Mimi was born in Dayton, Ohio. She received her BFA from Wright State University in 1986 with a major in photography and printmaking. She spent many years as a commercial photographer and graphic designer in Cincinnati and New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
In 1999 Mimi published her first book, Creator- From Religious to Spiritual, a biographical journey from her Catholic upbringing to an understanding of what it really means to seek God. Two more books, Who Set My Life on Self-Destruct (2000) and City of Light (2006) have been published by Mimi. A science fiction trilogy, Dogs of Orion will be available soon. In 2006, both Creator and Who Set My Life on Self-Destruct were combined into a textbook for an all-girls Catholic college in Ohio, and is available by contacting the Chatfield College bookstore.
In 2005 Mimi started the Radiant Writer Publishing Company. This business provides a service for first-time writers and artists to assist in the printing and publishing of their work.
Mimi’s award-winning oil paintings and photographs have been displayed in many galleries throughout Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia. Her prophetic paintings parallel her full surrender to the will of God and are her interpretation of the images given to her by the Father.
Mimi is 2008 President of the Blue Ridge Mountain Art Guild, and writes and paints from her studio in Hiawassee, Georgia.

Dear Reader,
I feel I should ramble a little about who I am as a person. It is hard to talk about yourself if you are me. I know you’re not me, and you’re not psychic I suppose, so I’ll do my best at not being too grandiose or oblique. First and foremost, I have a wonderful husband and his name is Jay. We have been married for ten years now. Every year just gets better and better. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. (for details about our unusual marriage read CREATOR, from Religious to Spiritual: chapter 12)


I also have two sons and two grandsons. Being a grandma is the greatest. All grandmas everywhere know what I mean. It is hard to describe the joy that comes from knowing your children’s children. Both my sons are bright and intelligent. The grand babies are as well, just cute balls of energy.

I have no pets of my own but I live in the middle of two national forests. One is Cherokee and the other is Swallows Creek Nature Reserve. We are surrounded by wildlife and I consider them all my pets. Although I do not actually pet the bears and panthers that pop in and out, I just try not to interfere with their life style. We have a great many birds and deer. Also some neighbor dogs and cats visit when I am in the garden or greenhouse. My studio is next to the garden and I often get visits when I am working.

When I paint I get visits from all kinds of interesting wasps and bees. I think they are attracted to the strong smell of oil paint and mineral spirits. Speaking of spirits, I will sometimes see out of the corner of my eye Indians walking to the brook in front of my house. They look like you might expect and seem oblivious to me or the stuff in my yard. Jay says he sees them also walking down the road in front of the house. On that note, I have to say that our land is spiritually quiet as far as evil kinds of spirits. We will sometimes see flashes of lights flying here and there and some orbs on occasion. But generally it’s peaceful around here.

We have only lived here two years now and we love it. We have not even hooked up a TV since we have arrived! I had a nice size house in an Ohio suburb three times bigger than this one. When we decided to move we sold or gave away almost everything. I kept the painting supplies, equipment and other creative tools and I  focused on two basic things- painting and writing. I had to give up such things as wine making and big kitchen cooking.

We had a goal to simplifying our life so we can here from God better. It has worked well. We have matured in spiritual ways at a rapid pace. I’m studying dream interpretation under John Paul Jackson and am doing very well. Jay has learned how to have peace and joy in everyday experiences. I know it may not seem like much, but stress was killing him. The pressure to perform in a presser cooker world like Columbus, Ohio seemed like a no-win situation. He is so much happier now and I really enjoy him being so happy.

I have been researching my physical DNA as well as my spiritual DNA. I can see a great many connections in the arenas of my talents and abilities. Finding that my great-great-grandmother was born in Ireland, I have a long line of Roman Catholic spiritualism. My grandmother passed her gifts to my mother who uses them more effectively than her mother. Grandma Pumpkin was somewhat afraid of spiritualism and became superstitious as was common in those days. My mother is a healer, as well as my sister and I. My mother will knock people out in the spirit while in church after mass. Many have been healed with her touch and seek out her prayers.

