Today we’d like to introduce you to Mimi Kline.
Hi mimi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved to work with my hands. My mom taught me to knit at a very young age, and that began my interest in arts and crafts. I always wanted to go to art school, but that wasn’t going to support me so I went in a different direction.
I started taking watercolor classes about 20 years ago, and that really began my interest in painting. We moved from Ohio to North Carolina, and I started taking oil painting classes and jumped in with both feet for several years. Six years ago we moved to Greenville SC and I began to explore acrylic and mixed media mostly collage.
A little over a year ago I took several pottery classes, and now have once again found a new source of creativity. Working with clay for me is like painting, but using a different surface.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been smooth for sure. I really never had the support at home to pursue art. I needed to choose a course for a “career”, which really never worked out for me. I got married, had two children and stayed home to raise them. It wasn’t until that point when they were young that I took up creating again starting with watercolors. I sold enough to pay for classes and supplies so that kept going. I have a very supportive and encouraging husband who stood by me all the way.
I have two amazing and wonderful grandchildren who love to create with me!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love painting with oils and acrylics. I paint with acrylics more now because they dry quickly and you can layer them more that you can with oils although I do love the texture and the way that oils mix but they are very long drying. I paint mostly still lives and florals, always trying to get looser and more fun and creative instead of being so true to the subject. I also love to paint animals, I spent several weeks in Africa, and was so inspired by the landscape, the colors and of course all the wildlife.
My new obsession now though is clay. I enjoy spring the clay and then painting on it or doing a process call sgraffito which is when you paint and underglaze on a piece and carve a drawing or design into it.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in a large family, and I was the typical middle child of five. The one usually unseen, but that was fine with me because I pretty much did what I wanted too and no one would notice! We lived more or less in the country and we had the freedom to roam and be with our friends any time.
I really never did like school much, but I was very social and always knew what was going on outside of the classroom.
I always like to have fun and still always do. I pretty much live my life one day at a time, and it better be a good one!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mimikline.com
- Instagram: @mimiklineart
