Artist-in-Residence: Lexie Millikan

We are proud to announce Lexie Millikan as the inaugural Artist in Residence at the Princeton Art Guild. Launching this residency with Lexie sets the tone for what this program is meant to be: deeply rooted in place, generous in spirit, and oriented toward shared making, learning, and connection.

Lexie’s practice is shaped by a life lived close to the land. Growing up in the

mountains of southeastern Idaho and the Black Hills of South Dakota, she was influenced by rural values of reuse, resourcefulness, and care. These are all principles that continue to guide both her artwork and her approach to community. Before earning her BFA, Lexie took a winding path through many forms of work and making, including time as a pastry chef in a French bakery, research and development for a granola company, and raising chickens just outside her home. That meandering route is evident in her art: thoughtful, tactile, and deeply human.

In 2015, Lexie received her BFA in Fiber from Kansas City Art Institute, where she later served as Fiber Technician and taught studio electives. After relocating to western Kentucky, she became the Fiber Artist in Residence at Paducah School of Art & Design and went on to serve as Executive Director of the Yeiser Art Center. Her work has also taken her far beyond Kentucky through exhibitions and programming within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, supporting artists and presenting work in South Korea, Mexico, Italy, Spain, and across the U.S.

As a textile artist, Lexie works primarily with weaving, quilting, dyeing, and surface design, while also incorporating collage, installation, and performance. Her materials, often found or repurposed, carry their own histories. Faded fabrics, worn surfaces, and hand-altered textiles become vessels for memory, identity, and belonging. Each stitch is an act of care, acknowledging the people, places, and relationships that shape both the material and the maker.

Lexie’s work has been featured in Nashville Arts, Paducah Life, and Quiltfolk Magazine, published in the International Journal of Crafts & Folk Art, and appeared on the Getting Lost With Erin French on the Magnolia Network, where she demonstrated traditional indigo dye techniques. Alongside her studio practice, education remains central to her work. She has taught extensively in high schools, colleges, and community settings nationally and internationally, and currently teaches art at Caldwell County Middle School right here in Princeton.

About the Residency Program

The Princeton Art Guild Artist Residency is designed to offer artists time, space, and connection through dedicated studio access paired with meaningful engagement with our rural community. Residents commit to regular studio hours and share their practice through at least one public-facing program during their residency, such as a workshop, demonstration, talk, or open studio. The goal is not just production, but exchange. We are creating opportunities for our community to encounter professional artistic practice up close and to participate in it.

During her residency, Lexie will be developing a new body of textile work inspired by traditional Korean textiles, following recent research travel. In addition to studio work, she plans to offer public programming that from a selection of options including visible mending workshops, block printing on fabric, or demonstrations. There will also be options for open studio sessions that invite the community to engage directly with these processes and see her process in action.

Why This Matters

Launching our residency program with Lexie reflects the Guild’s belief that art is not separate from daily life. It is embedded in how we care for materials, pass down knowledge, and connect with one another. Her practice bridges past and present, tradition and experimentation, individual stories and collective experience. These values align closely with our mission to support artists while making creativity accessible, relevant, and grounded in place.

We are honored to welcome Lexie Millikan as our first Artist in Residence and look forward to the work, conversations, and shared moments of making that will unfold during her time at the Guild.

Learn more about Lexie’s work at lexieabra.com. Stay tuned for upcoming workshops, open studios, and public programs during her residency.