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Karen Illman Miller — fiber

Karen Illman Miller lives in Corvallis, OR. 
View OPB's Oregon Art Beat segment featuring Karen Miller.

Artist's Statement

I was a professional marine biologist for many years and my art is often inspired by that background, but my interest in textiles and in all things Japanese extends back to my childhood. I had adored traditional Japanese stencil designs for nearly 30 years. Japanese stencil dyeing has completely captured my interest and imagination. Carving my first stencil was a turning point in my artistic life. In fifteen years I have carved hundred of stencils, and used them to apply rice paste resist to make traditional and experimental textiles for art quilts, garments and interiors. 

Katazome allows me to separate the production of the image from the application of color, a process more akin to printmaking than to painting.  I began with traditional Japanese patterns, because they could teach me so much about cutting techniques and the layout of the design. Following this unpaid "apprenticeship" I am now designing my own stencils. I prefer recognizable imagery and finely detailed patterns inspired by the images which speak most deeply to me, organic patterns and the abstractions they produce, tree branches and leaf skeletons, and the plants and marine animals of the Pacific Northwest.

Artist’s Biography

Karen Miller was born in Oakland, CA in 1946. She was a marine biologist before becoming an expert on katazome, the art of Japanese stencil dyeing. Using the hand cut stencils to apply a resist paste she produces fabric for her art quilts, as well as silk garments, linen hangings and indigo dyed cottons.  

Her work has been exhibited twice in Japan. She has shown her work in numerous juried and group shows. Her work was accepted to Visions 2002, In 2009 she had Oregon solo shows at the Newport Visual Arts Center, Benton County Historical Society and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in Portland. She shows regularly at the Japanese Garden in Portland and Kobo in Seattle. Her work is in numerous private collections and hangs in the Washington D.C. office of Jane Lubchenco, the head of NOAA.

She has taught katazome nationally and internationally and published several articles on katazome. She was invited lecturer at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe New Mexico. She was featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting TV Oregon Art Beat in October 2007.

Visit Karen Illman Miller's website.