Interview: Gremory

Today we’re joined by Gremory. Gremory is a phenomenal visual artist from Scotland who brings their ace pride with them wherever they go. An incredibly creative individual, most of Gremory’s work is original characters though they do occasionally dabble in fanart. Some of their pieces are rather dark, but they definitely have their own style, which is quite interesting. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I do a lot of writing so my art is practically all original characters though I do fanart from time to time. I used to be traditional mediums only, using ink pens, alcohol markers, white inks, etc but now my work is almost exclusively digital. I use an Ugee 1910B drawing tablet (19 inches) and recently my work has all been done using Krita. Recently I’ve been exhibiting and selling at artist alleys, notably Glasgow’s Rai Con which I’ll be returning to in October. My table banner uses the ace flag and I use my little catboy Ahceria (Ace-ehrea) as my mascot!

What inspires you?

Two things: people and the paranormal. My work is either perfectly normal people living perfectly normal lives or it’s demons, vampires and faeries. There’s no middle ground with me. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Black Eyed Kids, demonolatry, UFOs and the Missing 411 series and I’ve been combining elements from all for a new novel.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

As far as I can remember, I’ve always been drawing characters. I was inspired by shows like Sailor Moon, Monster Rancher, Dragonball Z, etc when I was a kid – I’d come home from school and sit in front of the TV like a little zombie, devouring the shows. As I grew up, I never got away from the whole “character creation” thing. All of my problems would be projected onto new and interesting people that were born in my mind – I use art as a therapist. Recently however, I’ve realised that as an exhibiting artist doing the rounds at conventions, I have a voice and I can use it to promote LGBTQA awareness and issues. I’ve also become very vocal about my pro-Scottish independence, anti-war and anti-racist stances. My moral and politics issues are often translated more into my writing than my art though – I’d say my art is my LGBTQA space and my writing is my human issues space.

A really life-affirming moment for me was at Rai Con in Glasgow, March 2016. A young girl, maybe 13 or 14 approached my table with her mum and they began flicking through my portfolio. When they reached my “I AM NOT INVISIBLE” ace pride print, the mum nudged her daughter and said “honey, isn’t this what you are? Asexual? And you’re not invisible either!” That touched me so much, to see someone taking an asexual youngster seriously instead of the usual “it’s just a phase” or “you’ll find someone” stuff that we so often hear. That was the moment that I realised I had a platform to help other aces feel comfortable and raise awareness. I’m planning a series of characters for each pride flag with the hopes that the series will open conversations at conventions and I can discuss these people and issues with my fans.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Recently my theme has been either dropping hints to my characters’ sexualities or occult symbolism. I guess you could say my excessive use of blood is a theme, haha. Not all of my work is dark but I feel much more comfortable when I’m working with my vampires or demon characters.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Don’t ever question yourself. Do you create? Yes? Then you’re an artist. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you’re not good enough or that your style isn’t art. As soon as you breathe life into a new thing, whether it’s a character or a photograph, a song or a painting, you’re an artist. You’re a creator. You have a voice and you matter.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m a panromantic asexual.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Not as an artist or on my social media presence but in my personal life, quite a lot, actually. It’s mostly been in my work place. I work in a department store as an arts and crafts assistant. I actually had a conversation take place about who in the workplace we’d sleep with – when I was asked, someone interjected with “Don’t bother asking her – this is adult talk”, implying that I’m not developed or mature enough to understand the topic. I laughed but inside, I was deeply offended by the implication. I’ve been called broken, told by a couple of people online on my personal Facebook that they would “fix me” and I always get called out for being in a relationship, because apparently love is something reserved only for non-aces. I handle it by ignoring it. I know that sounds counter-productive to my promotion of asexual awareness but some people just don’t want to be educated and you can’t get through to them. I promote, I don’t preach. To those people I say, I don’t need your acceptance.

Dean Adams

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That asexual means unhappy. That you can’t be happy without sex. That you’re not allowed romantic (or sexual) relationships because you label yourself ace. Here’s the thing – aces CAN and do have sex. Not all, but some of us, and no one has any right to judge them for it. It’s just not something we’re interested in. We’d rather have cake (or pizza for me, please!)

