MakeHers: Mimi Middlebrooks
The Mind Behind Mimi The Whale
For this next spotlight, I am delighted to share with you a one-of-a-kind kind of woman. She is as generous as she is creative, as sweet as she is sunny and I couldn’t help myself in taking a walk down memory lane. We met while making art and living in Italy, after all! An experience I would be amiss to not reflect upon below.
It also makes me smile to see she’s still rockin’ yellow on her travels.
Mimi Middlebrooks is one of those beacons of light you rarely come across. She truly only evokes kindness, compassion and creativity. The type of person that lovingly leaves an absence once they have moved on to the next thing. An aura-like warmth radiating from the touchstones she leaves behind. She also happened to be my roommate abroad! Even when I was seriously struggling on the inside, she always managed to welcome me with a big smile on her face and a warm hug and I sincerely wish I had taken her offer more than I had. If you’re ever lucky enough to come across this woman, she’s the real deal, you guys.
I am a proud owner of two of her pastels on wood panel (the most generous gift ever), all of my belongings are marked by her stickers and we have even collaborated on a canvas design that empowers women in environmental science at sea.
Take a dive inside the mind behind Mimi The Whale and a peek at the life of living in the hills of Tuscany.
“ I am an artist, experiential educator, outdoor enthusiast, trail runner, ocean swimmer, storyteller, and lover of people and all things wild. ”
When in Rome . . .
Preface:
Us four little babies in the early days of our time in Italy. The program began in Rome for a few days before setting off to Tuscany.
A warm glow of light finds its way through my sleepy eyes after managing a little bit of shut eye on a bench in Heathrow. Following an empty, midnight train out of London and a cab ride with two strangers, the sun began to rise over England.
A classic anecdote of the solo traveler.
Anecdotes of which, I am sure our next Spotlight can attest to and without a doubt out do.
With the last few months of my life packed and rolled, and a finely-tuned new outlook on life, I boarded a plane to Rome- excited to dive into yet another magical experience.
Several months before boarding that plane, I was inspired to move back to Europe after an overwhelmingly successful semester in London the fall before. Without really telling anyone, I took a leap and applied for a semester in Cortona, Italy through The University of Georgia. (You might recall the mention of this program in my post about Ellen!) I had just landed a job in London for the summer (and unknowingly signed myself to join a hippie commune of sorts) and decided to top things off with another lap under my belt. To my delight, I got in and set my sails for a semester of real life Under The Tuscan Sun.
Right before seeing The Pope speak at The Vatican
Chapter One:
Our story begins in a terra cotta clad realm many miles from where I sit now.
Many moons ago, in the beautiful ancient city of Rome . . .
Upon my arrival in Italy, the reality of hardly knowing a soul hit me. Even though I had been the “new kid” time and time again, it is always difficult for an introvert. This time was a little different. I hadn’t been home in a few months, had overcome a tremendous amount of adversity (that I kept to myself that needed deep healing) and carried a new chip on my shoulder. As a senior amongst a pool of juniors, my time in college felt a bit more fleeting, a bit more terrifying as the unknown was encroaching. My days of freedom and privilege as a twenty- one year old were numbered. I had also already done the abroad thing a couple of times.
I was going through a lot.
With tremendous luck, I soon learned that I had the opportunity to live with a sea of the most wonderful women I have ever had the chance to live with. When I was fourteen, I didn’t let my parents succumb me to the family tradition and send me off to a New England boarding school like they did and their parents before them. So, this was kind of my shot.
As a girl with five brothers, I would be spending the next few months living in a former convent with all women. Connecting over our loves of art, travel, comparing notes of fundamental differences between Yankees and Y’alls, we became a family. Truly.
In the early moments of our orientation in Rome, a particularly sunny gal I was sitting next to made all of my worries go away. Her name is Mimi. She was one of the very first chicks I got to click with and is a sweet little cherub of a human. This gorgeous Georgia Peach, like me, joined our program from her small liberal arts school in Tennessee- one that shared a lot of parallels with St. Lawrence. Better yet, she knew several of my favorite guys from her summers as a camp counselor in Maine. Game, Set, Match.
