Cedar Wax Wings, 1967 Elizabeth Miller (American, 1929 - 2013) Lithograph on paper Gift of Sarah Cleveland. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University. U86.99
Path to the River Elizabeth Miller (American, 1929 - 2013) Watercolor on paper Gift of Nancy Polster, ISU faculty, 1965-2000. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. UM2017.356
Elizabeth Miller worked in various media, moving fluidly between drawing, oil painting, watercolor, and printmaking forms like lithography. After developing her skills as a student at the University of Nebraska, she came to Iowa where she taught first at the Des Moines Art Center, then at Drake University, and finally here at Iowa State. “I've really always liked to experiment,” Miller said in 1998, “and explore and try to learn about different mediums. I was one of the assistants on the fresco at the Des Moines Art Center, and I enjoyed learning everything I could about frescoes, and even did a small fresco of my own at home. I've liked to explore egg tempera and casein. I've used lots of different media just to learn about it.”
Watercolor, Miller noted, proved a consistent challenge: “I think watercolor is a lot harder than oil, because watercolor is such a surprise. You never know what you're going to get until you start working it. And it starts telling you what it wants to do. … I keep wanting to get better at it! I just keep trying to conquer it.”
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