In the very hot visual artist interview, Victoria Miller, is proudly promoted by the Midland Artist Guild Artists blog website as the perfect artist to get to know. In March 2017, she earned the highest award-winning Best of Show, the Grand Selection for “He Who Has the Key” for last juried event at Creative 360. Miller is the blazing individual to be the one to watch and to witness her artistic flare of originality, play of foreshortening and unique subject manner.
“From the first conception of an idea, art usually comes to me as a flash and the actual starting point.” Victoria Miller
In her three words to describe her artwork is: imaginative, ambition and motivated. Miller’s significant piece “He Who Has the Key”, she quotes “successfully pulled together so much information and imagery to tell a story to the audience.” In addition, she wanted to create a complete environment to pull the eye to curiosity with a color pallet with the background music of modern piano.
As for her educational background, she earned a Bachelor’s of Art study at Saginaw Valley State University. Now Victoria has 30 years of freelance art experience in drawing, sculpting and graphic design.
Starting at drawing at the age of four, she had a long love of drawing her creative ideas. Art means to her as what is creative process of conception, starting point, and manifestation. Her idea come from a quick mental picture in mundane activities and has to jot it down a description. The final product may include mistakes yet she enjoys the progress and the final product is an enjoyable progress.
She loves to collecting different viewpoints towards from other audiences and artists solidify her feelings to be more confident. The feedback about her art, even derogatory, still evokes an emotion in that viewer so portraying the exact vision and feelings.
When Miller moved into the area and was viewing local galleries searching for a that wanted to join a group to socialize and share inspiration been a member of the Midland Artists Guild since 2002.
The Midland Artists Guild would like to present the new “Artist of the Month” for February 2018. The selection is Natalie Lodicobond of Midland, MI. The artist of the month is a full-time freelance photographer with an astounding body of artistic images working in the location of Midland. Most of her work covers in the Tri-city area for newspapers, on-line marketing and portraits that are “introspective, raw and intimate”.
Natalie earned a Bachelor’s of Art degree from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia with a concentration in Photography. She originally started with a major in philosophy and wanted to be a writer. After one class of Photography 101 she “took the plunge…it was like everything I’d ever done made sense”. The photo professor challenged and critiqued her harshly at the beginning and then he praised her for her gifts of artistic vision. At that time, she also earned money shooting photos on the side.
With a regular tendency and practice of creative skills, her imagination started at a very young age. At the toddler age of 2 she was drawing, making stories and curious enough to use a screwdriver to open her parents camera. At six, after years of begging from her parents, they bought her own 110 film camera. Taking family trips in her early adulthood were more about taking pictures then the journey to California. She was prepared with 5 rolls of film and the permission to borrow her parents 35 film camera.
“Anytime someone looks me in the eye and says they hate having their photo taken, and I manage to get them to relax, and they end up having fun and loving their photos. Nothing beats that. I live for it.”
On dual sides to getting herself into the art world, she has the incredibly tenacious attitude and tenderness about the subject matter. In public she is welcoming, warm and gregarious with people and in private she is sequestered in her work and process.
In her heart after a compliment, she has a “sense of rest, like what I am pouring my everything into is being seen. Like I can stop what I’m working on in my mind for a moment and just enjoy breathing for a second.”
She learned about the Midland Artists Guild in high school with a trip to the Northwood gallery. Being a part of the Midland’s artistic community, she is excited to shoot and gets excited about what is next. Her future in the photography within the Midland community is why the Midland Artists Guild wants to congratulate her for her genuine time and artistic effort.
The Guild of Artists & Artisans is a non-profit, membership association of independent artists founded in 1970 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Its mission is to develop and present art fairs to provide marketing opportunities for its members which also serve as educational, cultural and entertaining events for the community. The Guild draws upon its talented, exclusive and diverse membership to exhibit and sell their work at these events. Each member artist is juried through The Guild’s rigorous standards process, which ensures exceptional creativity and technical skill.
