 irstin
A. Mills was born into the world on the eleventh of
December, 1984. Growing up in rural Sydney, Australia, her
artistic abilities showed from an extremely early age,
continuing to develop along with her detailed and abundant
imagination. Her first ink artwork was sold at an exhibition
at the age of just four! This artistic ability expressed
itself in almost every way possible, with detailed and
imaginative drawings in the borders of early exam papers
often taking priority over the answers! From the same age,
this artistic flair was coupled with an intense love of
stories and literature, and the two have coincided ever
since. Seeking the wealth of fantasy, fairytales, legends
and mythology that have existed over time, she has pursued
her interests into University life, where she completed her
honours degree in English Literature, and finally into the
public domain as a gifted fantasy artist. For Kirstin, it
isn’t just about the artworks on the canvas or the words on
the page. Seeing life itself as an ever-evolving artwork,
she is all about appreciating the art of life and the
magnificent story it has to offer. As her life celebrates
art, so her art celebrates this
life and its magical energy.
About Kirstin, the way she tells it...
"I have chips in my teeth because I bite things that I shouldn’t. I still
don’t know if I’ve completely learnt my lesson. I find things cute that most
people find ugly. Things that are too cute make me cry. I
love: late nights and early mornings, though I can never seem to fully enjoy
both in succession; waking up to the
early morning sun peeping through the edges of my curtains and making the
sweet, warm, jasmine-scented air my first breath of the day; closing my eyes on swings and opening them again at the
highest point to watch the sky fall away from me; picture-books; Australian
wildlife –except the things that sting and bite; sneezing (unless it's more
than three times when it gets annoying); photography and art –drawing,
painting, sculpting- I always have and I always will; giant slippery-dips;
kisses on the beach at sunrise and knowing that the first moment of my day
was spent in such bliss; warm and woolly, thick and brightly coloured winter
socks –especially the ones with grip on the bottom for better chasing round
the house;
 pens and pencils; my most beautiful Cherokee, el gato con botas,
with the finest whiskers this side of the galaxy, and Chieftain, the
cheekiest cat I ever did see; the hour between 12 and 1
AM when all is quiet and my mind unravels itself, uninhibited by anything
–many essays have been accomplished at this time!; cupcakes with pink icing
and smartie eyes; making up new signatures and trying to remember which one
I picked; old people with attitude; playing at the park with Ash (my
beautiful boyfriend) –tip, somersaults, spinning til we’re sick on those
whirly things –and then collapsing on the grass in laughter, exhausted and
brilliantly happy; mud-fights, mud-pies, and mud in general, especially when
it squishes between my toes; language! –poetry, prose, alphabets and
dictionaries, translations and signs, symbols, names and their roots –words
and the elusive meaning that dances behind them! I can read Anglo-Saxon and
Middle English, Celtic Runes, Hieroglyphics, Latin and the alphabet system I
made up to stop my sisters reading my diary when I kept one. I learnt bits
of Italian and French in school and I want to learn Spanish; chocolate
biscuits and milo at Grandma’s house; cousins! I have 19 of them!;
professing undying love under the moonlight; picking up skinks and small
lizards and feeling the smoothness of their shiny skin; the cool, soft
lapping of salt water at the edges of my body as I float in the gentle sway
of an aqua sea, just far enough out to swim but not far enough out to be
scary –there is a fine line; antiquities! Anything ancient and
archaeological –it always amazes me just how similar the human experience
has been –from Egypt, 15th century B.C. to now; hugs -as long as they are
real- tight and strong with that unspoken sense of true caring; frogs;
Grandpa’s stories; playing tip with my sisters round the loop our house
makes; mum yelling at us to stop before we break something; Barge-a-lounge!
Something that has to be seen to be understood. Kind of like WWF meets
Spanish matador in a modern lounge setting; again, mum yelling at us to stop
before we break something; the snug, crisp feeling of a sunbaked towel after
emerging from the sea; the unique summer scent of salt, sunscreen and
seaweed; treasured memories- random infanthood recollections, moments of
side-splitting laughter and tender insight with friends, any moment I have
ever spent with Ash, loved and lost pets, family gatherings, dad cooking a
summer BBQ dinner while the sun sinks behind the trees and I ride round and
round our patio on my trike, the excitement of waking up on my birthday, the
entire Christmas season. Some of my collections have been: buttons,
sea-shells, cicada shells, cicada wings, butterfly wings, pine-cones,
feathers, ribbons and bits of string, odds and ends like bottle-tops,
pipe-cleaners and elastic bands that one day I will need for something, no
matter how immediately inconceivable. My most important feature is my
imagination: my best friend and my worst enemy. Source of my empathy, with
it I lead the most exciting, fantastic and magical life, yet because of it I
have vowed never to watch another horror movie again! :S Most of all, I am
the one thing that no one else in the world can truly claim to be: I am me!"
~Kirstin Mills, 2007
For more insights
into Kirstin Mills and her daily thoughts, see her Live
Journal
here, or sign up to receive her free monthly
newsletter below...
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