JAN/FEB NEWSLETTER FROM THE STUDIO OF RAQUEL P MILLER

As I write this, it is nearing the end of February. Truly, I begin these newsletters every time in disbelief as to how quickly time moves. I’ve been reminded of the ways we can slow ourselves down and I am trying to embrace that by being present, and grounding myself in cycles of my body, of weather, and of nature that remind me of passing time in gentler ways.

Since I last wrote, I have:

1. Updated and launched a new website!!!

2. Completed a three-week residency at SPACE Gallery in January

3. Wrote a blog post about my time in residence

4. Began a secondary newsletter through Substack (more on that below)

5. Embarked on a daily drawing practice

6. Began my mentorship of the 2025 Falmouth Class of the Maine Master Naturalist Program

7. Dropped off work for a show at the Portland Public Library, Pencils and Inks

8. Finally wrote my end of the year reflection blog post for 2024

9. Transitioned my website and (this) studio newsletter platform from Wix to Squarespace

I feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the moving parts, but also feel very lucky. Life keeps moving, whether we like it or not. And if it is going to move, I want to feel fulfilled and I want to feel like it is moving in a way where I feel nourished as I go. I’m happy to have begun my year writing, resting, making art, reflecting, and nesting. I’m beginning to accept even the smallest of moments of time that I can carve out for my practice, while feeling grateful for the time I spend being able to make a meal for myself, laying in bed a little longer, or admiring the light coming in through the windows. We are all doing what we can at the moment, and I think that is ok.

I spent the beginning of the year resting and in residence at SPACE Gallery for a three-week residency. This is my second time being awarded this residency through the BIPOC Rent Free Studio + Residency Program, and I am so grateful. Back in 2023, my residency at SPACE was actually the first residency I had ever participated in. And I feel like I have learned so much about my practice during that time.

My time there this year felt very full-circle. Patterns and emotions reappeared in really beautiful ways. As reminders, as echoes, as reflections. I shared a more in-depth reflection on my blog.

I am SO happy to share my new website!!! Is this a rebranding? Maybe. I’ve truly fallen into an embrace with my light ultramarine blue. And I just feel like this site looks so good—professional but still me.

I am so honored and excited to have included work in this show for Pencils and Ink, opening at the Portland Public Library om March 7th, and a second opening on April 4th, both coinciding with First Friday. This show was organized and curated by my friends at CAMP (Comic Arts Maine Portland), Isabella Rotman and Mili St. John.

“Pencils and Inks is a curated exhibition that focuses on the unseen process behind the creation of comics. … In this exhibit, we explore the stages of cartooning and shine a light on the hard work and many rounds of revision behind the final pages. From digital artists that start by storyboarding in a sketchbook to artists who loosely paint ideas before committing to a final layout – our aim is to highlight the different processes that artists use to create the comics we love to read.”

Save the date for CAMP on Saturday April 5th at the Portland Public Library from 11-5pm!

I am trying out this new form of sharing some inspiration and process, and exploring other platforms aside from Instagram. I really love the creative community sharing on Substack. I want to continue to invest most of my writing into this newsletter here, that you are reading now. But due to the differences in Squarespace and Wix, I am also trying to find different ways to share the personal bits, inspiration, and notes of my practice. Sort of like a casual record.

For a quick read. For books I am looking at. Art I saw in person. Art I made. And small every day moments. You can read my Substack blog COLORS OF PASTEL.

Thank you so much for making it to the end. Welcome to all my new readers. And welcome back to all my loyal subscribers. I often think about the idea of “followers” and apply it to my subscriber list—the concept being: if you’re in a room with twenty people, fifty people, eighty people, one-hundred… that really is quite a lot. And as you scale it up, the room naturally fills. So when I think about newsletters with thousands of subscribers, or a post that gets thousands of likes in comparison to mine, I try to remember how beautiful it is that I have the following I have. Is it thousands of readers? No, but it is a following and if all of you were in a room together, it would be quite a party. So thank you all so much for your support and love. It means so much.

My newsletter process has shifted into a deeply nourishing part of my artistic practice for the ways I share my art and writing. I’ve noticed the way I feel off-center when I am not writing them. It’s a really special archive of my artistic practice, and in a world of junk mail and advertising and disconnection, I find writing and receiving newsletters a way to combat that. I wrote 10 newsletters in 2024. I think if I can keep up with that in 2025, then I will be very happy.

Thank you for reading my first newsletter of the year. I hope this new platform still feels the same, just a little different. I’d love to hear from you and what you’re up to, or if there was a part of the newsletter you liked. Until next time friends.