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Be honest with yourself and those you’re closest to and trust. My current relationship (which is also the most positive, honest one I’ve had) is the only one where I’ve been open about my asexuality and I’ve been able to have discussions and we’ve both compromised. You’re not broken. You don’t need to be fixed. Trust me, you’re not alone. Even if you can’t talk to your friends or family, you can talk to me and other aces. My inbox is always open for anyone who wants to talk or needs reassurance.

Pluto

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I’m active on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gremdawg) and I’m always open to banter and chat and making friends. I also have a DeviantArt, Pixiv, Twitter and Patreon. You can buy prints of my work on Etsy and Merchandace.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3026710&ty=h
https://twitter.com/gremmu_art
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Gremmu
http://merchandace.com/item/i-am-not-invisible-art-print/
http://gremdawg.deviantart.com/
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=17554546

Saffy

Thank you, Gremory, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Sam

Today we’re joined by Sam. Sam is a phenomenal digital artist who works with a variety of different media. They use both traditional and digital media and a lot of their inspiration comes from their love of webcomics. Sam’s work demonstrates a remarkable skill and vivid imagination. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

Most of my art is a combination of traditional and digital. I draw and ink by hand, and then color on my computer. I also sometimes use colored pencils or markers, and lately I’ve been practicing with gouache, which is a type of opaque watercolor paint. I’m not very good with paint yet, but I’m getting better!

I mostly draw my own characters, the majority of which are from a comic I’m currently working on. On occasion, I’ll draw little bits of fan art when it crosses my mind, but not as often. I’ve been branching out a bit lately, trying some more world-building type art, and art with clearer settings/backgrounds.

What inspires you?

I read a fair assortment of webcomics that I love and that are good inspirations. Three of the biggest inspirations for me, comic-wise, would be Paranatural, The Glass Scientists, and Harpy Gee. Some cartoons/animated movies with nice art styles inspire me, as do some games. I like Legend of Zelda and Pokemon a lot, and draw stuff from them sometimes. Some books make me want to draw too! The main one I think would be the How to Train Your Dragon books.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve been drawing for a very long time! I drew a lot when I was very little, and just kept doing it and improving myself. It was a nice way to control stress and boredom, and it just makes me happy.

I got interested in comics because I love the idea of visual story telling, and I saw how happy different webcomics I read made people, and I wanted to make something like that. I hope my art makes people happy.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Not particularly. I’ve tried a couple of times to do something like that, but I’d only do once or twice, and then forget.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

If you want to draw, or wish you could draw better, you can! Lots of people I talk to say all they can draw is stick figures or something like that; when I first started drawing, that’s all I did. Stick figures!

You can draw, it just takes practice. You’ve gotta do it a lot. Doodle on the bus, or the margins of your notes in class, or on your napkin while waiting for your food.

If you draw something and it doesn’t look very good to you, that’s no reason to stop. It’s why you should try again, and try to make it better the next time. Please don’t compare your art to someone else’s. That won’t help at all. However, you can try looking back at your old art and see how much you’ve improved.

You’ll always be changing and improving.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m aro/ace!  I’m also panplatonic

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Eh, not so much, but that’s mostly because I’m not out nor have I mentioned it ‘in real life’. Although, my family is of the mindset that you have to get married and make a family to be successful, even though none of them know asexuality actually exists.

There’s the ‘you just haven’t found the right person yet’, or ‘you’ll change your mind one day’ floating around also.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That being ace makes you more ‘pure’ or ‘innocent’. That ace people cannot have sex/don’t have sex ever. Stuff like that. Asexual doesn’t necessarily mean sex-repulsed.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

If you think you’re ace, that’s okay and normal! If you’re not sure you’re ‘ace enough’, remember, it’s a spectrum! If you’re ace, you’re ace; you’re on the spectrum somewhere.

