Today we’d like to introduce you to Nico Miller.
Nico, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well, creativity has always been in and around my life ever since I was a little kid. My grandfather gifted me my first 35mm camera when I was 8 or 9, and I did arts and crafts in schools like drawing and building. The technical theatre was an art form I thought would be my life from middle school through college, and I drove into culinary chef work for almost 2 decades.
I still might open a restaurant one day, who knows? Fire dancing, and the healing arts through massage therapy saved my life. So, basically, anything my hands can get ahold of, I have enjoyed creating and doing. I think where, specifically, I’d like this article to highlight my canvas art paintings and that whole story. So, here we go!
13 years ago, my best friend, Shane Walker, had chosen to end his life. And it changed mine, drastically. I had no idea what healing really looked like until I lost him, or rather, stopped looking for him. I ended relationships recklessly, dropped out of school, became an alcoholic, and was pretty close to ending my own life. It was the darkest time I’ve experienced to date, and I didn’t know how to ask for help.
I began substance abuse beyond alcohol. I felt I wanted to heal. I felt that there was some way out there. And drugs were going to help lead the way. And so, one night, high on LSD, my friend finger-painted for me. If you can imagine, a masterpiece created one after another masterpiece of fluid flow being wiped away by finger strokes, just to create a new masterpiece for seconds at a time. It was breathtaking, to say the least. It took me by surprise at how incredibly healing this was! I was on board, I wanted to do it.
So I bought some canvas, I bought some very crappy paint, and I tried it myself. I still have the very first canvas I ever made. It’s my most treasured piece because it reminds me of where I came from. What it took for me to say yes to healing. And to remind me of how grateful to be experiencing this life. That love heals. Such a neat piece, and it’s only one stroke! That’s it, just one blue brush swipe and I was done. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.
Over the last 7 years, up until last year, I have been using cannabis as a means of channeling my creative flow. I felt cannabis was a tool for my creativity. Rarely had I painted sober, if at all that I can recall. Then. The pandemic happened and I came to a realization that this beautiful plant that I have loved is slowly no longer serving me. No longer serving my art. Which is okay.
It has been scary, do not mistake the pain and fear of choosing to be sober and the lighthearted tones of this article. It has been a rough journey. And, it has been amazing being sober. Diving into my healing while also FEELING it 100%. In a couple of months, I will be celebrating 1 year of sobriety, and over this last year, I have watched my art evolve. It’s beautiful.
Currently, I have made over 1000 original canvas works, and have sold close to 500 of those. I have so many canvases in my home right now, some days it feels like I use them as diner plates to eat off of. There are so many, and I’m grateful my creative juices continue to flow through my veins. I do not see myself quitting or stopping any time soon.
This is my life. Art and Love. Well, and that’s what art is. Love. I fall in love, and I break. I struggle to find meaning and purpose, and I search. Deeply. Only to find myself repaired by the creativity I have inspired within. My brokenness and my powers are one and the same. I am living Art.
What I want to share with you, Voyage, and all your readers, is what the evolution of healing art looks like. I want to provide examples depicting why I’m such an advocate for mental health and the power it holds. This journey of my art has layers upon layers of teachings and meditations and healings. Pain, sorrow, grief, and anger. Love, kindness, desire, flaw. It has everything about who I am, and I believe the viewers can feel it. I infuse energy through dance, music, vibration, radical love, and martial movement into my art. Flow Art.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. My goal in this article is for this to reach those suffering, hurting, lost, or feeling the end, and to read this and know you have someone in your corner. Everything is okay. Everything is okay… Be soft. Be gentle. Be kind. You are magic and important.
I love you all!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Obstacles and struggles… oh yeah, I don’t think we would be living without these components. I laugh and joke about this obstacle because I believe all artists go through this. The question of who am I? This imposter syndrome. My ego loves it when I feel like a fraud. Who am I? What am I doing here? No idea, but I’ll keep making art. And it ranges from this self-defeating fraud to this glorious handsome hero of epic art. I’m the best!
It’s so funny to me how my brain goes. “You’re awesome! No, you’re not. You’re awesome! No, you’re not.” Letting the ego get in the way of artistic exploration presents many limiting challenges because the ego is in actuality, not the real me. And it wants to be so bad. That obstacle of letting go of my art. Letting go of the pressure and the voice, and just “being.” It’s a challenging one, and it’s worth it, to pursue awareness of it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a multi-faceted artist and run three businesses. I run my own online art gallery/shop. I run my own massage therapy practice. And I run my own dance studio for the flow art/fire dancing community. I have been teaching fire dance for almost 8 years now, and love every second of it. It has brought me great joy. I had to shut down my dance studio during the pandemic during quarantine, and so right now, parks and grass are where the class is held.
I have run my own private massage practice for the last 4 years, and during the pandemic, I had to close down this studio as well. No one wanted to be touched, and the trauma that came from this pandemic has been noticeable. People are needing touch therapy, they desire it, especially because we were closed off for so long. I re-opened my studio this past January and it has been so refreshing and healing for myself, as well as for my clients.
The unique thing that happened during the pandemic was when these studies closed down, I turned to my canvas art. I started doing live paintings and auctions. I tried making it fun for collectors to participate in ways that were engaging during the social distancing. It was so neat. And, my art solely took care of me throughout the pandemic.
I saw so much support and care for what I do, that these people wanted me to continue. And now, I have a fully functioning art shop website, I’m transforming my art into healing puzzles, and I officially created my art business so you know, taxes and stuff.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy? Oh, man. So many things. Like when I get to cook for people, and I get to see the smiles spread across their faces as they enjoy a meal. Squeezing paint through my fingers makes me happy. My book club group makes me happy. They are a lot of fun.
My best friend makes me happy. Friendship with her is like being in a boat in a storm. Even in the most chaotic of times, we have each other’s backs, and we face the storms together, even though sometimes we aren’t paddling in the same direction, we always communicate what’s happening, and we laugh at the rain and sing with the thunder. She makes me happy 100%.
And… choosing love. Over hate or disdain. Being able to find that choice and be grateful for my healing journey and my crazy life has left a positive impact. That brings me happiness definitely.
Contact Info:
- Website: Nicosartcorneroriginals.com
- Instagram: @Nicosartcorner
- Facebook: @Nico’s Art Corner (art group for news /auctions)
