Thank you for visiting my website!
My name is Janet Nechama Miller. I was born and raised here in Seattle, where I am an artist and teacher. I teach workshops on encaustic painting, collage, bookbinding, and other art forms. Also, I teach self-defense and boundary-setting classes (check out the link to the Home Alive website if you are curious). I love to share skills! Please get in touch with me if you are interested in a custom workshop or studio visit.
One of my favorite things about the work that I do here is that I am able to bring it with me wherever I go. Every year I spend several months away from Seattle. Recently, I have been spending a lot of time in Mexico. I also have growing connections in Guatemala, Tucson, and most recently, Israel and Palestine. Learning about places, communities, and cultures that are different than my own, and the issues that they are dealing with, has always been important to me in my work for social justice. I am amazed and inspired by the incredible amount of resiliency people have in the face of tragedy and oppression. And, I see, again and again, how essential art can be, as a tool for building movements to end violence and oppression for all people.
My artwork comes out of the many questions, stories, and experiences that I have collected so far in my travels, visits, and work, both at home and away from home. My paintings are made using beeswax, oil paint, graphite, and found materials. These materials include used maps, old books, letters, flyers, doodles, and various things I find on the ground or am given. These saved and rescued scraps are a tangible recollection of experience I have had, which build on each other to create an endless, constantly changing story.
My painting process involves many steps. I begin by layering beeswax and collage materials, creating a surface filled with semi-hidden stories and memories. Then, I use handmade transfer paper and my beloved sharp tool to draw lines. I cannot see these lines until I remove the transfer paper. After that, I work with what I have intuitively created by adding layers upon layers of wax, paper, and oil paint.
Much of my process is intuitive and mysterious. My ideas about what the finished piece will look like constantly change and grow. At the same time, I make choices about where to place collage pieces and what colors to use. I make these choices by constantly asking myself questions. What experiences do these collage pieces represent? How do these collage pieces work together, not only visually, but emotionally as well? How are these experiences related to one another, and how am I exploring those connections with this piece? What issues are raised when reflecting on various experiences? And then, how does using artwork to process and describe these experiences connect to the work I am doing in the world around me?
I love what I do and I feel grateful that I am involved in work that allows me to continuously grow and learn, and to build on what I discover by taking risks and trying new things. I have an amazing amount of support from incredible people around me. Every bit of help, advice, and encouragement has been essential for me to continue doing what I do. So, thank you for being my friend, buying my work, visiting me in my studio, hiring me to paint murals or teach children, helping me with computers, taking pictures, being my mentor, looking at my web site, and everything else that you have done for me. I appreciate all of it, enormously.