Mom’s Bowl, 2024, porcelain, glaze
Mom’s Cup, 2024, porcelain, glaze
Mom’s Plate, 2024, porcelain, glaze
My Floral Bowl, 2024, porcelain, glaze
My Floral Cup, 2024, porcelain, glaze
My Sister’s Cups, 2024, porcelain, glaze
My Sister’s Plate, 2024, porcelain, glaze
[BA] Studio Art – Ceramics
[BS] Secondary Math Education
[Minor] Math
I long for a sense of “home” and belonging as I grow and move through young adulthood. I find comfort in materiality; objects, for me, are concrete reminders of particular memories. There is an internal battle I am facing as I create new memories and gather new objects. I struggle to hold on to the reminders of the past. The creation of these new objects inspired by old memories brings the past and present together and serves as a synthesis of my internal dialogue.
In this exhibition, I have created concrete, tangible objects to represent my former home on Franklin Street. I have transformed everyday ceramic objects into reminders of the comfort felt in my Mom’s bedroom, the art projects I created with my sister, and the carefree collecting of summer flowers from my backyard. The three place settings presented here are dedicated to my mother, sister, and myself, in both form and surface design. My mother’s pieces are inlaid with a depiction of the blue, flowery wallpaper in her bedroom. The pieces dedicated to my sister feature childhood drawings of us together. Lastly, my setting is adorned with stylized flowers from my backyard, which I would pick to create colorful bouquets. These three sets are presented on a shelf made from golden oak, reminiscent of the original flooring that provided grounding for my family as we grew together in our home.
I am working through the emotional process of growing up and creating a new life for myself while keeping a hold of the sentimental moments I have realized to be an essential part of my sense of self and personal growth. The quality of the imagery on the surfaces of these forms comes from an appreciation of the graphic quality of woodcut and intaglio prints, as well as the decorative artwork and wallpaper that were the backdrop to these seminal memories. The contrast of matte and shiny glaze on top of undulating rims and rounded bodies draws attention to the soft form and comfortable utilitarian function of the pieces. These objects will serve to provide me with comfort and familiarity in a new and uncertain time of my life.
Mya Miller is completing a BA in Studio Art with an emphasis in ceramics and a BS in Education with an endorsement in Math at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her expected graduation is December 2024. Her ceramic works have been included in exhibitions in UNL’s Eisentrager-Howard and MEDICI Galleries, the Lux Center for the Arts, and the Noyes Art Gallery. Mya is a member of UNL’s Clay Club and co-president of Creative Commons, an art student club. Mya’s honors include a Regents Scholarship, a Faulkner Sophomore Award, and the Dean’s Lists of both the Hixson–Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and the College of Education and Human Sciences. Mya is a recent recipient of the Elgas Project Grant from the School of Art, Art History, and Design.