The artist recently had a baby with her husband and that created many more topics for her to write about. She creates comics about the struggles of pregnancy and how difficult it gets, what it's like to be a parent and raise a baby, while still making silly and simple illustrations.
The artist spoke to Bored Panda: "The main goal of my comics/illustrations are to make people laugh and lend some levity to the world, and sometimes I even try to make people think. I'm not sorry about it!"
Kristen shares how she got into art in the first place: "I've been drawing since I could pick up a crayon. It's the first thing someone told me I was good at, probably my parents. Even as a toddler, it went straight to my head and I haven't stopped since.
Kristen has a very specific sense of humor—in her Instagram bio, she writes: "My comics r funny if ur drunk enough." The artist makes comics with silly twists or ones that are weirdly relatable, like how you immediately trust people who have dogs or how putting ketchup on pasta is a crime against food.
"The hardest part is preventing burnout to continue producing them. I have managed to curb that by exploring different types of humor, angles, facial expressions, etc." Said the artist when asked what difficulties she faces while creating art.
Kristen also touches upon themes like feminism. She does so in a very silly and fun way, like a man telling a werewolf-girl that she should shave because "men don't like hairy women" or someone telling a woman to smile and she sucks his blood out because she's a vampire. I'm sure every woman has heard something like that before and finds it relatable, but Kristen finds a way to illustrate those topics in her comics in a fresh way.
"My main themes/topics in my comics are relatable everyday scenarios like relationships, health, etc, parody/sardonic comics about social or political ideology, and absurd ones where I flip the script in some way. I don't like to tie myself down on one style as an artist, but my Ah, Mince! Comic style is cartoony with special attention to facial expressions and flailing limbs."
"I started this comic in 2015 to curb my depression. Can I say that? Haha. I have always used humor to help me through my life so I began drawing for fun, took a year break, then started more seriously making once I had developed some skills and was no longer depressed in 2017. I'll continue making Ah, Mince! comics until it no longer feels right to me. I have a big mouth and lots to say, so my comics are how I put those ideas and feelings out into the world in a digestible way. For as long as I have strong opinions and feelings, I continue to feel inspired."
Kirsten advises other artists out there: "I'd have different advice for different reasons to create art. If you just want to create art, my advice would be to start immediately. Draw what compels you. Don't worry about it. Art can be very therapeutic.
For more professional advice: be willing to put many hours in and not stop with the fundamentals, have concrete career goals, and not be afraid to fail. Failure is key to success long term, as scary as it may be."
The artist tells us some crazy facts about her life: "Hoo boy, there's a lot I could say. I was adopted, grew up in a cult, lived in three countries, traveled to many places I between, and my newest adventure is motherhood. I don't want to sound pretentious but I'd say I've lived a very odd life thus far. It has been stressful and I think that's where my sense of humor formed as a coping mechanism, but it has also been enriched by these experiences by teaching me more than I could I learned staying stagnant in one place, and one comfortable lifestyle. The more you see, the more people's stories you hear, the bigger your world opens up."
"I'd just like to say thank you for having me, I hope I can make your readers "heh" a few times and maybe even minutely improve their day".
What do you think of these comics? Do you relate to them, or not so much? Tell us in the comments down below and don't forget to upvote the ones you like! Also, please go follow Kristen on her social media if you like what she does and support her on her artistic journey. You can also find how the story of her dating life continues on her Instagram!