And don’t feel like if you’re ace now, you ‘have’ to be ace forever. It’s okay to grow and change. Maybe twenty years from now you’ll decide you’re bisexual, et cetera, or maybe you’ll still be asexual. Both are good and okay, and whatever happens in the future doesn’t change what you are right now.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

You can find my stuff lots of places!

I have an OC blog which is where most of my art is: http://halfwaytown.tumblr.com

A more ‘normal’ art blog (aka, not just my characters): http://licantaur.tumblr.com

A DeviantArt: http://licantaur.deviantart.com

And a webcomic! : http://forgottenpassages.smackjeeves.com

Although, the comic still being worked on and no pages are up yet. When it updates, there will be an announcement on the above listed locations.

I also have an ask blog for the How to Train Your Dragon Books: http://askhiccupandcompany.tumblr.com

Thank you, Sam, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: O.G.

Today we’re joined by O.G., who is an incredibly skilled digital artist. He occasionally dabbles in fanart, but mostly focuses on drawing his own original characters. Many of the pictures he sent along demonstrate an incredible eye and the characters are quite expressive, as you’ll soon see. My thanks to him for taking the time to participate in this interview.

16 Bit Bro

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m mostly a self-taught artist and I’ve been drawing for about 12 or so years. I draw mostly character designs for myself and others. They’re for stories I have planned that I want to bring to life someday through art! I also enjoy drawing fanart too, as appreciation to some of my favorite fandoms out there. But my main thing is I kinda have a thing about drawing guys with muscles. They’re just so fun~

What inspires you?

A lot of my favorite artists inspire me to improve and better my style to something that I’ll be comfortable with and hopefully, one that people will enjoy as well!

Antony

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I was a wee lad, about 10 years old, when I first picked up That One “How to Draw Manga” book that makes rounds online sometimes. Sure it was bad but like it’s what sparked something in me that inspired me to wanna draw as well. As for wanting to be an artist, I never considered it before and even now I don’t plan on pursuing it professionally, but I do intend on doing it as a hobby.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in our work that you’d be willing to reveal?

I have a signature that I add to most of my works (usually a small “O.G.” written somewhere)

Busts

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Just keep on truckin’. There are times where I have felt I wasn’t good enough or that my art was bad. I’ve been tempted to just quit many times but my stubbornness hasn’t let me. You will get over your art block. You will improve your style. Hopefully you will even find your style that you can call your own!  But most importantly, remember to have fun and enjoy what you do.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m aroace.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Sort of. Mostly just ignorance from people who didn’t really understand the concept or felt that something like lack of sexual attraction should have its own label. I am known to be quite the loudmouth ace so I will step in and try and educate those who are willing. Those who aren’t I realize it’s not worth the energy to argue so I ignore them.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That the asexuality means I can’t enjoy reading H mangas from time to time. Not that they get me off or anything but it’s just kind of a way I spend the time and oddly enough, get a chance to look at how the anatomy (or lack of) is drawn (lol).

Tofu All Cuffed Up

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

It’s alright to feel a bit confused because being asexual is an almost unheard of orientation. But don’t feel that it makes you any less human nor is it any less legit as any other orientation. The human experience is not limited to being attracted to people sexually. And if anyone is in need of talking about it, consider me your go-to Ace Uncle.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I have my works posted on Tumblr, Pixiv, Deviantart, and I will sometimes post WIPs on my Twitter.

Vamp

Thank you, O.G., for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Alison

Today we’re joined by Alison. Alison is another amazingly versatile artist who does a little bit of everything: sculpting, painting, animation, cake decorating. Her work is spectacular and she has such a wonderful enthusiasm for her work. She’s currently working on a game for her senior project. It’s obvious that this artist has a very bright future ahead of her. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I do a stupid variety of stuff – painting, sculpture, 3D modeling and animation, drawing, jewelry making, decorating fancy cakes, etc.

I usually just make whatever I’m in the mood for, but I’m looking to get more into sewing so I can fill my dorm with little stuffed foods. I also make cosplay stuff for people sometimes, but I’m really too cheap to make it for myself with any frequency – that stuff is expensive!

