Jim Miller-Melberg, Artist

After selling his playground sculpture business to Wausau Tile in 1981, Miller did some consulting and design work for them for a few years, and was occasionally commisioned to create a new creature. But what he most relished was a return to the studio, where he worked on his distinctive, forceful art. For a couple of decades, Miller had put most of his energy into all aspects of the play sculpture business. But he was at heart an artist, not a businessman. For the rest of his life Miller created a steady output of drawings, paintings, and sculptures in metal, wood, and plaster. One of his most significant pieces, Michigan Spring, was installed on the southwest lawn of the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, MI in 2020.

Pastoral  (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

Baroque Memoir (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

Michigan Spring (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Bouquet for Sally (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Northern Lights (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Jekyll Island (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Daphne (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Flamenco (Courtesy Jim Miller-Melberg Estate)

 

Miller was good friends with Skip Davis, a major figure in the Detroit Art scene. A collector, curator, designer, organizer, and supporter of local art, Skip was asked to summarize the spirit of Miller's art, and he wrote the following:

 

Jim Miller-Melberg is known around the globe for his children’s play sculptures, especially the frolicking dolphin. Each piece he designed was fabricated from a special cement that he invented - it was lighter and stronger than commercial products. Jim was an artist, an architect, engineer and scientist. He was fiercely independent and entrepreneurial, founding his own company, FORM, Inc. In his own words, “I’m a nonconformer.”

My specific interest in Jim’s work are his paintings and relief wall sculptures. These pieces are incredibly unique works that express Jim’s playful, curiosity with nature and living things. His devotion to his wife, Sally, also appears repeatedly in many of his creative experiences. Hydrocal was his medium of choice. It was lightweight and allowed him to fashion ideas and images that fused the influences of Joan Miro and Henry Moore. His color palette ranged from deep, intense saturation to delicate, elegant pastels. Jim’s paintings were large scale and robust, seemingly bursting out of the canvas. This medium seemed to nurture his passion for self-expression. There were no technical restraints or limitations- the ‘nonconformer’ had found his home.

For the many months I was with him before his death, he remained independent and fully engaged in life. It was an honor to call him my friend.

 

-Skip Davis, 2024

Summer (Courtesy Jim-Miller Melberg Estate)

Miller's Art at his Home  (photo: Scott Hocking)

[Sources: Minton, Davis, Jurrjens, Bogart, Hocking. For details see Sources Page]