Featured Arkansas Artist: Maura Miller

The Arkansas Studies Institute houses four art galleries, including a retail gallery, featuring the work of Arkansas artists and art related to the state. This post is part of a bi-weekly series featuring ASI gallery artists.

Maura Miller
Biography

Maura Miller has worked in clay since the fourth grade. When she moved to Fresno, California, she found that the dirt in the garden was mostly made of clay. She added special ingredients and many fantastic creatures to this clay.

She graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a BA in studio art and cultural anthropology. She worked as an archaeologist in the United States and some territories for six years. During this time, she took clay classes whenever she could. She finally decided to leave archaeology and return to her artwork. She started working at Terra Studios, as a potter, in 2001.

Artist Statement

I have always preferred to work three dimensionally. I like being able to put my hands around what I am working on. I love looking at two-dimensional work, but I am more satisfied working in the round.

I usually consider myself to be a potter of non-functional works, although about forty percent of my work is now functional. But I never worry that most of my work is non-functional. I love making vessels for the sheer joy of exploring a shape that intrigues me. The whole process excites me. I achieve an intense satisfaction when I figure out how all of the parts come together to form a whole.

I cannot imagine ever leaving my work in clay. There is still so much to learn and explore. I could never grow tired of working in clay.



Click here to see more work by Maura Miller.