EMBROIDERED REALISM: THE ART OF RUTH MILLER

June 11th, 2025

6/11/2025

One of my works has a new home

One of my embroidered tapestries titled Our Lady of Unassailable Wellbeing has been accepted for public viewing at the offices of The Southern Poverty Law Center in its interactive museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Adjacent to its main office, the SPLC operates the Civil Rights Memorial Center which tells the stories of civil rights martyrs such as Emmett Till, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr. The building is located at 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104. "Our Lady..." was delivered to them on May 23, 2025 by its former owner, civil rights attorney Ms Margaret Woodward and myself and will shortly be available for all to see. On May 24th, it was part of SPLC's Art as Activism Block Party where I gave a short artist talk. When you get an opportunity to visit, please take time to sign your name to the Wall of Justice at the Civil Rights Memorial Center.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joe Levin to protect vulnerable members of society. It has a long history of advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. I was pleased to meet Joe and his wife at a lovely dinner that was given in my honor by my friends Margaret, Kate and Kathryn there in Montgomery on the evening of May 23rd.

OUR LADY OF UNASSAILABLE WELLBEING

Our Lady of Unassailable Wellbeing was created to remind us that, beyond the effort required to solve problems that may arise, we should use mental discipline to focus on what is good and helpful. In this way, we support our own mental health and wellbeing.

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September 13th, 2024

9/13/2024

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Latest exhibition

Come chat with me at the Gail Keenan Art Center.

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April 05th, 2023

4/5/2023

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taking a break

I've put the art aside momentarily while I'm renovating my home and studio. But my next showing will be in the fiber exhibition at the OCEAN CITY ARTS CENTER for the month of July, 2023. The Ocean City Arts Center is located at 1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City, New Jersey 08226. The announcement will be up soon at: oceancityartscenter.org

In the meanwhile, I will be selling my earrings at the ARTS ALIVE street festival in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Saturday, April 15, 2023. (They are not for sale online.) Read about the event below and at: hancockarts.org/ARTS-ALIVE!-2023. I'd love to meet you! Bay St. Louis, a beautiful Gulf Coast city, is always mentioned in lists of the best art towns in the United States. You'll enjoy it.

Image: AnnMaddenPhoto.com

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this is colossal

2/2/2022

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There's a wonderful new article about my work written by Grace Ebert, managing editor on THIS IS COLOSSAL. Reaching 1-2 million readers monthly, Colossal explores contemporary art and visual culture across a wide range of disciplines including fine art, craft, illustration, street art, and animation. Founded in 2010 by writer and curator Christopher Jobson, the site has been referred to as the "Tate Modern of the Internet" by Fast Company, recognized as a source of important recognition for both established and emerging artists by PBS Art:21, and is called a "must-read" by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Find the article here: www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/01/ruth-miller-embroidered-portraits/

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There's also a podcast out of Manchester, MO that's called Fiber Talk. Check it out!
wetalkfiber.com/2022/02/06/fiber-talk-with-ruth-miller/
Also on FlossTube: https://youtu.be/AiD0RswHAmU

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Looking Back

1/3/2022

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HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

In preparing to return to stitching this year, I've been thinking about the past. It's been an interesting journey for all of us. For myself, I'm grateful for all the lessons that have come my way. On this site, you've had the opportunity to read what I have to say about my life and art. But I'd like to introduce you to other textile sites and communities that may be new to you as they were to me.
Visit Surface Design Association, TextileArtist.org, LeTempsDeBroder.com Artemorbida.com. and Artsy.Net Links are below.

The image above is courtesy of Mississippi artist Ann Madden www.annmaddenphoto.com who photographed my work for the recent issue of Faire, a hard-copy English language magazine published in France.

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Artsy.Net is a location for information on artists, auctions, galleries, museums and this in-depth article by writer Danielle Jackson. www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artist-ruth-miller-elevates-embroidery-stunning-tapestries
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For English readers and speakers in Europe, TextileArtist.org is the go-to source for the textile arts in The United Kingdom: www.textileartist.org/ruth-miller-life-sized-storytelling-in-stitch/

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For those of you who read or speak French, LeTempsDeBroder.com is an excellent source for embroidery and other textile related arts that is published in Switzerland:
www.letempsdebroder.com/?s=ruth+miller&lang=fr

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The most up to date location for all things fiber in Italy is ArteMorbida.com . Read about me
In Italian:
www.artemorbida.com/intervista-con-ruth-miller-il-ricamo-e-il-mio-medium/

In English:
www.artemorbida.com/intervista-con-ruth-miller-il-ricamo-e-il-mio-medium/?lang=en

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Consider joining the Surface Design Association or buying a copy of the Winter 2021 Issue of Surface Design Journal for the latest article by Dr. Sharbreon Plummer.
www.surfacedesign.org/journal/digital-journal-new/

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'aphrodite' has a new home

6/17/2021

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I'm proud to announce that The Evocation and Capture of Aphrodite has been acquired this month by The Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS This tapestry was completed in 2014. Its first showing was at MMA as part of the 2014 Mississippi Invitational. It was later shown in the 2017 Red Clay Survey Exhibition of Contemporary Southern Art at The Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL. Next, it appeared in Thinking Art Into Being: Ruth Miller's Contemporary Embroidery my solo exhibition at The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, MS. In 2018 it was part of I Dwell in Possibility: Unconventional Work by Penland Instructors, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC. In 2019 it returned to the Mississippi Museum of Art as part of the exhibition titled New Symphony of Time .

