Jo Miller combines art and science.
Photo by Clay Nations Photography
Jo Miller can easily be mistaken for a basket weaver, despite the fact that her work is shaped from dense, rigid maple — not from the flexible fibers of sweetgrass or river cane. Her faux basketry designs, executed on wooden plates and platters, are not merely a convincing optical illusion. The pieces each reflect what appears to be a mastery of traditional basketweaving techniques, thanks to their intricate designs and extraordinary attention to fine aesthetic details.
Yet Miller, who lives in Asheville and has a family home in Highlands, doesn’t even think of herself as a creative. “I have a science background, studied physiology, worked as a physical-therapy assistant, and never considered myself an artist.”
But because of that science background, “I have always been able to draw a graph,” she notes, “so I’ll start with an idea by making a sketch on graph paper so that I know how many repetitions of lines I need. I have developed an eye for seeing geometrical patterns, but still have to figure out how make patterns of little squares look like a curve, and that part is really hard.”
Miller was attracted to woodturning as soon as she took her first class at The Bascom: Center for the Visual Arts in Highlands. “In 2016 they got a bunch of lathes, and I learned bowl turning. The teachers told me about a woodturning club in Asheville, where they have lots of members who are professionals. The club’s mission is teaching — so I’ve had a lot of help from really knowledgeable people.”
One of the first demonstrations she attended at the club was led by Harvey Meyer, a highly skilled woodturner who has specialized almost exclusively in “basket illusions” since 2012. A year and a half later, Miller took a class from him at John C. Campbell Folk School. “He likes to use just two colors for an authentic look, and I have some pieces done like that, while others I do are in rainbow colors or swirling or stained-glass-window type patterns,” she says.
Miller’s process begins with turning boards of hard maple (as opposed to the softer species grown in this region) on a lathe to make them round, and then shaping them with a small gouge. Then she creates ridges using a sharp-edged beading tool. Radial lines are marked on the lathe with a pencil and burned in with a wood burner. She applies archival ink for color, and burns across the top edge of the piece to create what looks like a finished basket’s rim.
Many of her woodturned plates and platters that resemble baskets are between seven and 12 inches in diameter, and usually demand a minimum of 25 hours to make, although some slighter larger ones take as many as 60 hours or more to complete.
As befits a scientist, she seems more interested in further experimentation than in streamlining the process. “My new thing is adding relief carving to my work. I seem to only add things that take a lot of time to do.”
Jo Miller, Asheville, on Instagram @turningbyjo. Miller’s work is represented by The Bascom: Center for the Visual Arts (323 Franklin Road, Highlands, thebascom.org).Her work is also found at Foundation Woodworks (17 Foundy St. in Asheville’s River Arts District, foundationwoodworks.com); Art Mob Studios & Market Place (124 4th Ave. East in Hendersonville, art-mob-studios.com); and Twigs & Leaves Gallery (98 Main St. in Waynesville, twigsandleaves.com). Miller will exhibit work Friday, Oct. 11 through Sunday, Oct. 13 at Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival (villagegreencashiersnc.com) and Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20 at the Fall Colors Fine Art Show, Highlands Community Center (highlandschamber.org).