It is difficult to trace my Irish roots because of destroyed records. Here is a quote from http://www.ireland.com/ancestor/browse/records/land/dest.htm that explains why:

History of Irish Records:
"Records of many kinds have been kept in Ireland since the Middle Ages. Unfortunately fire; carelessness and theft have caused the loss and destruction of much of this material.

Many records of the Court of Chancery were lost by fire in 1304. In the mid 1530s, records maintained in Dublin Castle became so subject to pilfering that they were moved to the more secure Birmingham Tower, which then became the main repository of Irish records; unfortunately it burned down in 1758 with the loss of many documents. Other records had already been lost in 1711 when another fire, this time in the Customs House, destroyed books belonging to the Surveyor General.

The creation of the Commission of Public Records in 1810 made provision for the systematic collation and archiving of national records. The Public Record Office was opened in 1867 and from then until around 1922, the Office was the centre for the collection and cataloguing of national records. Unfortunately, this building suffered devastating damage during the Civil War in 1922 and many records were destroyed, in particular the nineteenth century census returns, Church of Ireland parish records and the enormous collection of original wills. In the years following this loss, great efforts were made to unearth substitutes and many of the gaps can now be filled through the use of secondary material collections - partial transcripts or abstracts, researchers' notes, census substitutes etc. In 1988, the Public Record Office was amalgamated with the State Paper Office and renamed the National Archives of Ireland. In 1992, it moved from its old home in the grounds of the Four Courts to new custom-built premises in Bishop Street."

One further factor also needs to be borne in mind by any genealogical researcher: Northern Ireland was established in 1921 and the Irish Free State in 1922. Some of the records concerning the six counties, which were previously held in Dublin, were moved to the North - so a researcher may have to follow such records, although copies of most of the records moved can still be found in Dublin. Some anomalies do still exist, such as the fact that the Census Records covering the six counties for 1911 are still covered by the 100 year rule North of the border but these census records including the six counties are freely available in the South.

My father, a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, Is more of a "follow the rules" kind of guy. He has had a hard time trying to understand the spiritual manifestation kind of stuff, but we are working to soften up the rough edges, and we have made great progress. Pop and I struggled in my growing up years with this different point of view while neither of us understood what was going on. I think we have an understanding now after 20 years of prayer and patience. We now have a happy and healthy relationship, which gives me peace and resolve. (For more about this read WHO SET MY LIFE ON SELF-DESTRUCT.)

My artistic talent comes from my father’s father’s mother (who was Lefevre).
She was French and came from an artistic background. As well as the Stumps line, which is Dutch, in the 1600’s. My mother’s father DeVol ( French) and was talented in pottery. He was one of the founders of Zanesville Pottery, in Zanesville, Ohio. He was the glaze designer and a descendent of the famous Stephen and Wing DeVol of the late 1700’s. Dam O DeVol was a revolutionary war captain who was among the 48 pioneers arriving at the present site of Marietta Ohio, April 7,1788. He was a war hero, shipbuilder, inventor, scientist, master mechanic, and poet. There are rumors of pirates out of New Orleans on my mom’s side, and Shawnee Indians on my dad’s. All-in-all I’m an American mutt and I’m proud of my rich heritage.


Why do I paint? There is a place where time does not exist, and you can lose all sense of self. When everything around you vanishes, you hear no sounds, you see no movement, and you are unaware of space around you. Its a place where what your eye sees and what your hand does, become one, moving in perfect sync. Everything is working, everything is right, your senses are keen, you have stopped thinking and your emotions understand your spirit. You have indeed fallen in love with painting. You have fallen in love with creation. And then realize for the first time that creativity is an expression of love, and pure creativity is pure love. And that is pure God.


May all who have read this receive blessing from the Father Creator. May you all prosper, have peace, and a rich family life. Mimi Hitselberger