Thanks to her summer at the Creative Growth Art Center, Lydia Miller ’25 now sees the career path of a professional artist as a tangible future that Saint Mary's is preparing her for. / Photo courtesy of Lydia Miller and graphic art by Adira Weixlmann
In Their Own Words: Lydia Miller’s Summer in the Studio Taught Her ‘How to Be a Working Artist Today’
Supported by SMC's Liberal Arts Bridge (LAB) Program, Miller pursued an internship at a renowned gallery in Oakland. It was an education that could only take place outside the classroom. “At a certain point, you have to live it,” she says.
In Their Own Words is a series in which we introduce you to the Gaels you need to meet—students, alums, faculty, and staff—and let them tell their stories, in their own words.
Meet Lydia Miller ’25: a fourth-year student majoring in Art Practice and minoring in Theatre. In the summer of 2024, Miller pursued an internship at the Creative Growth Art Center, a nonprofit art gallery in Oakland that has empowered artists with disabilities for decades. The opportunity was made possible by Saint Mary’s Liberal Arts Bridge (LAB) Program; since 2019, the LAB Internship Scholarship has offered financial assistance for students like Miller seeking unpaid or underpaid internships.
The practice of art
I declared Art Practice at the end of my first year at Saint Mary’s, which has been a great fit for me. As an artist, I've been really drawn to reduction printmaking; that's where you have an image, you carve out that image in a reverse negative, and then you transfer that to paper, sometimes multiple times.
I've also grown interested in art restoration. In one of my classes, Professor Costanza Dopfel invited a few professional art conservators to come to discuss their career trajectories. My takeaway from those class sessions was that, if I want a career like theirs, I’m on the right track.
The internship hunt—and creating opportunity
I've known for a while that I wanted an internship, which, in the arts, can be really challenging. I took advantage of all the resources on campus, talking to professors and attending LAB Program events. I went to the Career Center, which helped me write and shape my résumé.
Throughout the spring semester, I contacted a number of different art studios about internships. They all told me, “Well, we don’t need an intern, sorry.”
One day, my Mom texted me about the It’s a nonprofit gallery and studio space in Oakland that serves adults with developmental and physical disabilities. She had seen a segment about them on PBS NewsHour, and sent me .
I watched it and thought it was awesome. It seemed, too, like it could be really beneficial for me professionally. When I looked at their website, they didn’t really have an internship option, but there was a whole page about volunteering. So I emailed the volunteer coordinator, and she set up a Zoom meeting. After chatting, she said, “We’d love to have you.” So I kind of created my own internship.
“For me, the question has always been, ‘How do I go into the art world and be successful?’ And thanks to the LAB Program, I think the Creative Growth internship helped me fill in the gaps in my knowledge.”
The Creative Growth experience
On my first day, Arielle, the volunteer coordinator, asked me what would be most useful for me. I told her, essentially, everything. I wanted to understand how Creative Growth works, as a studio and a business, because it’s both. There are the working artists and then the facilitators advocating for them, getting their work shown and sold and known.
I wanted to get a sense of it all, so I was flexible. Some days, that just meant plopping down in the studio and chugging away at a task, organizing paints and other materials. I also did a lot of back-end tasks for the gallery, which helped me learn how to categorize art in storage and how to manage stock on the website.
Other times, I worked directly with the artists. I spent a few days assisting who is one of the best-selling artists at Creative Growth. Dan’s an older dude who doesn’t talk much, but he's really funny, works super fast. He likes to have someone sit with him while he’s creating and bring him materials or offer suggestions. He would be drawing something and say, “Black pen.” Then I’d run and grab him a pen and just, you know, help him work.
It was cool to be in a support role in a studio space. Creative Growth is such a strong community, where everyone becomes part of this working organism. It was really incredible to take part.
Filling in the gaps
One of my takeaways from the summer is that there’s only so much you can learn in the classroom. At a certain point, you have to live it.
For me, the question has always been, How do I go into the art world and be successful? And thanks to the LAB Program, I think the Creative Growth internship helped me fill in the gaps in my knowledge. I have a better understanding of so many things, from networking at art shows to getting shown in a gallery to how galleries even work.
A blank canvas
My summer at Creative Growth really demystified what it is to be a professional artist. It’s not some distant thing; this life of making art, talking to galleries, applying for grants… I’ve actually been preparing for this.
The experience definitely made me more comfortable and confident in my goals. Whether it’s through the traditional gallery route, or working out of a home studio and doing digital sales, there are so many ways to be a working artist today. It can be easy to doubt that. But my internship showed me: This is a real career path that plenty of people have.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Sam Nobile ’25 is studying English at Saint Mary’s and serves as a student writer with the Office of Marketing and Communications. Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at the Office of Marketing and Communication for Saint Mary's College. Write them.
