MimiARTRestores(MimiART Restores)(@mimiartrestores)

Mimi is a self-taught, Seattle mixed-media artist who began painting almost two years ago. What started as a therapeutic creative outlet has quickly grown into a passion for painting, making, experimenting, and transforming everyday materials into original works of art. Her approach is exploratory and fun! She works with bold color, texture, collage, abstract forms, photography, found objects, and repurposed materials while continuing to discover and get messy. Upcycling is an important part of her practice. Old canvases, previously used frames, recycled materials, leather jackets, and unexpected objects can all become surfaces for something new. She is drawn to the idea of transformation—seeing possibility and beauty in something that might otherwise be overlooked or discarded. Right now, Mimi is especially inspired by the vibrant color, energy, and visual storytelling found in her love of Caribbean colors and tropical landscapes, spirit animals, palms, fauna, and botanical forms; sacred geometry; and the beauty, shape, texture, and presence of large, magnificent afros. These influences appear in her work through color, pattern, symbolism, organic shapes, portraiture, and experimentation. Art-making is also deeply therapeutic for Mimi. Creating gives her a place to decompress, reflect, process emotions, and become completely absorbed in working with her hands. The experience of making the artwork can be every bit as important as the finished piece. As a new maker, she embraces being a beginner rather than trying to hide it. Her practice is about curiosity, experimentation, learning, making mistakes, giving herself permission to create without being confined by traditional rules or a single artistic style.