The steps I took to create this piece were described and illustrated in an article titled Ruth Miller: Portraits d'Humanite. This article appeared in Le Temps de Broder a Swiss online magazine with text in French. www.letempsdebroder.com/portraits/ruth-miller

Here is my description of its narrative:

Aphrodite was so powerful an entity that even gods were helpless against her charms. Greek women prayed to her asking that she bestow some of that charm on themselves that they might be powerful in their own social circles. Aphrodite, a civilizing influence (beauty, pleasure, passion, grace, fruitfulness), was thoughtfully not unconsciously or accidentally beautiful. A woman who uses Aphrodite as a role model aims to use the power of her own presence, self-esteem, beauty and grace (gifts of the goddess) to make her way in the world. The mirror is a major tool and she will often practice in front of or at least consult it as she crafts that presentation. Likewise, few men are successful without considering their looks and comportment.

In this tapestry, a young woman poses in front of a large mirror. Her stance, choice of outfit, makeup and hairstyle work together to evoke the charm of the goddess. With her camera, she captures it. The mirror the model posed before was full length but for the sake of composition has been compacted and rounded to frame her face and provide a focus for the action that takes place in her mind. It is filled with sunlight and foliage that suggest the sacred groves in which the goddess was originally worshipped. The transparency of the leaves and geometric patterns indicates that the environment of the mirror is imaginary. This scene, though particular to the subject, is also universal and its timelessness is alluded to by my use of ancient Bakuba embroidery motifs which have recently enjoyed a revival in contemporary home decor.

The subject is portrayed and was photographed by my eldest granddaughter, Tatianna.

VISIT 'APHRODITE' AT :

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southern masters ii

12/31/2019

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My next show will be Southern Masters II at the Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, Alabama. Come see it if you can. www.mobilemuseumofart.com/exhibitions/southern-masters-ii-marion-pinky-bass-ruth-miller-miriam-n-omura/

Southern Masters II has been extended until September 2020.

One of my pieces, The Evocation and Capture of Aphrodite, is also on exhibition until September 6, 2020 at the Mississippi Museum of Art. That show is titled: New Symphony of Time. MMA has been a big supporter of mine and nominated me for the 2019 Governor's Award. There is always something wonderful on view there.
They are located at

380 South Lamar Street
Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 960-1515

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southern ohio museum

12/30/2019

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This is a photo of my sister Bebe (choreographer, dance teacher and founder of Bebe Miller Company) with "Congregants", one of my pieces. It was on view in a group exhibition titled "Southern Threads" at the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth OH from September through November, 2019. The other artists in the group show were Anita Cooke and Nonney Oddlokken, both Mississippi Gulf Coast Artists. SOMACC www.somacc.com has a serious mission to bring the best of thoughtful, quality art to southern Ohio and community groups who often don't get included in arts events. I had not heard of them before this year but that's the reason I chose to be part of the Southern Threads show. See them in action here:

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READ About Me

12/30/2019

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I met my friend Craige a few weeks ago in New York City. She said she checked this site often yet still asked, "What are you up to lately?" So now, I apologize to all of you for how far behind I am in blogging.

On February 6, 2019, I was given the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in Visual Arts at the Old Capital Building in Jackson, MS. The award ceremony was a fabulous experience and I'm still processing it. Malcolm White, head of the Mississippi Arts Commission, Betsy Bradley and the folks from the Mississippi Museum of Art (who nominated me and have been great supporters of mine), representatives of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (which gave me my first solo show) and all the movers and shakers of the arts in Mississippi were there. I was presented with a unique statue (the arts oscar of MS) and a beautiful plaque that was read aloud into the official minutes at the Mississippi legislature. The governor's wife, Mrs. Phil Bryant, was kind enough to take me on a personal tour of the governor's mansion where she pointed out the bed Senator John F. Kennedy slept in when he visited as well as the one that hosted Leontyne Price, the famous African American opera singer. She allowed me to sign the attic wall as have notable visitors in the past. Some of my family were in attendance too to round out the whole ceremony.

On August 6, 2019, I received an Honored Artist award from the Mississippi State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.).

There is a lovely article about me and my work on TextileArtist.org. It really goes into my creative process. Here's a link to it: www.textileartist.org/ruth-miller-life-sized-storytelling-in-stitch
I imagine most of you are excited about the world of contemporary textiles. This a major source. Visit them and catch up.

In the Fall issue of OxfordAmerican.org, there's an article by a great Mississippi journalist William Browning. This one covers a lot of my life story, especially as it concerns my art and how this New York City-born artist came to be a Mississippi artist. The Oxford American is a national magazine with deep insights on what's going on down South. Check it out here:
www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/1822-a-long-yarn