Our semester was a tangled dream of beautiful friendships, dance parties, Nutella gelato, drinking wine and making dinner with local cuties- even singing a tune or two. My childhood Spanish and French classes came in handy with picking up some Italian. We got to find ourselves all over the Tuscan countryside and pored ourselves into a highly rigorous curriculum. From diverse backgrounds, we brought our own ideas to both the dinner table and art history discussions, unpacking and evaluating Italy’s most treasured pieces of art from a variety of vantage points. A southern disposition of our group contributed more Bible workbooks in our dorm than the state of Vermont- an aspect that took a little getting used to, but was a welcome change of pace to understanding the keystones of these spirited ladies. I learned a great deal that semester, and even more reflecting on it long after I returned home.
This is What Dreams Are Made Of . . .
Some girls found love. Some of us had boyfriends back home. I found love and had a boyfriend back home. I unwisely decided to honor the latter… Some of us even had to go wake up a sleepy sister at her lover’s flat when the bus full of professors and students were waiting to leave for our weekly scheduled Saturday trips. A memory that still makes me giggle. She was a legend.
We all ate our way through Siena, Orvieto and Firenze. As Mimi would famously say, “Hasta La Pasta!” We stumbled along narrow streets of ochres and siennas, gushing over color palettes and the way the light hit a spot just so. On field trips, we got to see just about all of the works in our history books and learned about the masters behind the brush, chisel or quill.
A semester entirely centered around learning about the brightness of light that can come from the darkest times of history. That, and how to apply said neoclassical methodology to our own life’s work.
Mimi and I got to paint in a gorgeous chapel with some of our classmates and brilliant professor, developing our oil painting and critiquing techniques at the highest level.
It was not real life.
Ever since our teary goodbyes in Napoli, it has been a joy to see Mimi carry on her sense of wonder, adventure and creativity- her contribution of good to the world. She has found love, she finds herself in the most beautiful places and documents her life through color- specifically the color, blue!
Last year, we put our heads together to develop The Mimi The Whale canvas- a collaboration that still warms my heart greatly and also gives back! In fact, each canvas not only supports us both as artists, a large portion of profits are donated to Exxpedition, a team of all women sailors collecting and studying micro-plastics in the ocean and how they in turn affect our endocrine systems aka reproductive systems.
Mimi now lives with her partner, Jonas, in Boulder, CO and it has been a true joy to put this together to share with you!
Without further ado, meet Mimi!
Name: Mimi Middlebrooks
Company: No company, just making art & telling stories :)
How long you have been developing your creative outlets? 8 years! (or subconsciously for 25 yrs)
Your mission: To express myself. To inspire and encourage others to do the same.
What are seven things that make your life as an entrepreneur shine?
1. I hate being submitted to someone else’s schedule & love having my own time.
2. I feel that I have the power to do what I want with my life.
3. Freedom to travel.
4. I’m constantly pushed to be creative in my daily habits & constantly have to choose to believe in myself.
5. Opportunity to guide outdoor/adventure travel trips (my favorite job)
6. Slow mornings at home :)
7. And also early morning starts in the mountains :)
Visionary
What’s on your vision board? My vision board mostly revolves around photography and storytelling. I’m really inspired by abstract images of the human form paired with elements of nature.
Tangled Up In Blue
Do you have a signature color? If so what is it and how do you incorporate it into your life? Blue! Any and all shades of blue. I love the color so much. It shows up in all of my artwork but also in my home and wardrobe.(Collaborative piece between me and my partner. I paint shades of blue on all of our collaborations).
From what have you grown the most as an artist? The transition that happened after graduating from University taught me many lessons as an artist. No one was there to give me deadlines and hold me accountable to produce work. I’m still struggling with that freedom 4 years later, to be honest. But have worked really hard to continue my craft even when it’s really challenging.
Who is your dream client? Dream project? My dream client is any human being with a good story to tell. My dream project is a collection of stories from women all over the world illuminating the importance of sisterhood.
What is your favorite piece to date? My favorite piece is actually a self-portrait titled Metamorphosis that I painted as my final piece while studying abroad in Italy (shoutout to my roomie!!!). This painting marked a huge transition in my self-identity and it’s really powerful for me to look back and see the meaning that this piece holds, which I was greatly unaware of at the time of painting it.
