Ashley Sauder ’99 Miller has carved out at her Harrisonburg home a little black studio. There, professional and home life – much like the elements of her mixed media art – exist side-by-side, intertwined, or merged into one.
It’s not just a space, then, that Miller – an independent professional artist and the primary caregiver for her four children – has carved out. It’s also a way of being. Miller recalls having short windows of time when her children were young to find her practice. This meant using materials that were readily available, cutting and weaving them together until it felt like they fit. Piecing together bits of material, as well as small, seemingly insignificant moments – as an artist and as a parent – eventually led Miller to see the bigger picture: all those tiny parts put together can create something novel and magnificent.
This skill of seeing something new in the superficially worthless, mundane, or forgotten now guides Miller’s work and vision as an established artist.
BUILDING A CAREER
After earning her Master of Fine Arts from James Madison University (JMU) in 2007, Miller built her now-flourishing career piece-by-piece. One of those pieces stands out from the rest: an old cane rocking chair that belonged to Miller’s grandmother. When the caning got damaged, Miller leapt into action, teaching herself to cane. Miller says, “We want to think we don’t care about stuff, but when you’re holding onto something that reminds you of somebody, it becomes really important.” This restoration project took on a life of its own, with bits of weaving joining her canvases, then leading to over a thousand chair paintings that represent people, remembering, or connection. Miller’s collection of chair pieces earned her an endearing nickname at festivals: The Chair Lady.
But Miller and her art have stretched beyond the simple label of The Chair Lady. Her mixed media work, which often includes bits of fabric, quilts, or other found materials, now features floral images, while maintaining the layering and abstractness of her style. Miller has been named a finalist for the William and Dorothy Yeck Purchase Award in the Young Painters Competition at Miami University in 2016, Best in Show at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Boardwalk Art Show in 2016 and 2023, and selected for a solo show at VaMOCA’s Runnymede Gallery in 2017. Her work has been published in the magazine Studio Visit, the periodical New American Paintings, and the book Wild Lands by Jen Tough Gallery. Her work has homes in many art collections, both private and corporate, including the Capital One Art Bank private collection.
INFLUENCES
Miller’s successful career, however, has come long after her passion for art itself. Since the age of four, Miller has known she wanted to be an artist – and not just as a hobby. Early on, her parents provided her with the tools, and her uncle Allen Berkshire ’70 taught watercolor classes from his home studio.
Thanks to her mother, Denise Berkshire ’74 Sauder’s, and other family members’ strong connections to Eastern Mennonite School (EMS), Miller attended beginning in 7th grade. Barbara Gautcher, EMS art teacher for 32 years, became a special connection. Miller remembers Gautcher – whom she still considers a friend – as a welcoming, open person whose encouragement and steady presence has helped shape Miller’s career, parenting, and even spirituality.
Miller credits Gautcher, and Hesston College and JMU instructors, as mentors who encouraged her to see art as a career path.
FINDING THE WORK
On the life of an artist, Miller says, “You have to find your work. You have to seek it out.” In both her personal and professional life, Miller is committed to doing the hard work of seeking and making new. She has made a life of noticing the little meaningful pieces, and meshing them together – little by little, with care and repetition – until she’s found it.