Recently, my time’s been taken up by making Mirrors of Grimaldi, a game for my senior project (semi-shameful plug: we’re actually looking for play testers now, if you have at least 2 Xbox controllers, you can download our alpha build here: http://51standfire.com/play-now/)

What inspires you?

I draw inspiration from the things other people have done as well as nature and the random stuff around me. In my most recent batch of paintings, I’ve taken an interest in the screenshots I perpetually take of my boyfriend and his cats while we Skype – they’re quite funny.

(see below paintings 1-2 for examples of screenshots turned into paintings; fun fact: they’re the same guy in both paintings…)

I also do a bit of writing, which often involves ace characters. In the coming weeks I’m actually going to be writing a series of short pieces about asexual experiences in relationships (both commonly encountered and personal) and the miscommunications and misconceptions that often arise. I’ll be posting about that later on my blog if anyone is interested…

Mostly though, I just kind of do whatever I’m in the mood for whenever I start doing something, though I often times have kind of a morbid flair to my stuff

(see below cakes 1-2 for example of morbid cakes)

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve been into crafting ever since I was little – my mom and granny are both pretty crafty and my dad was pretty into woodwork for a while. Presently I’m studying 3D Animation (until I graduate and am released into the real world in a few months – a truly terrifying thought) but have realized I want to take my “career-art” into a more game-based direction. For my hobby art I prefer the more traditional mediums like paint or charcoal… usually just whatever I’m in the mood for when I reach for my art supplies.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Not that I can think of. Sometimes I’ll put little spades in my stuff, but that’s usually in my personal stuff or blatantly ace-related artwork. The stuff I make to sell I usually put any signature marks into except my actual signatures.

Though, like I said before, I do have a tendency to make my stuff kind of morbid or unsettling sometimes. I don’t really know why, but it’s satisfying to hear people go “eww” or “wow that’s weird” when they look at my stuff.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Find the type of art you enjoy doing and a style that works for you. If you’re just arting for the sake of arting, just have fun with it! If you want to make a living off you art, learn to promote yourself – set up internet shops, go to local events, brand yourself. And, while it’s always good to go for what you really want, make sure you have backup plans because making a living as an artist is bloody hard.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I identify as plain ‘ol asexual. Also aromantic-ish (I’ve stopped trying to work out a label for the romantic side of things 😛 )

Suffice it to say I don’t mind being in romantic relationships or having sex with my significant other if I super-trust them and it’s a thing they want/enjoy.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

In my field? Not really… It doesn’t really come up that often though. That being said, I actually know other 2 other ace peeps in my major/year (which is a pool of 12 people :P). I was in a 4 person group once and 3 of us were ace so we were joking that the other guy was the token sexual person on the team. It was quite funny.

I have encountered a fair bit of not-great reactions from guys I’ve dated in the past or random people I’ve explained it to, but in general most of the people I surround myself with are super cool about it.

If I’m faced with prejudice or ignorance I usually just try to stay calm and explain what asexuality is. Normally that works pretty well if people are open to what you have to say… Though if they’re not, then I usually just agree to disagree as long as we can behave respectably towards each other. However, if people insist on being obnoxious about asexuality (or most other things) I tend to respond with intelligent snark (I hope it’s intelligent).

One thing I will say though, if you’re dating someone and they refuse to accept your asexuality or give you a hard time about it, it’s a good sign the relationship is probably not going to work out… At least that’s been my experience…

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

Apart from confusion about what it is, I guess just curiosity about sexual interest/practices or that ace can’t do relationships with non-aces. I’ve gotten a lot of random questions about how much I masturbate (from my roomie’s boss!) to questions about whether or not my boyfriend cares that I’m ace…

I think the biggest thing I encounter is people having a hard time believing asexuality exists or that people can survive without being interested in the sex, which, frankly, isn’t terribly surprising given how sexualized the media is these days.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

