5 questions with zine creator Teresa Fiehn Millies
Zine creator Teresa Fiehn Millies, of Aurora.
Teresa Fiehn Millies first came onto our radar when she submitted beautifully understated photography for the print issue of Downtown Auroran Magazine. Then she started selling her crocheted creations at Alley Art Festival, and she was part of The ArtBar crew. Now, Millies is releasing her first handmade zine, Third Arcana. Here are five questions with the zine creator.
Q: Tell me about your new zine, Third Arcana. How did it come about? And what does Third Arcana mean?
A: I’ve always thought of myself as a writer more than anything. My life goal is to be an author. THEN I’ll be an artist! But I’ve done absolutely nothing to make that happen. Instead, I picked up my second love, hand work. I love it, but it’s really just beating around the bush. I love embroidery and quilts and crochet, but I know now it wasn’t/isn’t the core of what I wanted to create. Deep down I want to make something more real and less kitschy. About equality and against sexism and for pop culture as a medium in itself. And I want to be pretty loud about it. I realized all of that this last summer on an herbal retreat while screaming/roaring at a lake. Then in November, I was a panelist for a podcast run by a woman who gives business advice based on your star chart. Mine said I needed to create a community and basically stop acting like I’m doing what I want or that I don’t have a ton to say. It’s a zine because its meant to be very accessible and free and analog, similar to what I love about hand work. I created, printed, and folded all 180 pieces of paper myself. I already knew I was surrounded by a wealth of talent, but I didn’t have a way to show off my friends and all their knowledge until I found pink paper at the thrift. That’s when it was really born. It was complete 24 hours later. As for the name, three is a magic number. It’s the number I see most and I’ve always felt connected to it. Arcana means strange and hidden. It’s also the two types of tarot cards, the major and the minor. I love to name things.
Q: It seems like tarot cards are super popular right now. Explain! What do we need to know about them?
A: Tarot is super popular right now because it was underground just long enough. Half of the people I know that read have had their first deck for 20 years. The mid 90s is when all the occult vampire goth stuff was a big deal for lots of us when we were kids/teenagers. Now, it’s legitimized and it’s not scary. It’s a tool. People want a simple way to understand themselves. A simple way to be guided. You’re having a weird day, pull a card. That card WILL mirror how you feel or help you navigate how you feel. People find meaning in so many things. Cards are an accessable and beautiful way to find some meaning in mundane. I use them to help me focus my energy and make decisions. I use them in readings to help people I don’t know think about what they need and want in their lives. Most of the time people cry, because we don’t sit down and think about our needs or motivations. Self reflection is a very powerful thing.
Q: What inspires or guides you?
A: Colors, numbers, geometry, synchronicity, and whatever it is that moves us to make stuff. Stuff I’ve never seen before, using techniques with needles and thread or a sewing machine that isn’t exactly how it should be used. Cause I just want to figure it out. The zine and the event is about using people and yourself as the medium to make something new and figure something out. For me, I’m quick to agree to things that sound grand and wonderful. Then when it comes time, nothing in me wants to do it, or plan it, or finish it. Whether it is procrastination or doubt or just being afraid to go ALL OUT. That moment when you do something that scares you. When you break through that fear ceiling. When you’ve thought, oh, I could never do that, but then you do! That’s the best feeling in the world. I pride myself in doing the things I thought I never could. I want to push other people to be authentic and not be afraid of themselves.Q: What are you hoping to spread in your lifetime?ÂA: Authenticity. I just want every one to be comfortable being themselves. Who are you when you are your best shiny self? Why can’t we be that all the time? What prevents it? How can we change that? Let your weirdo flag fly and be loud so that the people in the back can see it and know they aren’t alone.
Q: Why Aurora? Why now?Â
A: Aurora, because the energy and the potential. Because it’s home. Because there are so many people figuring themselves out and I want in on it. The energy is ripe with so many smart, creative, fun people. I want them all to be willing to let me put their nerdiness on blast, in my zine and as part of the experience. Why now? Because of the threes.
Millies is hosting the Third Arcana Experience at Zen Loft Wellness Center, 6 W. Downer Pl., on Friday, Jan. 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Find Millies on Instagram at queen.of.marigold.
I love Teresa, her creative spirit and her desire to help others…both life’s sisters and brothers! #gogirlgo