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photo by Shane Wynn
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photo by Shane Wynn
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photo by Shane Wynn
The saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure couldn’t be a more accurate description for artist P.R. Miller. Known around Akron as the eccentric “junkyard artist,” Miller is renowned for taking discarded objects and turning them into quirky sculptures of flowers, bugs and more.
Around The 330, he is most recognized is his frog, with a body of recycled steel and eyes made from 1948 Cadillac hubcaps, sitting in front of the Highland Square Branch Library. Miller, also known by his “Grizzled Wizard” nickname, has been making art that can be seen in nearly every state east of the Mississippi and educating on conservation for decades.
A look back — P.R. Miller: Akron Life's 2010 Aritist of the Year
Now at 70 years old, Miller lands on the national stage in tonight’s episode of American Pickers, which follows pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they scour America for the best antique finds and characters associated with them, at 9 p.m. on the History Channel. Will it change Miller’s art or career? “I think the only difference it’s going to make is that it's going to go from being local to national,” Miller observes. Prior to the episode’s premiere and a watch party at Mustard Seed Market & Café March 5 at 9 p.m., we chatted with Miller about his youth in the junkyard, his advocacy and more.
Q: What first got you interested in doing recycled art?
A: I grew up in a junkyard. The dump was my playground, and we didn't have any money. So what we did was make our own toys and our own busywork out of whatever stuff people threw away. In as much as one’s imagination is the most important thing that anyone shall ever have, my mother prompted all of us to use our imagination and make our own world. I just never got away from it. I still have pieces that I created when I was in third grade.
Q: You’ve always been an advocate for the environment. How do you spread that message?
A: I preach recycling. Why did you throw this away? What was the matter with it? Was it worn out? Was it broken? Was it something you just got tired of? I go into schools and I dress up as a wizard. I'm known as the Grizzled Wizard of Waste Not Want Not. I do workshops and stage presentations about recycling, planetary stewardship and ecological responsibility. I've been doing this stuff for my entire life. I was recycling long before it was called recycling.
Q: How do you see beauty in junk?
A: I don’t necessarily see beauty in junk when I observe it as junk. I look at shapes and things and say, Oh, well, there is a potential flower. There's a potential bug or there's a potential head of a bug. Beauty is wherever you make it, whatever you make it.