You gotta make peace with who you are. If you want to identify as ace (or anything really) go for it – how you choose to identify/describe yourself is your choice and nobody else’s. It’s not always easy, but then nothing in life really is…

Just know that how you choose to identify or how you feel doesn’t mean your broken, so don’t let anyone tell you that you are. They’re not worth your time.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

This’ll be a list… aight…

Here’s all the places where you can find pics of my stuff…

Portfolio Website: http://alison.friedlander.me/
A giant amalgamation of my best works in almost every medium I work in

Tumble Blog (Too-Asexy): http://too-asexy.tumblr.com/.
‘Dis is just ma tumblr blog XD

Mirrors of Grimaldi (game I’m working on): http://51standfire.com/
OK, one more semi-shameful plug for my team’s game! Hope you guys don’t mind!

Here are the places where I actually sell things:

Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackBunnyCrafts
Paintings, wire wrapped jewelry, polymer clay jewelry

Shapeways Shop: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/grumpyalison
Ace rings (sizes available upon request), a triforce ring, keychains. More coming soon!

Red Bubble: http://www.redbubble.com/people/grumpyalison/shop
Ace shirts, other misc shirts. More coming soon here too!

Thank you, Alison, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Bxndit

Today we’re joined by Bxndit. Bxndit is a phenomenal artist who is incredibly active online. She contacted me after a number of her followers directed her to this site and I’m grateful they did, because her work is awesome. She is currently working on a webcomic and her work is very character focused. There’s a wonderful lightheartedness to her drawings, as you’ll soon see. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

Warning: the last picture with some blood in it.

Angel 2

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

My art is mainly based around a set of characters that I’ve created to be featured into a web comic that is currently in the works. Up until recently, I kinda moved between different styles before settling on a very cartoony-style. My art consists mainly of these characters that I’ve been working on, and their developments. I’ll sometimes dip into fanart from time to time, of whatever I’m into at the moment, and I’ll do quite a lot of art for other artists, whether it’s in trades or commissions or even just gift art. I’ve started to create silly little comics that are very rough and sketchy, mainly for humour purposes. I’ll usually use these to convey a zany persona for myself, and they’ll usually feature me with another friend. All in all my art isn’t super serious and it’s meant to be quite light hearted and follow my sense of humour, which is pretty zany and goofy. Some of it will be serious, but man that is pretty rare.

What inspires you?

SO MUCH! Especially the art style from any of the Gorillaz’ music videos, I adore that style and have tried to incorporate it. A lot of shows that I watched as a kid inspired me a lot, I was super into Disney, which lead to my art having a very limited sense of realism to it, I’ve always tried to show the same kind of flow and emotion that Disney character art show in my own work. One of the biggest inspirations to my art and the characters I work with especially was a lot of the anime-ish styles from shows that I was into, especially Fullmetal Alchemist and Teen Titans. These shows in particular are still a driving force in my desire to create very in-depth and relatable characters. As I think about this I keep pulling more things that inspire me, even things with really nice atmospheres and aesthetics like Rapture from the Bioshock series and the Wastelands from the Fallout series. More importantly I take a lot of inspiration from the artists that I speak with and the encouragement I get from the people around me. I have quite a few friends that really push to get me to be the best that I can, which is awesome. Both my parents help quite a bit too. Just seeing that genuine love and interest in what I’m doing really gives me this rush of motivation to keep going and to get better, even if I’m not feeling great about my art.

For any of my dumb-humour comics that I’ve done, they’re usually based on something that has happened, and all I’m doing is recreating it.

