Artist Response 2: John Paul Miller

Creepy crawlers get a new life in the fantastic jewelry of John Paul Miller. Under his skilled hands these bugs transform into beautiful pendants and brooches. The trick to Miller's marvelous creatures lies in an ancient technique called granulation.
In 1940, Miller's research led him to discover that the technique reached it's peak in the 7th and 6th centuries before falling out of practice. Few people knew much about it, but still he continued his research. Through experimentations with gold he began to revive the lost art of granulation. "Little by little, I learned to control the surface of the gold,"quotes Alan Revere who named him an innovator. Truly, his legacy proves Miller worthy of the title.
Not only did he uncover a lost art, he also mastered the ancient art showcased through his extensive collections of work. Perhaps most famous are his collections of beetles, moths and snails. Each tiny insect of 18k gold showcases the masterful granulation that Miller strived to perfect. As you can see in the piece below, the golden body of the creature is covered with smaller fragments of gold fused to the surface to give it a floating effect.

Miller's granulation provides each individual insect with its own texture or skin. The uniqueness of each granulation seems to be instilled with a life all it's own. The moth below stands out as the most unique among all the other creatures. The insect could simply be frozen in gold during his average day in the natural world. Except the vivid color of the enamel and the careful granulation of the body provides it with a new kind of beauty that nature never can. This particular twist on realistic art makes him a true innovator in the art world. Miller takes the creatures that humans detest most and makes them beautiful in ways our own eyes never could.

Revere, Alan. "Innovators Part II: John Paul Miller."Professional Jeweler. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan 2013. <http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/1998/mar98/0398pm1.html>.