Niya Miller “The Moon” 

8x10, acrylic on canvas, 2024

My idea for this painting came from tarot cards. The moon was one of the first on my list to make, so I painted it. I want to eventually make more tarot card paintings when I have the chance.

My process for this project was to not rely on tracing like I have in the past. Over the past few years, I’ve become really reliant on tracing to make ‘good’ art, and I wanted to start changing that. I painted the background a dark purple and sketched out the basic moon shape in pencil before painting over it in white. To add the face, I drew it first in pencil and then added different shades of black and grey to color it in. The thing I struggled with the most was the eyebrow placement and size because it took a few tries to get it right and covering it with white paint was hard. 

The Moon tarot card symbolizes illusion, deception, and misunderstanding. I didn’t paint this card for its meaning, instead I wanted to paint it because I like the moon and am a bit of a night owl. 

If I were to start over, I would change the size I made the face. I still don’t think it’s perfect but I’m okay with it enough to consider it done. 

I like this piece because it is 100% something I made and didn’t trace. I also made this one at the same time as the Sun.

Niya Miller “The Sun”

8x10, acrylic on canvas, 2024

My idea for this piece was once again tarot cards. I’ve been struggling with a little bit of art block this semester and finding projects to stick with, and the Moon and Sun finally stuck. 

My process for this project was almost the same as the Moon- just with different colors and subject matter. I made the sun with yellow-gold paint, added the ‘corona’ (the squigly triangles on the outside- I think that’s what they’re called), and the face. The face isn’t my best but for not tracing and just drawing it myself, it could be worse.

The Sun tarot card actually represents happiness, joy, harmony, and moving towards something greater. Maybe I subconsciously painted this tarot card to bring good fortune and happiness to my chaotic life, but it was completely unintentional. I painted this card because I think it’s pretty and will look good on my wall one day.

The hardest part for me was the ‘corona’ on the outside. I first tried sketching it freehand, then tried to measure it, but the sun was too big to make it look right. If I did this project a different way, I would for sure make the sun smaller because with the size it’s at right now, the face and corona looks off.

I love that the Sun and Moon cards match but don’t match. The colors are opposite, but they complement each other nicely. 

Niya Miller “Toad”

Size, Ceramic, 2024

My idea for this project came mostly from curiosity. I never got the chance to use a mold during Ceramics class last year, so I wanted to try it now that I have more freedom to choose what I want to do. I liked the frog one the most, so I went with that one. 

My process began with turning extra clay into slip. I then poured the slip into a mold that I had greased with baby oil. I allowed that to set for 2 class periods, then poured the slip out. I let it dry in the mold for a little longer, then I took it out and cleaned up the seams. I wanted to make it a little more unique, so I added some small bumps or warts on his back. I then fired him and glazed him a darker green color. After that, I painted his belly with watercolor paint to make a pale green, and painted his eyes black.

The most difficult part was adding the bumps on the back. If I pressed to hard to smooth them down, they would end up ruining the entire project. I also had trouble with the eyes, so I think I will make those more detailed and less terrifying in the future. 

My favorite part about this little guy is just him! Look at him! He’s adorable!! But really I like the bumps on the back because they turn him from every other frog that came from the mold into something a little more different.

There’s a little bit of symbolism in this sculpture, if you really want to dig into it. When I was a kid, my brothers and I spent a lot of time capturing the toads that lived around our house. Those toads often did not make it to the morning after we caught them, so maybe this is in memorial of all the toads we caught and killed out of our own negligence. Oopsies.