Angel

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve always been encouraged to draw, from the moment I was able to hold a crayon I’ve been encouraged to create. Back home my Mum has every drawing I’ve ever done tucked away in ring binders and boxes, and we used to hang up a lot of my drawings from when I was very young. My grandparents did the same thing. I remember specifically one day I was in a group project at school when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old and we were drawing animals out of picture books to create puppets for the story we were putting on for the class, and my best friend turned to me and said something along the lines of “Wow! That is really good you should draw them all” and at that point I started thinking about whether I was good at drawing. I mean, speaking as someone who is training to go into teaching, kids adore those kind of compliments, and I totally rode on that compliment and it drove me to get better and better, it was even better that I found that I really enjoyed drawing. I was encouraged to doodle on my jotters a lot going through Primary School, since it really helped my focus. So it’s really all been down to encouragement from others and then actually realizing that I liked drawing. Creating my own stories and characters just seemed to fit in naturally with that, especially since I’ve never been good at actually writing stories down, it fit in nicely with my want to draw. I did get made fun of it for a while in school from kids outside of my social circle, but my love for it has been too great to actually let it get to me.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

My art styles have been changing quite rapidly since I started drawing seriously after school, so there isn’t anything consistent other than my watermark, which I’ll fit in somewhere in each drawing. It depends on the characters I’m drawing, some of them have specific symbols relating to them that I’ll fit in. For example, my character Bandit has the alchemical symbol for Earth on him in a few places (He’s similar to an earth-bender from The Last Avatar series)

Bandit

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Practice! I’ll always preach that drawing and art is a skill, not a talent. Like any other skill, you’ll have to practice it to get better. No-one is born drawing flawless art, in the same way that no-one is born being able to swim perfectly. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, either. Comparing yourself to a ‘better’ more experienced artist is one of the most disheartening things to do. It’s happened to me a few times where younger, new artists have compared their work to mine and felt like they’ll never get to the level they’ve put me at. I’ve been drawing since I was able to pick up a drawing utensil and I’m 21 now, which is such a long time to be drawing, you’re just starting out. It’s your art, not anyone else’s so don’t compare it (the only comparison you should make is when you look back on your old art, and honestly when you look back and see the difference it’s the best feeling.)

Don’t feel invalidated because you don’t produce the kind of art that gets attention, a lot of artists, including myself, feel like they’ll never be ‘popular’ unless they draw fanart. If you want to draw fanart go for it! But if you wanna draw some of your own characters don’t let that stop you, draw for yourself, the attention from others will come later. Personally it is a much more satisfying way to treat art. Don’t think you’re creative? Quick! Think of two things and mix them together, what do you get?

Finally, speak with other artists! I know that starting out can be really daunting with artists that appear to already have their own groups of friends that they work with, but you’ll be surprised how many of us want to talk with others and work with as many artists as possible. Personally, I’ve set up quite a few groups that artists are welcome to join and just hang out and get to talk to other artists. Just speaking with and getting advice from other artists is great! There are a lot of ‘popular’ artists that love helping out aspiring artists, we all started out in the same place, it’s good to help others.

Isa Believe

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

Aromantic Asexual. For a very long time I wasn’t really sure where I would fit in, and there was a period of time that I was convinced that there was something wrong because I just wasn’t interested in relationships or sex. Even after trying being in relationships it still got nothing out of me. It wasn’t until I was doing research on inclusion for a teaching module at university and I had come across the treatment of LGBT+ kids in secondary schools in Scotland, and after a little further I realized that, hey, other people are like this, I’m not crazy!

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Personally, no. I have seen it around the internet, but it’s never actually happened to me. Whether that is down to the fact that I am very sparing with sharing my personal life online or if I have surrounded myself with the correct people, I don’t know. Though in the rare times I have spoken about asexuality I’ve been informed that it’s not real, though I find myself ignoring those kind of comments, the only person that actually gets to have a say is me.

murkIPLERGH

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That it doesn’t exist? I dunno, so far it’s been the only way that I’ve been able to explain to myself about where I sit in the spectrum.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

There is nothing telling you that you must find what you identify as at this very moment, and don’t stress out that you haven’t found yourself yet. One day everything is going to fall into place and it’ll all work out, you’re just working up until that day at the moment. Regardless of what happens and where you place in the spectrum I believe in you.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I consistently post on my Instagram and I’m the most active on there.
I am working on getting all my work over to my Tumblr and eventually set up my own site, but for the moment it is mainly Instagram that I operate on.

Oz

Thank you, Bxndit, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.