I was first introduced to the wonderful artwork of award-winning graphic novelist and art educator K. Briggs via my wife. She had backed an interesting Kickstarter, an artist compilation called MONSTERS, and insisted we go and meet the artist involved at a small comic con in Glasgow Central Library. We bonded immediately with them over our love of comics and mythology. Since then we’ve been avid followers of their work, owning pretty much every publication of theirs, including our current favourite tarot set. I also commissioned Briggs for a tattoo design last year which I adore and am still waiting to find the right tattoo artist to do it justice.
They are the creator of the graphic novels Triskelion (self-published, 2019 and my wife’s absolute favourite), Macbeth (Avery Hill Publishing, 2022) and was the illustrator on Resistance: A Graphic Novel with author Val McDermid (Wellcome Collection, 2021).
I feel very lucky to have got to know Briggs a little during their time in Scotland before they returned to Pennsylvania. With a new Kickstarter on the go for a brilliant collection of autobiographical comics called Sycamore, I thought it would be a good opportunity to speak with Briggs about their work.
Alfie Whitby: We first discovered your work way back in 2014, funnily enough, via a Kickstarter for an artist compilation called MONSTERS. Where did those 10 years go?! You’ve been really busy during that time. What have been your personal highlights as an artist since then? This is an exceptionally large question to start with, sorry!
Briggs: That feels like an entire lifetime ago! Also, thank you for backing that fun and weird wee project way back when. I have been busy indeed, lots of art and life happened since then. I’m really, really proud of Macbeth. It’s my latest book, so the most on my mind, but in any case it felt like the culmination of a lot of hard work refining my craft as an artist. And it’s got a lot of love mixed in, even though the subject matter is dark and bloody. Love for Scotland, mediaeval art, Shakespeare, and my teenage weirdo theatre kid self.
AW: Let’s bring things to the present day: I saw on your instagram that you’re back in the studio prepping lessons for some of your education projects. What does a good day in the studio look like to you? Do you have any studio rituals? Favourite studio-time beverage? Is there music playing?
Briggs: Studio time is sacred, I cherish it. One of my cats, Malinka, is my studio assistant. She lounges on her choice of windowsill, and her favourite thing ever is when I organise or rearrange the space or when I need to spread out on the floor to work with larger paper. Before I get to work I meditate. I have a space dedicated for that in the studio. There’s music playing or a podcast or video essay; favourite topics are true crime and European history. I spend so much time working with imagined worlds I love listening to or reading nonfiction, as balance. Studio-time beverage is a coffee with almond milk in my oversized “The Craft” mug.
AW: You’ve just launched a new Kickstarter for a collection of autobiographical comics called Sycamore. Can you tell us more about this project? What can backers expect?
Briggs: Yes! I’m really excited about it. Sycamore is a collection of all my short comics that I’ve made since 2014 - 36 shorts in total. I started making shorts as a creative exercise and as a break from working on my larger graphic novel Triskelion. They were a very experimental space; I tried out all kinds of methods and materials. And they served as a diary, a way to emotionally process the things I was going through with regards to my immigration status in the UK. A little creative refuge. I started using them to talk about trauma, the concept of home, the process of healing. These comics are intimate, vulnerable. I called the collection Sycamore because when I lived in Scotland folks would ask me what I missed about living in America. My family and friends, and the Sycamore trees, was my answer.
AW: One of my favourite pieces of your work is The New Chapter Tarot - we adore it here at Whitby HQ, and it’s our go to deck at the moment. I also love your adaptation of Macbeth. As projects go, both are quite hefty, labour-intensive beasts. You seem to be very much a person who thrives on these big artistic challenges. Do you ever get halfway through a project and think, “Oh my god, what am I doing?” Haha! Is there a piece of work that has been particularly challenging? How do you approach these big ideas?
Briggs: I literally lol’ed, what an amazing question! I have done mostly huge projects. And I admit, they’ve taken a toll. After Macbeth I was officially burnt out, and it took months to be able to even pick up a pencil again. I’d been going full steam ahead on big projects and big goals for 13 years, so it made perfect sense. I’ve spent the last year just focusing on teaching, for the income and for the change of pace. But teaching also takes a LOT of creative energy! Teaching is performance.
But to answer your question, I found more the cumulative weight of nonstop big projects challenging and the need to promote them or sell them and try to make income off of them, rather than the individual projects themselves. I find refuge in big ideas, big complex concepts; burrowing into them is comforting. And when I approach a big idea I’m mostly just following the thread of my interest. I like to uncover a project as I work on it, the books are journeys and I try to give them the agency to lead me where they want to go. During my Master’s someone in my cohort said, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” and I’ve stuck to that working method ever since.
AW: You often use yourself and friends as references in your artworks. It works really well and makes for very intimate and unique creations. Another very large question: what tends to inspire you the most when creating art?
Briggs: I do use myself and loved ones a lot. There’s a very practical reason (I’m around and available, they’re around and available) and an artistic reason. The artistic reason being a lot of my work is about self discovery and emotional healing. It’s my journey, so it’s my face. I started out like that long ago because I was trying to rebuild my sense of self after surviving a DV situation. I was asking myself, “How are you doing?” and painting the feelings I didn’t quite have words for. The viewer sees the finished image, but as the artist I need to spend time creating that image. Which means I spend time just sitting with those feelings, letting them be felt and passed through.
In The New Chapter Tarot I recruited a lot of loved ones to be models for cards. They appear in the cards that represent what they’ve meant to me, especially during the time I was making the deck. I wanted to honour how their presence and their uniqueness has blessed me. They’re a gift. And sometimes when I wasn’t feeling particularly brave or balanced or wise, I’d think of my friend and how they’ve embodied that quality and inspired or helped me. So they became a card that represents that.
I’m inspired by my healing journey, by big questions about what it means to be a human connected to the Earth, the past, and the other humans on the planet. I’m endlessly curious about stories and mythology, what we tell ourselves about ourselves and how our understanding of the world has changed (or not). What really drives my creative practice is curiosity. If I feel that spark about something, I’ll follow it as far as I can.
AW: Finally, aside from the Kickstarter, do you have anything else in the works? Any future projects you’d love to make a reality?
Briggs: I do have a new big project in the works, but I can’t talk about it yet! So frustrating! It’s currently being pitched around by my wonderful agent. I can say it’s very in keeping with my catalogue of work - mythology, memoir, healing journeys, theatre.
Back the Kickstarter for Sycamore here! / K. Briggs’ Official website
Words and interview: Alfie Whitby (they/them)
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