We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle A M Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle A M, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I think my resilience comes from compassionate attention, curiosity, appreciation for uncertainty, and desire for personal growth. Rather than focusing on external forces outside of my control, I focus on my internal states — my beliefs and attitudes. I’m also inherently tenacious so if something isn’t working, I won’t just keep going down a particular path, I will explore what could shift.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a visual artist and writer. I create sculptural drawings on recycled handmade paper. My rough approach to hand paper making creates a tantalizing and textural surface for drawing. I work with a palette of neutral earth tones, from the creamy whites of oyster shells to the rich warm charcoals of ash. My visual vocabulary is connected to geometric abstraction and traces energy flows, follows photons, and re-imagines the subatomic particles of which all matter is composed. Complex shapes layered with undulating waveforms recall ancient mysteries or navigational charts from the future. Loosely symmetrical, there are glimmers of the spiritual or sublime, with each work functioning as a meditation that skirts ideas of entanglement and interconnectedness but hints at something more. My latest, limited edition artist book, “Erebid/Materia” was recently published by Women’s Studio Workshop and it along with some of my other works will be presented at Codex IX in California this February. I also have some fun exhibitions coming up for 2024 so I invite readers to subscribe to my newsletter for announcements. When I’m not in the studio, I write for NewCaregiver.com which is a side passion project.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Community – If you don’t have one, figure out how to cultivate it. Include in your community people who are better at certain things than you, be it writing, technology, public speaking, etc. Be genuinely generous with them, and they will be generous with you.
Curiosity – This is related to mental flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to embrace uncertainty. I have found that curiosity and my harsh inner critic cannot coexist.
Time – When I’m in production mode because of a deadline, I’ve noticed that my creativity dries up pretty quickly. I’ve learned to give myself the grace to take time for rest and recovery. This is essential when balancing other life commitments like caregiving for a loved one, raising a family, or the job that pays the bills.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
There are many different definitions of success. For me, it has been important to work on my mindset. I am very lucky to have a dear friend who is also an intelligent and supportive coach. Whenever there is something I want to work on, we drill down and explore it together. You can find her at https://www.ericaando.com/.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mammiller.com
Image Credits
Images courtesy the artist.
