Today we’d like to introduce you to Millie Bennett
Hi Millie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In elementary school I spent two years at a Montessori school, where opportunities for creativity were vast. I would draw everyday – my friends, myself, characters and worlds I had built in my head, though much of the details of my fifth grade imagination are lost to me now. I had always loved drawing, as most children do, but it was in this creative environment that I began to see art as an instrument to how I wanted to live and explore my life.
Originally, my sights were set on becoming an animator. Movies like ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Tangled’ entranced me, and I wanted to join the artists and storytellers who had made these beloved movies. As I grew more in my art and storytelling, my ambitions changed, though the core of my want for creativity remained unchanged.
In high school I began to read comics, and I was always captivated by how a single drawing could capture so much of the movement, emotion, and intent in the characters. Coupled with a life-changing internship at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, with my mentor Jonathan Haupt, I explored different avenues and aspects of storytelling. Reading and speaking to Kalynn Bayron, author of ‘Cinderella is Dead’ and so many other amazing YA novels, changed my perspective on how stories could change and grow based on who was telling them.
Now, in college, I take both art and writing classes, diving deeper into color theory and prose to shape my art and writing. Some of my favorite classes, however, have been concerning the history of art. The intent – love, belief, betrayal – that is viewable hundreds, or even thousands, of years later, is more profound than I have ever been able to put into words. Though whatever I create is unlikely to last for eons, I strive to share the art that fuels me with others now.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think art has ever not faced challenges. We seem to be in a constant cycle of what art is good, or even appropriate, or not. Or even if art itself is acceptable (if you ask Tertullian from 2nd century Carthage). Literature in the United States is facing some of its harshest challenges, with thousands of book bans across the country, many of which are in South Carolina. It is disheartening to see so many books restricted and removed simply because they are representative of people like me. This backlash is part of why I write. Queer stories are so important to preserve and protect the community, to say that we are here, and always have been.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am primarily a painter and a fiction writer, but I like to pair that with saying that I am also a student. So much of my art right now is very personal as I improve it for myself. I think there is always so much pressure for your art to be public and well-recognized, but there is also value on the art you make for yourself. I am currently working on a project I hope to turn into a graphic novel within the next year or so, but I am in no worry to hurry and hope to put my best work out when I am ready to.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
There are three people that come to mind when I think of my biggest artistic supporters. My mentor, Jonathan Haupt, really opened me up to the literary world, both in what I can achieve and how to achieve it. My mom has always encouraged my art and takes pride that me – and all of my siblings – are artists. She helps me to believe that I can really base my life on my creativity. My best friend, Madelyn, is just my absolute biggest cheerleader. It is easy to feel less integral or intelligent when education is so STEM-based, but they are a constant, vocal, reminder of how important my art is as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: mbc_draws
