Artist inspired by her grandmother

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This article was published 30/09/2019 (2438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg artist and owner of cre8ery gallery (125 Adelaide St.), Jordan Miller is thrilled that 62 of her pieces are hanging in the Portage la Prairie gallery that her late grandmother supported.

Miller said her grandmother, Virginia Miller, who died in August 2018, was active in Portage la Prairie arts, church and community groups. She served on the board of the Portage & District Arts Centre, now called Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment. It is at the Prairie Fusion gallery (11-2nd St. NE) where Miller’s To Build: To Simplify solo exhibition is being shown until Nov. 2.
Miller also credits her grandmother with fostering her love for the arts and desire to become a visual artist.

“She used to take us to the WSO (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra) and Rainbow Stage. She also introduced us to the visual arts.”

“She supported local artists. Their (Virginia and Clive Miller’s) house was full of art.”

She recalls visiting her grandparents’ home in Portage and cottage at Delta Beach during her childhood. Her grandmother would encourage the grandchildren to draw rainbows.

“My art is full of bright colours. I was always drawing rainbows,” Miller said. “She is the reason I became an artist.”

After applying for the Portage show in December 2016, Miller said she told her grandmother, who was then living in Lions Prairie Manor in Portage, about it. She was hoping that her grandmother would be able to see the exhibition, but sadly that didn’t happen.

As well as providing her with emotional support in her pursuit of a career as an artist, Miller said her grandmother’s legacy has also recently aided her in a physical sense. An inheritance from her grandmother allowed Miller, who has Type 1 diabetes, to buy an insulin pump that she says has greatly changed her life over the past few months.

“It’s given me more energy. I feel healthier,” she said.

She believes that the inspiration she gained as a child through her grandmother’s encouragement, is evident to her in the pieces in her exhibition.

“I see them (rainbows) in the pieces I made for the show.”

To Build: To Simplify consist of three bodies of work, Miller said. One is a series of monoprints that are accentuated with acrylic and ink.

The second consists of pieces in which Miller primarily used alcohol inks in a pointillism style to create abstract conceptual images. “My work in this series is very dreamlike. I had fun with them.”

“I was thinking about life changes,” she said, adding that she recently turned 40.

The third series is comprised of poured media paintings that Miller created about three years ago, and which she highlighted with sanded areas, words and architectural drawings.

She said her piece entitled Multiverse: Walking a Tightrope in a Different World took her three years to complete.

While Miller has had her work included in a group show at the Portage gallery in 2018, this will be her first solo exhibition. She said she’s looking forward to sharing her memories of her grandmother and family connections to Portage, along with her artistic processes and connections between her work when she speaks at the show’s opening reception on Sun., Oct. 6. It runs from 1 to 3 p.m. and Miller will speak at 2 p.m.

For more information on Miller, see www.jordanlmiller.com

To find out about Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment, see www.prairiefusion.ca