About Mindi

Hello! Welcome to my new website! It is still under construction with more great content and information to come, but do feel free to buy stuff now ;) Message me if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!

I'm Mindi K. Bagnall, owner and featured artist at MKB Art Studio. I live and work in the historic Vine Neighborhood in beautiful Kalamazoo, Michigan. I'm originally from White Pigeon, Michigan, and have also lived in San Diego, California and York, Pennsylvania.

I have two amazing daughters that I raised mostly by myself. I love them to the ends of the Earth. Of all that I have made in my life, or of my life, nothing compares to them. They are my greatest contribution to the Human Project so it should be no surprise that you will see them in many of my paintings and drawings!

After high school I studied art at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and then I melted down spectacularly by the end of my sophomore year. At that point I dropped out, won some money in the lottery, packed up my little blue Chevy Chevette and drove it to San Diego. That's where I met and married Mr. Bagnall. In 1992 we moved to York to be near his family. There we had our two babies, got the house, etc., (the picket fence was implied) and then our marriage melted down spectacularly by the end of the century.

Me and my babies landed in my parent's house in the fall of 2000 where I began to rebuild my life and learn to navigate single parenthood. In 2001 I went back to WMU to finish my BFA, stayed for an MFA, then stayed for twelve more years managing the galleries at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts and curating the University Art Collection.

Working in the galleries allowed me to provide for my daughters and to learn the exhibitions game while working with top national and international artists and gallerists. I will always be grateful for that experience since the skills I learned there help to inform where I go from here. As well, we lived through the girls' intrepid high school years more easily because we had that stability, not to mention being able to help them get their college degrees! Stephany graduated from WMU's stellar Graphic Design program in 2017, and Sydney graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and an Art Minor in 2019.

Finally in November 2019, with single parent stressors receding, I took early retirement from WMU to pursue my art practice full time. It is a dream that I have nurtured and pursued for all of my adult life. Of course then 2020 happened haha