Mikayla Miller

We Are Family by Mikayla Miller

            I was born in Richmond, Virginia, but two years later my family and I moved to Millboro, Virginia. I attended school for preschool through 7^th grade at Millboro Elementary School, then 8^th grade through my senior year I was at Bath County High School. I am nineteen years old and I am a student at Marshall University and part of the College of Art and Media. My major is Public Relations because I enjoy working with people. I intend on creating artwork for the rest of my life though, it is a part of me now.

            I grew up in a family of four, my father is a CSX engineer; so when I got the opportunity to paint a mold of a train it was exciting. I have been seeing trains and riding to the train station since I was born, so I am glad I got to have this experience. My mother was always there for me, she is a special education teacher in the county I attended school in. I feel that I inherited a lot of my artistic abilities from her and my grandfather from my dad’s side of the family. They both could paint very well and their work was nice for me to see. My sister is at Marshall University with me, she is a Music Education major, she is four years older than me, and has been there with me through thick and thin. I designed art work for her and she surprised me by having it tattooed onto her rib cage.

            I have enjoyed art my entire life, and really got into it when I was in 6^th grade. I had a brilliant art teacher in 6^th and 7^th grade, then he retired when I was in 8^th grade. I started back to art my freshman year of high school, where I completed the next four years creating artwork with an array of medias. I worked every year until winning the “Best in Show” award with a pencil drawing my senior year. My junior year I also won a prize at the state wide BETA convention in Richmond, Virginia. It was a charcoal piece that I drew at least three times trying to make it perfect. I had an acrylic painting sent in to the capital and it got placed on the walls of a building in Richmond. A couple of my close friends had me draw their tattoos that they wanted so they could get them tattooed on by a professional.

            I have been going to church since I was born. In Virginia I attended a little Presbyterian church and was very involved with Bible School, Youth Club, retreats, and many services. For the Vacation Bible School in the past two years I have painted a murals on huge canvas backdrops as decorations in the sanctuary. The first year I created a scene that looked like a castle, also involving painting the Bible Buddy characters. Then last year I created a wild jungle scene with strange animals swinging from the vines. I enjoy every piece of art I create, and hope to continue to paint and draw for the rest of my life.