Photographer’s work part of free goodies celebrities get at Academy Awards

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At the 2012 Academy Awards, Naperville resident Diane Miller’s artwork will be among the pieces celebrities will receive in their gift bags.

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Updated: November 24, 2011 8:05AM

Although just a handful of celebrities take home an Oscar from the Academy Awards, about a hundred take home the coveted gift bags. At the 2012 Academy Awards, Naperville resident Diane Miller’s artwork will be among the pieces the celebrities will receive.

Miller, a photographer, applied to The Artisan Group, an exclusive juried organization whose members gift their handmade, hand-crafted art at major celebrity events. The group looks for high-end, handcrafted gifts with quality branding to present in their gift bags.

“Not only (does The Artisan Group) do events, but they are also a supportive group and promote each other,” Miller said.

After reviewing Miller’s portfolio, which was one of 300 applications she receives weekly, Valerie Guerrero, founder of The Artisan Group, felt that Miller’s work was a good fit for their “swag-bags.”

“She has such an interesting, whimsical set of photographs she works on,” Guerrero said.

For The Artisan Group gift bags, Miller will give a 4-by-6-inch fine art color print on metallic paper. She also will include a photo pendant necklace featuring an inch-round flower macro photograph printed on metallic paper. The pendant will hang on a black organza necklace.

“(The) photo pendant is another interesting way to display my work,” Miller said.

At the gifting events, celebrities attend a collective exhibit with about 30 different vendors. They then fill their bags with items on display. The Artisan Group alone will have more than 30 items available. Celebrities also will receive a gift guide with biographies and contact information about the artists. After receiving the gifts, celebrities have been known to contact the artists directly, tweet about them or talk about their favorite items with the press.

“It really gives the artist that participates a competitive edge because they have published comments about their work from celebrities,” Guerrero said.

Having her work featured with The Artisan Group is just one way Miller is showcasing her photography. Taking classes in high school and college, Miller started to get more serious about her hobby a couple of years ago. She now focuses on photos with themes of fine art, nature, architecture, urban decay and also does portraits.

“My mood leads me to what I’m going to photograph at that time,” said Miller, also has a full-time job working in compliance for an investment firm. “It’s different everyday what inspires me or what motivates me.”

Miller sells photography prints at www.theshutterbugeye.etsy.com. She has had some of her photos featured in the book “Still: The Art of Living.” Her work has been displayed at Serenity Lounge in Wood Dale and as part of an exhibit at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. And recently, Cantigny Park purchased 16 of her pendants featuring photos of their park, which are for sale in their gift shop.

In addition to the Academy Awards, Miller also will have her business card at the Golden Globes’ gift lounge in January. She also would like to self-publish a photography book of her work, attempt to sell her pendant jewelry or fine art prints to local retailers and work on a black-and-white film photography project to submit to the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.

“Everyone is a photographer these days with nicer cameras being available and affordable,” Miller said. “It takes persistence.”