Glass Menagerie
Catherine Miller works diligently perfecting her craft of glass engraving. This New Jersey native, who calls Buckhannon, West Virginia her home, is one of the only people in the world who can turn glass into a work-of-art using the copper wheel engraving technique but with stone wheels.
The Making of a Legend
Watching her father's careful hand while he penciled an image of their pet bobcat, Miller realized what a great talent her father had. This event sparked an insightful moment into her own future. She started with pencil drawings and sawdust sculptures of animals on their farm. "I would take saw dust and mix it with flour and water to make a paste, sculpt it and take chicken and bird feathers to make a mobile. It would not quite come out the way I expected," Miller laughed. As a child, her favorite artist was Peter Paul Rubens. Her other passion as a child was for the practice of medicine-she always thought that she would become a doctor. But God's plan was to touch people's lives with her intriguing artistic ability.
After Miller realized her love for art, she relocated to West Virginia at the age of 18 to work as a glasscutter. She read an article from National Geographic about Steuben Crystal, and learned about the unique style of engraving, using copper wheels. Miller started working at Rose Turner's cutting shop learning the technique of glass cutting miters and practiced stone wheel engraving on her lunch breaks.
Celebrity Demand
Through years of practice, Miller feels that she has finally reached a milestone in her career where she has mastered this style of glass engraving. Focusing her career on fine art, many of her designs are treasured by a variety of celebrities such as President George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Jim Fowler, Jessica Lynch, Rosie O'Donnell, Arnold Palmer, Mel Gibson and Tony Danza. She was recently commissioned to do a piece for Oprah Winfrey. It is an angelic piece created as a tribute for Oprah's Angel Network.
Her most recent accomplishment was a piece she completed for Jim Fowler, of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom -a replica of a Harpie eagle, native to Central and South America. Fowler insisted on visiting Miller's shop in Buckhannon after being presented with the piece. To his surprise, the depiction of the Harpie eagle was more exquisite than he had expected. "I cannot believe you captured the spirit of this eagle when never seeing it in real life," Fowler told Miller. He is going to have it displayed in the Explorer's Club in New York City which Catherine considers a tremendous honor.
Highlights of her previous work include the 2002 Official White House Tree ornament, President Bush's dog Barney, an angelic representation of Rosie O'Donnell's children and a replica of Arnold Palmer's golf course.
"I love what I do. It is my passion and I am a perfectionist. I sleep, eat and breathe glass," explains Miller.
The Master
Each piece of Miller's art has a sense of realism that can almost be touched. Her depictions of animals are so detailed they could come to life, and her angels have a spirit that is uplifting. "I love nature and I love depicting it. But what I do pales in comparison to what God has done and that is why I love West Virginia . My heart belongs here," says Miller.
A piece that rings close to her heart is a pink, fruit bowl she created. She says that the balance of the piece is perfect. "I engraved the foot with scallops-everything just flowed together. It captured my heart. This is a piece that I do not want to part with," proclaims Catherine.
Her inspiration comes from a variety of glass engravers, but her main supporter and inspiration is master glass artist, Max Roland Erlacher. Miller had the privilege of meeting Elracher during a previous learning experience. Erlacher currently resides in Corning , New York and has recently invited Miller to visit him for understudy. "He is an inspiration to me and my work, and the opportunity to study under his supervision is an honor," exclaims Miller.
Throughout the trying times, Miller has continued to expand her expertise in the field of glass engraving and would like to be known as one of the finest engravers, whose work will go down in history. "I feel that you can never say you've arrived. There's always more you can do," says Miller. Her designs are admired by many who believe that she has already arrived and agree that she is in the prime of her career.
Her advice for new artists is to stay true to yourself and never listen when someone tells you that your dreams are impossible. As Miller acclaims, "where there's a wheel there's a way."
For more information about Catherine Miller Designs, please visit http://www.catherinemillerdesigns.com.
