Irene Miller's Painting Spans
Eight Decades of Love
December 26, 1999, article three

Eighty years ago Irene Miller discovered she had a gift for art. Today she still does.

Irene, 91 and a longtime Fostoria resident, recently exhibited several of her paintings at the Center Street Coffee House.

Irene was born in Ironton and lived in Marion and Lima before moving to Fostoria in 1927.

"I've always just liked to paint," Irene said. "I want to explore the possibilities of what is seen."

One of her first "commissioned" efforts came when she was still a student.

She was given the responsibility of making school posters in Lima. When Lima South High School first decided to have a class ring, Irene designed it.

She became more seriously involved in art when she married and moved here.

"When I married and came to Fostoria, I felt the need to express myself artistically," she said.

To further that end, Irene and Myrtle Green founded the Fostoria Art League. The League sponsored many art shows at the YMCA. Irene gave lessons to succeeding generations of local artists including Eunice Fruth and Agnes Caldwell.

Irene's interest in art continued to flourish. She earned a four year degree in art from the Toledo Museum of Art in a program sponsored by the University of Toledo.

She studied under Russian-born Israel Abramofsky, a leading light in the Toledo art community. Irene said that studying with Abramofsky showed her how much she had to learn.

"He taught me so much. He taught me the meaning of trees. Trees have curves and graceful forms. A tree is a creation of God," Irene said.

While at the Museum, she was sponsored in many shows. A painting from one such show, "Old Farm House in Old Fort," was selected by the U.S.State Department to hang in the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

The painting shows a yellow farm house with a porch next to a barn with a tree in the foreground.

Exhibits at the Toledo museum drew as many as 15,000 people. Irene's work was so well-received that she sold every painting she exhibited at those shows.

An artist's skill rests partly on the ability to see the world in ways that most of us don't.

"I don't paint realistically. I don't see things as flat subjects. I like to get inside things. I can look at a landscape and I see more than most people," Irene said. "If I look at a creek, I see shades of color in the creek and the stones in the water. It's a God-given gift.

"Art can lead you in different directions," she continued. "I love the interpretation of nature. Flowers are even more beautiful than people realize. I see inside the flower see its depth. They just talk to me about their beauty."

Irene likes canvas for its "flexibility" and prefers "to work in oils. I think they can be used to express things better."

Irene casts her artist's eye over a wide range of subjects. "Jesus and Disciples" and "Nativity Scene" were both shown at the Toledo Museum of Art. The Nativity Scene is a mixed media collage made from Life magazines that Irene tore up.

"Sidewalk Sales" is a depiction in oil of Main St. in Fostoria around 1960.

A still life, "Green Candle" in goldleaf and oil, was shown at the Toledo Area Artists Exhibit in 1952.

In keeping with her interest in flowers and nature, "Amaryllis" captures the flowers Irene's mother cultivated at her home long ago.

"St John's Dam," first prize at a Montpelier art show, and "Tiffin Bridge - Market Street" are examples of land and city scapes.

"Tiffin Bridge" won first place for scratch technique at a Dayton Traveling Exhibit.

Irene was married to O.V. Miller, who worked at National Carbon, and has a daughter, Luella Dooley.

At the age of 91, Irene hasn't slowed down very much. She still paints every day and she still finds it a rewarding, fulfilling pursuit.

"I have a gift. Showing people what is really in a flower, it's part of the beauty of creation," Irene said. "Isn't that fun?"