Jes Miller Studio

02/24/2026

19 days left 🌸

The Cherry Blossom installation will be Jes Miller Studio’s first public art project, and it marks an important step in the evolution of my work from canvas into community space.

This piece celebrates Shelbyville’s Sister City relationship with Japan, established in 1985. It is about connection, history, and creating a moment of beauty that belongs to everyone who walks through it.

If you would like to support this project or follow its progress, you can learn more here:
http://patronicity.com/japanesealley

Thank you for being part of this growing body of work.

The alley between the Grover Center and Shelbyville City Fire Station 1 will be transformed to honor the connection between Shelbyville, IN and Shizuoka, Japan.

02/10/2026

Painting Zeus 🖤

This timelapse captures a study I made as a gift for a friend, and as practice for my Paint Your Pet class with Shelbyville Parks & Rec. I really enjoy the process of painting animals and watching their personality come through.

01/31/2026

Second-year architecture studio, Project 01: Pavilion on the Quad.

This was a quick two-week project designed as a listening and seeing exercise. Students began by observing spatial, social, and environmental relationships on the quad before making anything. Each student selected a material that could capture their observation and allowed form to emerge through that material logic.

Every model represents a specific relationship on the site. I’m proud of how fully they trusted the process and let observation lead design. Some really special spaces emerged by slowing down and listening first.

01/31/2026

01/27/2026

🎨🎶 Calling all artists, creatives, musicians & performers! 🌟

Join us for the Accelerate Rural Indiana: Creative Communities Workshop on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from 5:30–8:00 PM at the Wortman Family Civic Theatre - an opportunity to explore how arts and culture can strengthen community development across the ARI region and beyond.

Whether you paint, play, perform, design, or create in any form, your voice and vision matter in shaping the future of our region’s cultural landscape. Come connect, collaborate, and imagine what’s possible when creative hearts come together.

📍 Details & registration: https://events.iu.edu/rural/event/2183698-accelerate-rural-indiana-creative-communities-worksh

Let’s cultivate vibrant rural places through creativity and community - see you there! 🙌

Explore how arts and culture can strengthen community development across the ARI region and beyond.

01/27/2026

So excited to share that three of my paintings are now on display at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, on their newly refreshed gallery wall in the dining area.

It feels really special to see work from my Rooted in Tomorrow series living in such a beautiful, thoughtfully redesigned space.

They will be up for the next few months, and a reception is coming soon.

If you find yourself there for dinner or a drink, take a moment to wander over and say hello to the forest.

All three works are available for purchase.

01/15/2026

🌸 Behind the scenes of the Cherry Blossom model 🌸

I’ve been incredibly grateful to collaborate with such an amazing team on this project, including Blue River Community Foundation, Indiana University Architecture, Michael Runge, Ignition Arts, and Thunderbird Molding.

We’re now in the final stages of design and in the final round of fundraising. If we raise $50,000 between January 15 and March 15, the project will be matched with an additional $50,000. Gifts of any size help us bring this collaborative installation to downtown Shelbyville, honoring our Sister City relationship with Shizuoka, Japan.

Learn more about the project or support it here:
Patronicity.com/japanesealley

01/15/2026

✨ Studio update! ✨

Jes Miller Studio designed the cherry blossom strand installation for this downtown Shelbyville public art project. The work celebrates cultural exchange and reimagines an everyday alley as a shared civic space.

Proud to collaborate with Blue River Community Foundation and an outstanding team of designers, fabricators, and students on a project rooted in place and community.

This is amazing news!!✨We've been approved for a matching grant from IHCDA's CreatINg Places to activate the alleyway between the Grover Center: Museum and Historical Society and Shelbyville Fire Station No. 1 on Broadway St., but only if we hit our goal first!

If we raise $50,000 between January 15-March 15, we will be awarded $50,000. Donations of any amount can help us bring a lively and inviting art installation to our community that will honor Shelbyville's Sister City relationship with Shizuoka, Japan.

You can learn more about the project and how to give here:
https://www.patronicity.com/project/japanese_alley_activation__mt_fuji_installation #!/

This project has been a group effort from the onset! An art installation of this scale would not be possible without the input and generosity of community members, local corporations, support from the Lilly Endowment GIFT VIII, and members from the Shelby County International Council. The Grover Center, owner of the alleyway, has been instrumental and involved throughout the entire design process. City of Shelbyville's engineers have also been providing valuable feedback throughout the year.

Over the last two years, our staff has had the pleasure of working with amazing designers and contractors to develop the project:

--Michael Runge - Mt. Fuji Design
--Jes Miller - Central Tower Cherry Blossom Strands
--Ignition Arts LLC - Fabrication / Engineering
--IU Architecture Students - Bench Designs
--Thunderbird Molding - Cherry Blossom Fabrication
--Superior Contractors Inc. - Foundational and Concrete Work

Thank you for considering helping us meet our fundraising goal! We hope to begin installation this Spring!

11/14/2025

I’m excited to share that I’ll be teaching a Paint Your Pet workshop with Shelby Parks on January 29. This class will be so much fun, and you’ll be able to capture your pet beautifully in paint.

The class is $10 at the Civic Center. Doors open at 5:50 pm, we start at 6 pm.

Sign up at shelbyparks.com/artfulexploration.

11/14/2025

I’m teaching a paint your pet class in January, you should come!

11/09/2025

I got to experience something really special at Garfield Park Conservatory, a jazz concert for plants. The project is called Plant Parenthood and it’s part of the IU Spirit & Place Festival.

This song was written specifically for the vanilla plant. The whole place was warm, cozy, and full of people just… hanging out with plants and live music.

It was such a relaxed, thoughtful way to welcome our first snow of the season.