Many people have asked me, "How do you do this?"  If you're one who'd like to know, now is your opportunity to find out.  In a show entitled Thinking Art Into Being: Ruth Miller's Contemporary Embroidery, I will be laying out my entire working process from inspiration to finished tapestry.  In conjunction with the art itself will be written descriptions of all I think may not be immediately evident just by looking.   If you love working with your hands and are unable to attend one of my tapestry seminars or you're an art-lover who simply wants to peek behind the curtain, you can spend time soaking it all in.  This exhibition will be on view at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art
www.georgeohr.org/admissions/ in its Beau Rivage Resort and Casino Gallery of African American Art from June 13, 2017 until August 19, 2017.  It is funded by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, located at 386 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi MS 39530, was founded to preserve and promote the unique legacy of Biloxi potter George E. Ohr, emancipated craftsman Pleasant Reed and artist/architect Frank Gehry who designed its award-winning campus.  This location is one of the high points along Highway 90 which stretches from Alabama to Texas along the scenic Gulf of Mexico.  In addition to the museum, the Mississippi section of Highway 90 is lined with stately mansions and majestic Live Oaks interspersed with exciting attractions, welcoming accommodations and enticing eateries to help you make a day or a week of your visit.  Are you more laid-back?  Come visit the museum and then sip a lemonade on the sand while watching the sun set over the gulf.
www.gulfcoast.org/blog/post/100-things-to-do-on-the-mississippi-gulf-coast/

www.biloxi.ms.us/visitor-info/museums/visitors-center/

​www.beaurivage.com/en.html

www.arts.ms.gov

We don't often hear about the emerging contemporary art scene in Mississippi but there is a growing number of artists (many of them top notch) scattered in various parts of the state.  Although reared in a city that is one of the major art hubs of the world, in my search for time, space and trees, I've found that thoughtful, well-crafted art is made here too and been lucky enough to meet several local artists who have now become friends.  On Saturday, April 8, 2017, I'll be meeting some more of them when I serve as juror for the visual arts competition at the Cotton District Arts Festival (CDAF).  For those of you who haven't seen my tapestries in person, one of them will be hanging in the exhibition.  

Art encourages people to think deeply and make new discoveries within themselves and among others.  By shining a light on the skills of regional artists of all stripes, the forward-looking Mississippi arts establishment hopes to incite engagement with creativity in people who may not have been encouraged to participate in the past.  In Starkville, they've brought visual, auditory, gustatory and literary artists together to act as inspiration for festival-goers.

Presented by the Starkville Area Arts Council and Maxx South Broadband, the Cotton District Arts Festival is held each April in the historic Cotton District in Starkville, MS.  Named one of the top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association, CDAF hosts a Visual Arts Competition, a Writers' Village, a Taste of Starkville restaurant competition, all bordered by stages for musical performances.  I expect that a good time will be had by all who show up.  Why don't you be one of them?  I'd love to meet you there.

For more information about the Cotton District Arts Festival, visit www.cdafestival.com

There's a lot more support for Mississippi artists than you might imagine.  For example, last December I was awarded a $500 Mississippi Arts Commission mini grant.  I'll be using it to purchase framing and yarns.  In 2011, MAC awarded me an artist fellowship with an even larger grant attached.  MAC offers mini grants twice yearly and fellowships on a yearly basis.  These are funded in party the the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Other Mississippi artists who are interested in these benefits can apply for the fellowship before the March 1, 2017 deadline and the mini grants by June 1, 2017 or by November 1, 2017.  Visit MAC's web site at:  www.arts.ms.gov

​Many people find out about my art by visiting this web site.  It's hosted by www.weebly.com which provides site-creation tutorials but I began erecting it by attending classes held by the Hancock County Public Library.  The Starkville Area Arts Council contacted me via this site.  It hosts the Cotton District Arts Festival, (CDAF) to be held this year on April 8, 2017 in Starkville Mississippi.  The CDAF was named one of the top 5 festivals in MS by Mississippi Magazine.  The Council invited me to act as juror for the festival's art competition to be held at the MSU Visual Arts Center Gallery.  CDAF invites the participation of adult artists, student artists, vendors and local musicians (through their Songwriters' Competition and presentation stages on the East and West sides of the festival.)  With all that going on, I hope you'll attend this year and try out for next year.  Find out all about it by visiting www.cdaf.com or emailing them at CDAFestival@gmail.com.

