Gryphon Beat: Miranda Elliot ‘08

What you are up to in life, personally, professionally, and creatively?

I live in Seattle and make music and multimedia art, primarily under the moniker Old Man of the Woods, a spectral synthpop project named after a spiky shroom that similarly alchemizes anguish into awe. I’ve toured the US and EU and released a discography ranging from my dreampop debut Votives that I recorded in my bedroom in Richmond, to darkwave devotionals Tendrils that I created as an artist in residence at an abandoned lakeside sanatorium outside of Berlin. I’m currency releasing a visual album Cape Perpetua pairing meditative vocal-loop ambient incantations with nature projection portals that’ll come out in March. Through it all, entwining memory and mirage, I love creating enchanting audiovisual worlds that encourage audiences to muse and move. If you’re curious, please visit oldmanofthewoods.rocks for links to my Instagram and TikTok and everywhere you can listen to my music! 

Otherwise, I work remotely for Markel (based in Richmond!) as a Full Stack Engineer, mostly doing web development and UX design. I’ve worked there for almost 8 years, beginning back when I still lived in Richmond. I moved to Seattle in 2021 to start a graduate program in Human-Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, and unfortunately for the East Coast, this place really won me over - I mean where else is simultaneously an arty city and a magical forest surrounded by jagged mountains and endless water?! But I do deeply love being with my people in Richmond and New York too, and traveling around for residencies and tours, so I’ve managed to pull off a more transient lifestyle these past couple years since graduating, and I look forward to more of that.

What are you most proud of right now?

I started collaborating with my mom (Joan Elliott) creatively last year, and it’s been the joy of a lifetime to make art together :) She invited me out to join her for a couple weeks while she was an artist in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris last year - she’s an extremely talented painter (my favorite! unbiased, of course) - and we created this ethereal exhibition Transitions / Transmissions exploring Pere Lachaise Cemetery as a threshold between worlds through intimate oil paintings, gothic window projections, and a piano-based ambient score. We’ve continued growing that collaboration since and are now looking for places to exhibit closer to home, so stay tuned! 

What’s something you're excited to try, learn, or do in the next year?

I just got a residency at Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle to record an album in their studio. Until now, I’ve recorded and produced all of my music myself at home and learned everything from YouTube videos, so I’m thrilled to learn from the pros now! I’m also hoping to bring in other people to record different instruments and start expanding my mycelial creative network instead of obsessively doing everything myself (hopefully), so this marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for my project. 

What is your favorite Orchard House tradition?

I really love that we had to explore different arts each quarter - it made us stretch out of our comfort zones. I played the dad in The Crucible one year and I still think that’s hilarious. I would’ve never done that by choice and I’m so glad it happened.

What was your favorite song, movie, TV show, or book in middle school, and what is it now?

In middle school I was obsessed with Zoolander and Music & Lyrics. Now my favorites are Wings of Desire and Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête. I’m sure there’s some throughline there…romanticism? Surrealism? Absurdity?

Are there any childhood hobbies or interests that you’re still interested in now?

I loved singing and sang in the talent show every year at OHMS. Classic Leo. And of course still do now, on stages all over the world, much more frequently than once a year! Little Miranda would be ecstatic.

Were you on any sports teams or part of any clubs?

I used to write emo poetry in the computer lab during lunch with a couple friends in fifth grade, and that’s the most indicative window into who I was as a middle schooler. I also played basketball, but truthfully despised it. I’m very tall so I was supposed to be good, but I couldn’t make myself be aggressive and was somehow always jamming my fingers.

Do you have advice for your younger self?

Take your dreams seriously, believe in yourself, and go for it! Everyone’s scared and doubts themselves, but you can’t let those voices tell you what to do. It took me far longer than I wish it had to actually pursue a creative career (I released my debut album in my late 20’s), and I’m happy I finally did it no matter how long it took, but I was writing music in my teens and wish I’d been bold enough to share it. 

If you went to college, where and what did you study?

I went to the College of William & Mary and studied Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. 

What was your transition like from middle school to high school?

I went to Maggie Walker with a few friends from OHMS and was very grateful to have familiar faces around. The transition from 80 to almost 800 peers (including boys, ew) was…anxiety inducing, to say the least. I’ve grown to enjoy crowds much more than I did then.

Were you involved in any clubs, sports, or leadership roles?

Photography was my big thing in high school, I spent a lottt of time in the dark room, founded the Photography Club, photographed a lot of events and really just everything ever, got some crazy national awards that had me showing at Parsons School of Design in NY and the VMFA and getting ribbons onstage at Carnegie Hall. It was very wild.

Did you or do you have an OHMS role model who supported you?

Ms. Kiesler! She was only my science teacher for half of fifth grade, but she’s still one of my favorite teachers of all time. She had this tenacious rebellious spirit, was so knowledgeable in this unpretentious accessible way, and cared so deeply and infectiously about the environment that everyone around her was inspired to care, too.I ended up volunteering with her in high school, helping out with running kids’ science summer camps at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. I feel very grateful for that time I shared with her - I wish I could’ve known for longer as an adult, and I still see her as a role model of how to move through the world.

What’s a recent passion, project, or adventure you’ve taken on?

I just did an artist residency at Château du Feÿ in Burgundy, France for March! It’s an old manor on many acres of forest and looks soo dreamy. I worked on writing new music, recorded live sessions in the woods, and played a show in Paris on March 13th. 

Are you a jackhammer or a hummingbird—do you usually find yourself doggedly pursuing one interest with passion, or do you tend balance a multitude of passions, jumping from one experience to another?

I’m definitely a hummingbird - I’m very ADHD, and a solo artist doing all of the things myself (songwriting, production, visual design, tour booking, playing shows, promotion, photography, videography, making merch, applying for residencies and grants), and involved in creative collaborations where I’m playing a variety of roles, and have to live within a capitalistic society where art doesn’t actually make money, so I work a 9-5 to pay rent and have healthcare. In other words, I’ve always got 1,000 projects on the docket, so if I wasn’t a hummingbird I’d perish.

This coming school year, 2025-2026, will be Mr. Hollander's last year before he retires! Please share any special memories you have of Mr. Hollander and his class. We’d love to hear how he's impacted your time as an OHMS student and beyond.

I adored Mr. Hollander! Wow, I can’t believe he’s taught this many generations of gals - we’re all very lucky to have learned from him! He made history into this living, breathing, fascinating storyline, not just a class of names and dates to memorize. He really made it all seem so enthralling that I thought I’d be a diplomat or go into some government field. I came out of those classes feeling like the world was huge and full of centuries of drama. My main lasting impression of him is that he was incredibly smart, deeply kind, and always had our backs and was looking out for us, which is precisely what a middle school girl needs. Thanks for everything, Mr. Hollander.