiscent of sunsets, cloudy skies, or other elements of nature.

To accomplish her complicated glass designs, she handpicks each piece of glass, then, draws individual elements on paper, numbers them, transfers them to selected areas of colored glass, and cuts glass to match the design.

“It’s like doing a puzzle,” she said. “It has to be done a certain way.”

Anne has always used copper foil.

But she discovered the foil comes in more sizes than just the quarter-inch width traditionally used. Experimenting with larger copper pieces, she first draws details on paper, then traces them onto large copper sheets after cleaning and burnishing the glass. She then cuts the intricate designs into the copper foil with an X-Acto knife, and finally builds up texture on the copper design with solder and a soldering iron. It is an exacting process.

These copper designs, sometimes placed on both sides of a unique opalescent piece, make for stunning finished pieces.

It’s an unusual technique she pioneered, which has since been tried by others.

She’s been working in stained glass since 1976, but her journey in the medium has not been a direct route. Miller attended the University of Michigan’s school of natural resources and got a degree in environmental education, followed by an internship in alternative education through Indiana University, and wound up in Bloomington. An artist friend gave her a stained glass project to work on, and Anne took over from there, teaching herself. She was part of a glass cooperative gallery in Bloomington before moving to Brown County.

Willows and egrets commissioned for a couple’s bathroom.

“Life just leads you places,” she said. In 1981, it led her to Brown County, and to marriage with architect Steve Miller, grandson of famed artist Dale Bessire. They live in a house on a hill above Nashville once owned by Bessire, and Anne’s studio was remodeled from Bessire’s old cow barn.

“As an artist, I have found that Brown County is just one of the most beautiful, gentle and spiritual spots in the world,” she says as part of a biography on her website. “The soft, misty, hazy air, the rolling hills and the sweet, loving people, many of whom I include as friends, have all contributed to … decades of my landscape and glass art.”

Here, she soaks in the most important inspiration for her work.

“Many people have chosen to give low priority to nature, but we are all of this world and we all live together.

“My biggest goal is just to be aware and alive and appreciate and be impacted by the beauty of the world we live in,” she said. “I’m really not trying to say anything, just ‘isn’t this beautiful?’”

You can find Miller’s work at Hoosier Artist Gallery and at <anneryanmillerglassstudio.com>.