Display using found objects by Scott and Linda Miller is latest exhibition at Metro
By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2010
Scott Miller became a professional artist while in grade school in the 1950s. For a price, he accepted commissions to draw cartoon characters on classmates' T-shirts at Portage Path Elementary.
Lil' Abner, featured in the popular comic strip of the same name, was a particular favorite, he remembers.
Miller drew his designs freehand with crayons and didn't worry about the longevity or durability of his art once it went through the washing machine, he said.
''I only charged a quarter. I didn't guarantee it,'' he said.
Miller and his wife, Linda, also an artist, operate Miller Art and Music Studios in Green and Copley Township. For the next two months, their work will be featured at the Metro Regional Transit Center, 631 S. Broadway in downtown Akron. Many of their designs, which include mixed media, acrylics and water colors, are made with ''found'' and recycled objects.
The exhibit features Linda Miller's vibrant, textured, abstract art, as well as finely detailed portraits. A colored-pencil drawing of the Akron Civic Theatre, part of her Downtown series, is on display.
''I've learned never to throw anything away. She'll say, 'Oh, that gum wrapper would be perfect for this piece,' '' Scott Miller said with a chuckle.
The paintings, drawings and a ''Swan Queen'' sculpture made with rusty metal pieces will remain on display through Metro's environmentally green arts event Sept. 26 titled the Metro Traffic Jam.
On Monday, Metro communications specialist Jessica Dreschel and the Millers were hanging a dozen of the couple's pieces behind three, large, glass-enclosed cases at the transit center.
''We thought Linda was the perfect artist for this event with her found art and art using renewable resources,'' Dreschel said.
The program, featuring work by local artists, has taken off, Dreschel said. The first nine months after the center's opening in 2009, the Artists of Rubber City, an organization of local artists, was responsible for the displays.
The transit authority took over booking artists about a year ago.
''The interest in the spaces has increased more than we can use,'' she said.
The transit authority got the word out in e-mail blasts to subscribers of its Web site and by word of mouth, Dreschel said.
The display cases are booked through this year, she said.
The program offers local artists a place to gain recognition from the daily foot traffic. About 5,000 people walk through the center to catch the 188 buses that pull in each day.
Linda Miller, who sells her work at Hazel Tree Interiors (in the old Norka Futon building) on West Market Street and at Damascus Road Coffee on South Main Street, also teaches art classes at both of the couple's studios.
''I especially like teaching seniors. It's fun seeing what's inside them,'' she said.
Linda and Scott Miller's studios are at 18 E. Caston Road in Green and 790 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road in Copley Township. They can be reached at 330-604-2969.
Artists who want to be considered for a showing at the transit center can contact Dreschel at 330-762-7267.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
