A Dream Come True

Esther Powers Miller and her husband, K. Ward Miller, waited a long time to pursue their true dream - operating a shop that features her paintings and his poetry. They'd both worked at their art since an early age, but retirement brought a chance to finally open their gallery in Culver, Indiana.

It was a long road for both of them. Esther, who grew up on a farm near Peninsula, Ohio, attended the Kansas City Art Institute, married, had two sons and moved with her husband to Culver, where she eventually gave birth to two daughters. Divorced in her mid-thirties, she wanted to pursue her art, but decided on what she considered a more practical career at the time in real estate and appraisal. In the meantime, Ward lived in Mishawaka, Indiana, and worked many years for Indiana Bell Telephone Company. He served in Korea, came home and raised a family and wrote some poetry along the way. After years of marriage, he too was single. As fate would have it, Esther and Ward met and he wrote a poem for her, "My House by the Lake," after their second date. Their friendship blossomed into love and they have been married 30 years.

Today, they have a loyal following of customers who visit the gallery in their Mission-style home in Culver. You'll find her prints and paintings and his poetry. Often they combine the two on note cards and prints. Esther's watercolors include many local scenes, such as Culver Academies, churches and sailboats on Culver's Lake Maxinkuckee.
"I like to preserve subjects in my paintings, such as buildings that someday will be gone," Esther says. "What I paint has to have an emotional appeal for me....it has to be something I like or find interesting." Her subjects also include Michigan lighthouses and she loves to paint flowers and barns.

"I'm very taken with color and try hard to have a spot in my paintings that is a focus," Esther says. "When you look at a painting, your eye should come in, take a trip and find an area to rest." She takes a lot of photos of scenes and objects that intrigue her and then begins painting. "I spend more time thinking about it than actually painting." she adds.

Ward says he is inspired by many things for his poetry. "I may see something or hear something that gives me an idea," he says. "It might be kids playing, things going on around Culver or even golf." He's published four books, the more recent one a mix of humorous subjects and a more serious anthology of poetry. He wrote his first poem while stationed in Korea, the idea coming to him while he was on night guard.

The couple really enjoy combining their arts. "Sometimes she'll do a painting and I'll write a short verse to go with it." Ward says. "Other times I've written about something before she paints." One example was a poem he wrote about the bandstand in Elkhart. After Esther read it, she painted it to go along with the poem.

Most important, Esther and Ward love life, enjoying their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They truly are living their dream and you can join them for the ride when you stop by their gallery.

Painter and Poet Gallery
(574) 842-8888
painterandpoet.com