Artist-in-Residence
Amanda “Sunny“ Mills
May-June 2025
“Something I am really looking forward to during this residency is continuing to work on my project 'Altadena in Ashes', a tintype photo series that has been underway for a few weeks now. I want to bring these stories to light and offer a form of collective healing to my community through my art.”
-Sunny Mills, Firefly 2025 AiR
Artist Statement:
My current art practice is tintype photography, which is one of the first forms of photography, dating back to the 1860’s. My intention with this historic medium is to capture a modern world and tell its stories through an antique lens. There is something so special and unique about this medium that modern photography simply cannot capture. Before the fire, I had been working on a series that involved painting my own backdrops and collecting 3D elements to create a fantastic world around my subjects. I also shoot on location to capture my subjects in their natural and home environments. Due to this fire, I feel that there are so many stories out there needing to be told, and to capture this moment in time is incredibly important for those of us who were impacted by this devastating loss.
