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.

Having received no formal art training during any period of her life, Kirstin's talent is completely self-taught, spurred on by her love for life, imagination, magic and inspiration, and especially her unstoppable curiosity. She is inspired by many things and has always been one to quickly spot the faeries and goblins peering around trees or the magical little footprints at the bottom of the garden, curious to know more about them. Seeing the world a little bit differently seemed to go hand in hand with its burning desire to be explored and expressed: a desire Kirstin finds hard to ignore. Her artworks are expressive moments along her artistic journey through her imagination and its relationship with the wider world around her: wide-ranging in scope and style, they each represent one of the many facets of Kirstin's imagination and boundless energy. Delighting in each new discovery of herself and her world through her paintings and drawings, Kirstin continues to record her travels through her world of spirit and to share them with her adoring fans through her website. Released to the public in mid-2007, this website has allowed Kirstin to connect with souls across the world through her art: a fact that remains continually humbling and inspiring for Kirstin each day. Art and imagination have always been such important parts of Kirstin's life, and to be able to share them with like-minded souls is truly a blessing for her. Finding her love of creating and crafting answered by the opportunity to create magical gifts and spread some more magic into people's lives, Kirstin's dream seemed complete and became a bigger source of enjoyment with each person that began to see and enjoy her work.

Not neglecting her literary passions however, Kirstin carefully balances her visual artistic expression with extensive reading, research and 'sleuthing' for her Doctorate degree in English Literature, which she is currently undertaking at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. A  large project, involving many hours of treading through imaginary worlds and historical moments (Kirstin's thesis focuses on dreams and the fantasy genre in the Nineteenth Century), Kirstin finds that this blends in well with her artistic pursuits. The inspiration and driving force behind it all, indeed behind everything Kirstin does in her life, is the same: 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 (this version of her biography originally appeared as her Myspace Biography in 2006)...

                    "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             

Read more about The Magical World of Kirstin Mills here, including a personal insight into Kirstin's artistic inspirations.

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