At Guild fairs, fairgoers have the opportunity to interact directly with the artists. Guild artists welcome fairgoers to their booths, and are available to discuss everything from their techniques to their inspirations. Featured work includes jewelry, ceramics, painting, sculpture, glass, photography, fiber, wood, leather and more.
Presently, The Guild conducts six fairs each year: Royal Oak Market: Spring Art Fair,Art Birmingham, The Levis Commons Fine Art Fair, Common Ground’s Birmingham Street Art Fair, Royal Oak Market: Art Fair Edition and the world-renowned Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair – an event recognized for its unparalleled selection of talented artists and craftspeople.
A major aspect of being a “successful” artist is to find the balance between creating artwork and living life.
The Midland Artists Guild would like to present the first new “Artist of the Month” of January 2018 to Tisch Mikhail Lewis of Saginaw, MI. With long love stories about art, she gives very easy access of her professional knowledge and educational background with modesty about her international contributions and crowded audience following.
Currently her artistic professional career is at Saginaw Valley State University as the University Art Gallery Coordinator. Her responsibilities at SVSU include the skill of running the University Art Gallery where she updates social media accounts and website information, exhibition dates, event planning, artist recruiting and communication of the educational institution.
With a formal educational background, she earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts with a major in Painting from Central Michigan University. At Delta college, she completed the Associate in Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design and the transfer program in the Associate in Arts Degree.
Her wide array of mediums that include painting, drawing and printmaking, sewing, fibers, graphic design, sculpture and bookbinding. Lewis is a practicing artist, and has participated in many international group and solo shows.
Ms. Lewis’s work was described in the Detroit Metro Times as “The metaphoric effect remains the same: here is a body on which much has been written, by any number of people, situations, dialogues, politics, and histories. It is a body that can take it. And it is a body that deserves to be read, but only once it can write its very own story.”
“I have reached a level of proficiency with years of practice and hard work. I can never have a real excuse not to practice.”
Always carrying a sketchbook in her purse, Tisch appreciates the challenge of the art process and is not afraid of feed back from the audience or comments from a critic. She labels her own personality traits that have pushed her forward in the art world is stubbornness. “It definitely makes it easier to ‘get back up’ after being hit with a rejection letter. You have to be confident in yourself and know the difference between helpful and harmful critique.” The main reason she creates work is to make an impact on the viewer, and as a form of self-healing or others by sharing my unique perspective.
Creating an award-winning piece and challenging the art process, she states “I try not to think of art in regards of if it can win an award when I’m creating it. My goal is to make the best piece I possibly can at that point in time or learn how to use new materials. If my work is in a situation where a juror can see that hard work and think it’s award worthy, that’s awesome and encouraging.”
Lewis learned of Midland Artist Guild by Allise Noble, who invited her to be the artist of the month for January 2017. I think I’ve known about MAG for longer than that through my visits at Creative 360 and other Midland venues.
Her exhibits and past achievements are available at:
This site will BLOW your mind. The exhibit titles, locations and prices are so very thrilling.
C4E is a searchable online guide divided into art and photography sections to help artists and photographers find art calls and art opportunities. C4E encourages organizations to list events in C4E that focus on promoting work and advancing participants’ careers. Our team is committed to making C4E better for both event organizations and participants. Please let us know if there is a feature you would like us to add.
Graphic Design 2018 Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition
Exhibition done as part of a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and the capstone class taught by Cark Most, it will feature work by candidates for the BFA in Graphic Design.
Main and West Gallery
March 30 – April 14, 2018
Reception – Saturday, April 7, 2017, 2-4 pm
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art, Spring 2018 Exhibition
This art exhibition showcases the work by CMU Department of Art & Design candidates for the BFA in Art degree. The exhibition fulfills part of the requirements for their degree and their capstone class taught by Anne Gochenour, Director of University Art Gallery.
Presented power point by Heather Deogracia at the September Member Meeting to introduce the new blog, new brand identity for marketing, new logo and new e-mail address. Feel free to contact us for membership information and more.