I, Tasha Miller (formerly Jablonski), am a 5’11” strong woman made by a sailor and his eclectic wife. 67% Czechoslovakian. Bohemian born in Nebraska, USA. Married with 3 children. Marathon and ice swimmer. 

After two full baccalaureates at University of California at Davis (Russian and Nutrition…don’t ask) and a post-bacc at Oregon Health Sciences University, I was a high school volleyball coach, building a dynasty. A member coach at the Multnomah Athletic Club, creating a brand new Junior Olympic Volleyball program. A K-8 PE teacher with a whistle around my neck. A Registered Dietitian at a VA hospital, counting geriatric calories. A collegiate rowing coach who thought success was measured in puke buckets. Then began motherhood and I stayed at home with my boo boo poo poos. To mix it up, I became a singer in a bathrobe. And a piano teacher. And a photographer with 35mm film. I could go on but you have other ABOUT pages to read out there and I am not important. This is only the tip of my iceberg. I was OVERDRIVE productive, because I had undiagnosed Bipolar 1 until age 44. And debilitating severe OCD. I wasn’t fully stabilized until literally 2 years ago, just before I turned 50. (Hypo)mania can be helpful in getting shit done. 

“The world is only as free as it allows its artists to be.”
~ Rick Rubin

Now I read my old Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook with morning coffee, marvel at my adult children, swim for miles each day to be underwater (obsessing about propulsion)…and make freakishly impossible ice cream cones! SCOOPIDY DOO DA is where my worlds collide — a stunning vertical chaos. I had been thinking about one of my favorite stories, “Grover and the 26 Scoops” by Patricia Thackray, ever since my kids were at Chapman Elementary. The illustrations of Grover and his clientele situated at Ye Olde ABC Ice Cream Parlor by Marc Nadel still send my flying! Finally I decided to make the first cone (pictured on home page of this website). It is installed in our Portland home, Valentina.

My cones are towering. My dreams are too. I stack scoops, hope on top of heartbreak. They’re strong, because life demands it. 

I still make music, throw on the heels and drip in jewels, perform in lights and take pictures of people, but I am mostly occupied by this ball of clay thing in my living room studio. And…I’m most definitely still that barefoot baby girl from the trailer park in Kearney, Nebraska — convinced something much bigger and more beautiful is happening in every second. Art makes the world sweeter. When it gets too sour, I make more super duper cool ice cream cones. I’d love to make one for you!