I find myself returning again and again to the work of Leslie Avon Miller. Her work and the reflections in her blog bring me back- especially when I don't get to the studio. She takes me to a serene place where I remember I am a artist. Her art is zen, centering, calming- a meditation. Links to her blogs at the bottom of this post. I invite you to stop in and relax into her amazing work."Do you remember the very first time you purchased an original work of art? It’s 1981. My Mom and I are spending a day together including shopping at a mall in a larger town than ours. Artists of all kinds have set up displays up and down the corridors of the mall. Mom and I look at all the art, occasionally engaging in short conversations with the artists who are all there showing their work. I’m still in my 20’s and I don’t have money for art. Mom values art, she knows about design and she has a good eye. We stroll, and look and talk about the art we are seeing. Mom points out work that really grabs her eye. Eventually we circle back to the booth of j.krogh colwell. She is small, has long dark hair and is a quiet kind of person. She doesn’t use capital letters when she writes, which is kind of arty in itself. The three of us talk about art. She tells us about her art including where she gets her insp
iration and about her medium. It’s an easy kind of conversation, relaxed and comfortable. My Mom offers to purchase a painting of my choice as a gift to me. Exciting! I walk around the entire display and choose “thru the dunes.” It’s a very soft water color of some dunes, grasses, the ocean and a bird in flight. The painting is serene. I love the subject matter of an ocean beach. I love the painting for its subdued blues, creams and sandy colors. I love it for its shapes, the sense of flow, and the way it is tastefully matted and framed. I love it for the way I see it adding beauty into my life. I don’t remember anything else from that day. I don’t remember what car we drove, or where we had lunch, or any other purchases that may have occurred. That painting has become part of my life and I have displayed it in seven homes. It’s part of my life story, of a day with my Mom and a generous gift of art. We can’t know how our art becomes part of someone’s life story, but it does. We can’t know how someone may remember an interaction with us. If the artist in my story had been focused on negative feelings about “marketing” her art, the exchange might have been much different, and perhaps the purchase would have been else where."from LESLIE AVON MILLER's blog
"I am a mixed media artist and a life coach working with creative people. I create with a variety of water media and collage." blogs here and here.