(Metamorphosis, 2014, oil)
How does your craft soothe you? How does it fire you up? It’s the one place (besides when I’m outside moving my body) that I can enter a genuine flow state. Doing my craft helps me to connect with an authentic and deeper self and gives me a sense of true belonging. It empowers me to be me!
Do you work with any other mediums to unwind from your primary medium? Photography and writing are my favorite ways to take a break from painting.
How do you seek inspiration? I spend as much time as possible outdoors. It’s where I can go to be centered and re-energized. And time in nature always inspires me to create. Also time spent with other humans and traveling always inspires me.
How do you stay grounded? Trail running is my go-to method for staying grounding and being present where my feet are.
If you could save one aspect of the world, what would it be? Can I please just save the whole world? Hmm if I could just save one aspect, I would most likely solve climate change. Because then we would have a happy Earth and hopefully happy and healthy humans & other living beings.
Who do you admire and why? I admire my best friend Katie Bricmont. She follows her own arrow and inspires me to do the same. She’s also taught me so much about the necessity of sisterhood as a woman.
(Me and my bff Katie running a half marathon on Maui)
What inspired you to take the leap? Life is too short and too precious to allow anyone else to tell you how to live it. And that’s a truth that’s just always been inherent to me. I always knew that I would choose what I want to do versus what society tells me I should do. I’m proud to have 40 stamps in my passport by the age of 25 and no money in my bank account!
“pursuing the things that make me come alive (no matter how crazy)”
Where do you turn for support? Community. My partner, my friends, and my mom. Having community, whether they’re nearby or across the world, is my biggest support system.
(Jonas, my biggest supporter)
What messages do you hope to evoke to your audience? That we all have a story to tell. It’s important and vital to your health to share your story. And every story is worth listening to.
What does success look like to you? Success looks like tired legs from climbing a 14-er with my best friends, not being able to communicate in a foreign country and allowing human connection to be greater than a language barrier, that cozy feeling you get when you get to drink a cup of coffee on your own couch (and then you have enough time for a second cup), practicing healthy communication and openness within all of my relationships, knowing when I need to let my body sleep in later even if it means I miss a training day, and pursuing the things that make me come alive (no matter how crazy).
What sacrifices have you had to make your dreams come true? I think stability has been the biggest sacrifice. I’ve moved just about every season, and live contract to contract and paycheck to paycheck. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything because it’s given me so much life.
What are you most proud of? Choosing to chase after the things that I genuinely enjoy doing and not settling for anything less!
What is your favorite type of cuisine and why? Japanese food because its tasty and good for my body. Sushi & sake all day please.
Where are you dreaming of traveling to next? Nepal (insert heart eyes here)! I’m dying to trek in the Himalayas and do a yoga retreat and eat all the momo soup.
“Tanzania is one of the most inspiring places I’ve ever been. Mostly because of the people I met there. ”
Is there any one place (or few) that inspire you most? Tanzania is one of the most inspiring places I’ve ever been. Mostly because of the people I met there. They exude love in a way that I’ve never experienced before and taught me that love has no borders. I am also very fond of the Pyrenees Mountains on the border of France and Spain. I could holiday there every year for the rest of my life and be so happy. (Me and Amani in Tanzania)
“It would be a small cabin at high elevation overlooking a cold stream and a grove of aspen trees. It would have big open windows with all white walls, handmade furniture and a wood burning stove. ”
Where would your dream studio be? What would it look like? It would be a small cabin at high elevation overlooking a cold stream and a grove of aspen trees. It would have big open windows with all white walls, handmade furniture and a wood burning stove.
What are your thoughts regarding luck? I think luck comes and goes. It comes when we’re vibrating at a positive and high frequency (or sometimes when the universe knows that we need it most). And it goes when we’re functioning at a low and negative frequency.
Favorite vice? Any sort of Mexican lager with a lime. Or mass amounts of dark chocolate.
What brings the most light to your life? The amazing friends that I choose to fill me up daily. My life would have a lot less light without other humans in it.
If you had to wear two colors for the rest of your life, what would they be? Turquoise and grayish blue.
Are you a night owl or an early bird? I’ve been a night owl my whole life but recently transitioning into more of an early bird. I blame my access to the outdoors in Colorado for that one.
When is your witching hour? It used to be 11pm when my black magic was most effective. But lately I’ve been more of an 8-9pm witch.
