Janet Miller - EAP Winner 2025

I am an artist and art teacher in Seattle, WA. I create artwork with mixed-media, including beeswax, encaustic pigments, graphite, oil paint, ink, and salvaged materials: scraps of old maps, antique sheet music, worn sewing patterns, well-used dictionaries, handwritten memories, and other remnants of our experiences in this problematic and beautiful world.

My artwork is greatly inspired by the social justice movements that I have connected with, witnessed, and learned from over the years: folks that work together to generate hope and resiliency, create safer ways to live and take care of each other, revolutionize love, family, and home, and hold transformative visions of new ways to live in the face of violence and oppression.

My latest body of work, “The Seattle I Remember,” remembers and celebrates some of the beloved places of Seattle, primarily on Capitol Hill, that have been replaced or displaced by high-end businesses in this time of rapid development. The paintings honor shared memories and highlight resilience. Queer people, artists and organizers are still here, even as we struggle to survive in our increasingly expensive city. Many of us are directly impacted by gentrification and need sources of hope so we can keep working for justice and equity. These paintings serve as a reminder that behind each replaced building is a history of community, struggle and resilience.