                                              Cotton District Arts Festival, Starkville MS
​

There is an article about me you'll enjoy in the September 2016 issue (vol. 157) of "Creative With Workbox" magazine.  This UK publication shines a light on what is best and newest in fiber arts.  In Issue 157, I'll be discussing my motivations and methods and you'll see images of my last completed piece, (Congregants). 

Visit their site; read about me and other creative people when you subscribe to Creative With Workbox: www.creativewithworkbox.com

June was a busy month for me.  I hosted two 2-day classes in the technical aspects of creating embroidered portraiture.  All my classes are geared toward the skill-levels of the students who attend and all levels of experience are welcome.  

Each class begins with drawing.  Accuracy is the main consideration as we create likenesses of simple objects (never as simple as they at first seem to be) on through the duplication of human faces from photographs.  Finished drawings are colored and transferred to fabric that students learn to adhere to wood canvas stretchers.  Then we begin to stitch.  As embroidery is a slow process, students will do most of the stitching at home but are free to contact me via phone or email with any questions they may have.  

Are you interested in attending and able to travel to the Mississippi Gulf Coast?  Email me from the contact page of this site and let's set up a class.  

I'm one of three highlighted artist in the "Ask the Artists" section of the June 2016 Creative With Workbox Magazine, Issue 156.  

Creative With Workbox is an attractive and informative magazine for creative people everywhere.  With an emphasis in fiber, this is the go-to place to check out contemporary textile artists and for instruction in new techniques.  Check out their site, read my interview and subscribe! 

www.creativewithworkbox.com

In response to the interest that arose from Debby Stringer's fine article about my work in the March 2016 issue of Today in Mississippi, I'm offering two all-day seminars in embroidered portraiture.  The dates are Friday and Saturday June 17 -18, 2016 and Thursday and Friday June 30 - July 1, 2016.  The first class has room for one more participant and the second has room for 3 or 4.  The cost is $150 for both days and includes supplies.  

These classes will be marathon events because there's a lot of ground to cover:  
1- intro to drawing from life
2- Intermediate observation and drawing
3- Drawing from photographs
4- Adding color to images drawn on paper
5- Canvas stretching
6- Transfer of images from paper to fabric (canvas) 
7- Stitching of portraits

You're free to bring your own food or stop work to travel to a commercial eatery.  Arrange to be here at my studio for at least 8 hours each day.  You're advised to book one night in a regional hotel.  Interested?  Drop me a line ASAP in the contact section of this site which will let me know by email.  I will respond with exact time and the location of my studio.  It's gonna be fun.                  See you soon!

Interested but can't make these events?  Drop me a line on the contact page.  We can work out a more convenient date.  I'm thinking about sometime in the fall.

From August 29th to October 31st, I participated in a show sponsored by The Surface Design Association, (SDA).  I first encountered SDA in several years ago through its magazine, Surface Design, and reconnected with them in 2014.  The magazine, with its lush, highly-detailed and gorgeously presented photos of fiber in all its myriad glory, is a visual inspiration itself.  The texts that accompany the images are clear and informative about contemporary and historical goings on in the universe that is textile art and artistry.  Joining this organization or even just visiting its site is a great way to leave the isolation of the studio and connect with other professional artists and I urge you to check them out.  Curated by Namita Gupta Wiggers, this members-only group show was titled, Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts and was hung at The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg TN, USA.

SDA members offered large and small textile works for exhibition in a broad range of fiber techniques:  weaving, embroidery crochet, appliqué, quilting, batik and various forms of layering.  These were presented in materials as diverse as porcelain and hair; wall-hung, floor-lain and various forms of installation.  This international show was diverse in all ways.  The quality of construction and intensity of artistic engagement can be seen in the catalog which can be ordered  from SDA.  $30 in USA; for international shipping contact the site at http://www.surfacedesign.org

​"Materialities catalog features 91 SDA member/artists.  88 pages of images are accompanied by insightful artist statements... and 4 essays addressing context and evolution of contemporary textiles.  Selected works showcase the breadth and depth of contemporary fiber arts.  They successfully answer the curator's question:  What do textiles/fibers & their associated processes offer artists that cannot be achieved in other media?" __ SDA

My entry was "The Impossible Dream is the Gateway to Self-love."