Cynthia Miller

"I have always been fascinated by brilliant, jewel-like color. Glass fused onto burnished copper captures and celebrates light, depth, and color like no other medium. Just as jazz and chamber musicians explore, dialogue, and trade musical themes from one instrument to another, I apply layers of colored glass and heat with hopes of delighting, inspiring, and intriguing viewers. "

Miller's copper enamel compositions explore and celebrate her wonder and delight in the glorious color, depth, and light of nature. From the depths of the ocean to the limitless distances of nebulae, Miller's copper enamel wall compositions seek to stimulate and excite your imagination with textured surfaces and a complex meld of colors.

Once the kiln is heated to a glowing orange, powdered glass melts and flows onto the copper. There are as many as ten layers and firing sequences in each piece. Sometimes, "jewels'' (glass lumps) are added. Enamel is brilliantly colored glass, not paint. The colors are luminous and rich and are impervious to heat, cold, and moisture.

After receiving a BFA from the University of Illinois, Cynthia Miller studied copper enameling with Richard Loving at the Art Institute of Chicago. An MFA from Northwestern University in 1978 completed her formal arts education. In recent years, Miller has experimented with expanding the scope of the abstract and natural themes in her compositions.