Jennifer Miller is currently setting up a small papermaking studio at Mainframe Studio #461 in Des Moines, Iowa. She uses a Hollander beater to transform plant fibers into paper pulp. Natural fabric like denim, linen, cotton, and hemp, provides another source material to generate pulp.

When pouring or pulling sheets of paper, Jen uses formation aid mixed into the pulp to slow down the drying time. This goo is like okra slime and it helps with sheet formation. It also extends the drying time, holding onto water instead of draining quickly. One technique Jen is developing is called paper drawing, which means she makes marks into the fiber while is is still wet. The resulting drawings are low relief, sculptural sheets of paper. Some pieces are minimalistic in color and design. Some paper drawings are installed to transmit light. Other works are opaque, densely layered, with a complexity inspired by the historical energy of a given place. Accrued histories, known and unknown, sensed and experienced.

In 2025, Jen completed the MFA program at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, graduating with distinction. Her thesis project titled “What We Have Left” included a letterpress printed alphabet book titled “Kinder Inquiries” (variable edition of 30). She also created paper drawings, pulp paintings, and sectional maps for her thesis.

In addition to her papermaking and book arts projects, Jennifer has also worked with clay. She creates multimedia sculptures and functional pottery. Jen earned her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Iowa (2000) and worked exclusively in the field of ceramics when she lived in the Twin Cities (MN). In 2011, she sold her kiln, left the Northrup King studio, and moved to Ethiopia with her husband where they taught English and provided training during their 3.5 years of Peace Corps service.

This website serves as a digital platform to share Jen’s current artistic projects and creative research. As time passes, this will also become an archive for her previous projects.

Please feel free to contact Jennifer if you want to discuss workshops, exhibitions, purchasing, or commissioning work. Jen is open to collaborations across disciplines.