A Lioness’ Journey from Hell to Self

A Lioness’ Journey from Hell to Self Debut Solo Exhibition by Lenie Caston-Miller  |  May 23, 2026  |  Free & Open to the Public HOUSTON, TX — For the first time, sculptor and Iraq War veteran Lenie Caston-Miller brings the full arc of her practice into a single show with her debut solo exhibition on Saturday, May 23, 2026 at Sesh Collective, 2808 Caroline St., Suite 100, Houston, Texas from 6 PM-9PM. Admission is free. The evening will feature an artist talk and original work available for sale. The exhibition brings together three distinct chapters of work: original BFA thesis works examining war and its aftermath; InnerConnected, a ceramic sculpture series exploring the relational forces, wounds, and healing that souls carry through earthly life through the interplay of clay and concentric circles; and the Zodiac Series: a 13-piece ceremonial set of hand-sculpted 4D incense-burning figures inspired by Metatron’s Cube and sacred geometry. Caston-Miller’s work sits at the intersection of rupture, ritual, and witness. It reflects the rupture caused by life’s stress and the attempt at putting it back together; the rituals we gather to remain grounded in the seasons of life through ancient timekeeping and ancestral talismans; and the reflection of the bonds, losses, and rebuilding that the clay reflects back to the artist and those who see themselves in the work. Working primarily in clay, welded steel, and resin, Caston-Miller finds joy in bending the earth’s elements into contemporary fine art. Her process is guided by an understanding of objects as vessels – not only carrying material, but also, lived experience, memory, and force. The InnerConnected series uses rings as metaphor for souls, spears as the stressors that fracture us, and kintsugi repair as the beauty found in healing. The Zodiac series channels sacred geometry in its Metatron’s Cube-inspired base, and animates each astrological sign in expression of color and power, reflected through its unique way of smudging the space around it. The exhibition also presents five original works from Caston-Miller’s 2016 BFA thesis, De[Constructed], Transforming Reality, produced at the University of Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum. As a member of Team Lioness, one of the first formally integrated female combat units in the U.S. military, Caston-Miller returned home carrying both the weight of service and the need to name it. These works give the show its opening act. From the point of view of a soldier who came home, they examine the empathy gap that sends people to war (Lost in Translation, It’s Really a Global Issue, A New Normal), the civic failures that greet them on return (American Concept), and the bureaucratic violence of a medical system that answers need with indifference (A Relic Answer). They are not historical documents. They are the ground the healing had to grow from. Shown here alongside the InnerConnected and Zodiac work, they reveal the full arc: what Caston-Miller survived, how she rebuilt, and where that rebuilding led. Caston-Miller holds a BFA in Sculpture from the University of Houston (magna cum laude), completed an internship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, is the recipient of First Place in the 2024 Veterans Creative Arts Competition, and was named Favorite Local Sculptor in the 2025 OutSmart Readers Choice Awards. She is also COO and Co-Founder of The Ranch Houston, an urban farm, creative community, and third space on the Houston Southeast Side. The artist is available for institutional partnerships, collection inquiries, and speaking engagements. This solo exhibition marks the first time the full arc of that practice, from witness to healing to ritual, in a single show.