CRAFTING SOMETHING GENUINE
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Tamela Miller
Mathematics Teacher, Fly fishing Guide, Sun Valley Ski School Teacher And TIE DYE Artist Extraordinaire!
I began to experiment in new ways with the medium of Tie Dye while teaching mathematics in the Wood River Valley. My father, Eldon Miller, was the chairman of the Mathematics Department at Ole Miss, in the bucolic town of Oxford, Mississippi. I followed his footsteps as a mathematician, ultimately moving to Hailey, Idaho to teach High School Math.
Realizing that my students were from diverse cultural backgrounds and mathematical levels, I developed a program to incorporate tie dye into my Geometry classes. The students immediately became engaged. Teaching math requires exactness, diligence and perfection. Interestingly, so does Tie Dye.
Teaching with tie dye gave visual clarity to learning. The students explored Symmetry, Rotation, Reflection, and Translation in a creative hands-on fashion, executing a number of exercises. I have learned for myself that true success as a teacher and as an artist is more about the process of respecting others, and choosing integrity over shortcuts. Success is not about perfection. It’s about crafting something genuine, something that can hold its own.
I am an avid Wood River Valley outdoorswoman. I am a fly fishing guide, an upland bird hunter, and a ski and snowboard instructor with the Sun Valley Ski School. Folks are often surprised when I tell them I am also an expert tie dyer! I started my craft and love for the medium over 20 years ago in New Orleans. Through the years my work has become more intricate and richer, with complex patterns that mirror our natural environment.
Each of my designs tells a story about our experiences in the mountains of Idaho. Although each pattern is eminently reproducible, just as is a mathematical formula, each design is handmade with its own uniqueness and its imperfections.
I hope you enjoy!
August 21,2017 Stanley, Idaho. The temperature dropped. There was an eerie silence, a realization of syzygy moving deeply through the ages. The three minutes of totality of the Solar Eclipse with its Ring of Fire is recreated here.
The Freshies in the Trees design evokes the sublime experience of skiing fresh powder in the trees, and choosing your best line for maximum magic!
The Powder Alignment Fold represents the tracks of buddies skiing together and trying to extend the number of runs they can get while making the first tracks!