# Met a famous artist I admire today



## Maura (Apr 2, 2010)

An artist I admire that does similar work to my own came to my university today to give a talk. I really wanted to meet her so afterward I came up and waited for all the other people who had come to meet her to speak. Then I introduced myself, showed her a piece of my work, and explained what I was doing with my current work and how she inspired me because her work is similar. I mentioned the elephant in the room because I was shaking, but also because my current work relates to my SA. She was really nice about it and I felt alot better. We actually had a nice conversation. Afterword I couldn't stop shaking for about 15 mins. But I couldn't stop smiling either. It was a real triumph, and I am proud of me. :yes


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## sherbert (Jun 24, 2005)

that's great! 

Who's the artist and what type of work does she do?


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## mind_games (Nov 30, 2008)

Well done!


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## Maura (Apr 2, 2010)

Melissa Miller, she does work where she uses animals as a metaphor to explore human issues. She has had a long career with a wide array of styles, themes, and media, but the animals are always there. In her early work she did this thing where she would put people in the frame, doing ordinary things totally unaware of the desperate insect or animal drama of survival going on all around them that was really the subject of the painting. She did some more abstract stuff based on Bosch, and has done both freer abstract and realistic styles. One of my favorites hangs at the modern art museum near my home. It's a huge painting of Noah's Ark except the animals are interacting in the way they really would if they were thrown together like that. 

My own work uses darwinistic, and predator and prey struggles as an analogy for human hostility and social darwinism. I do paintings and 3-D shadowboxes including many found natural objects, and strive for a photo-real biologically accurate style. For my shadowboxes I'm inspired by Joseph Cornel, A famous social phobic who basically spent his life in his mother's basement making these beautiful boxes. He is very well respected in the art world. Van Gogh was probably socially phobic as well. Not that their lives were easy, but they did manage to accomplish something great and "speak", and be heard, through their art.


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## leonardess (Jun 30, 2009)

Melissa Miller! i can't stand her. next time you see her, tell her she still owes me $10. 

Seriously, that's impressive - you should be proud. that's an inspirational story.


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## SilentWitness (Dec 27, 2009)

Wonderful.


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## steps (Feb 25, 2010)

Congrats


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