Riley Miller, a junior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts, is attending The University of Texas Permian Basin to carry on a dream that started when she was four years old.
“I’ve done art since I was a child,” Riley said. “My grandma taught me how to do art at the age of 4, and ever since then it’s something I’ve always loved to do.” 
Now, her artwork is on display for the entire community to view.
“I was honestly really proud and excited that some of my pieces got picked in the first place,” Riley said.
UTPB’s Junior-Senior Juried Student Art Exhibition was displayed until May 11. Students in those classifications are invited to submit work, and juror Britta Urness from Eastern New Mexico University selected the pieces featured in the show. Students also received feedback on how they could improve their work.
For Riley, this is the second exhibition she has been selected for, and she says she is grateful UTPB gives Falcons the opportunity.
“It means so much to me, honestly, because I never really get my artwork out besides on Instagram or to my family,” Riley said. 
She works in acrylic paint and oil-based prints, creating pieces focused on psychological themes, including chronic illness, pressure, and mental tension.
“I have always felt like art is a way to show the deeper aspects of life in a lighter way,” Riley said.
Her favorite piece, “Consume,” explores the pressure people place on themselves and others, especially in school, and how that stress can cause them to lose themselves.
Sharing her work on a bigger stage is something she has always dreamed of, and she believes her younger self would be proud. She also knows her grandmother is.
“My grandma is so excited,” Riley said. “I live with her right now, so every single time she sees me do art pieces she gets really excited.”
Riley’s work, along with other student pieces, was on display at the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery, located at 3991 UTPB Circle in the Charles Sorber Visual Arts Studios building on the UTPB campus. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
