Short Vine accepts a variety of different mediums, including art! This week, we talked with Lily Hunter, a fantastic artist as well as the artist featured on the Fall 2021 issue of Short Vine. Read below to find out about Lily as well as some of the art featured in the last issue of Short Vine.

Lily Hunter (she/her) is an artist from Toledo, Ohio. She uses monsters as a way to explore human emotion, sexuality, and purpose. Her monsters have been interpreted into many different mediums, including painting and sculpture. However, illustration has remained the most prominent in her work. Currently, she is pursuing a Horticulture degree at the University of Cincinnati, where she dedicates most of her free time to art.

You can see more of Lily and her work on Instagram here.

Short Vine: The cover art for our Fall 2021 issue of Short Vine features your piece, “Misery.” Can you give us some insight on how you developed this piece? What did you aim to say with this particular piece of work? 

Lily Hunter: Misery was created shortly after I read Stephen King’s Novel, Misery. The book has strong themes of addiction and obsession, which I felt personally connected to as an artist. An urgency to create is apparent in most artists. Personally, I still struggle between the choices of living life or creating art. The piece is a representation of what happens when art consumes the artist. The monster depicted painting the large canvas represents the unhealthy urge to create continuously. It has killed its former self, responsible for enjoying the world around it, which lay limp at the bottom of the page. The faces in the painting represent the pressure to be known and respected.

 Short Vine: What kind of art do you love to make? Are there certain mediums that you gravitate towards or enjoy experimenting with? 

LH: I really enjoy creating personal works of art. Everything I create reflects how I feel and aims to help viewers reflect upon their own emotions. I want people to see themselves in my work. Usually I gravitate toward 2D mediums, my favorites are watercolor and ink, although I also love to create sculptures as well. Currently, I am experimenting with comics as a way to present complicated emotions.

 Short Vine: In this issue, you had four art pieces that were featured that showcased a variety of characters. Can you dive into what inspires your pieces, these characters, and their depictions? 

 LH: Every piece selected for the journal depicts a monster of some kind, which is a common theme throughout my work. To me, monsters represent emotions, lessons, and thoughts. They’re present everywhere, but in my work they’re given a body to live in. I have found that creating characters representing these things helps me to acknowledge them, sit with them, and accept them as a part of who I am.

 Short Vine: Creativity in any form can sometimes come to a halt when we experience creative blocks, whether mental or otherwise. What types of roadblocks do you find when creating or developing your work? How do you overcome those difficulties? 

 LH: When creating personal art, I have found that the hardest obstacle to overcome is vulnerability. There are some pieces that I don’t like to look at because of what I was going through at the time I created them. In a way, it feels like my artwork is a journal. I am afraid of what people will think when I show them. Self doubt is a large part of that too, and I know a lot of other creatives go through that as well. My self doubt comes from the pressure to create perfect work every time, but I try to keep in mind that you can’t really “fail” at art. Every drawing, sculpture, etc., even if it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to, is a step toward getting better. Staying patient with myself and the support I receive from my friends and family have been the biggest help when overcoming these difficulties.

Short Vine: My personal favorite piece was “Harper” on page 63 of our journal. What does this piece mean to you? How did you go about channeling that meaning within the piece? 

LH: I’m so happy you like it!. Harper is an expression strength in sisterhood. I, along with many other women, have struggled with societal pressures to look, behave, and feel certain ways. This pressure is present throughout our entire lives and aims to make us feel small for being who we are. There are people who are afraid of strong women, and Harper is a representation of one. She is not afraid to show who she is and has the support of other women, represented by her many heads, on her side. 

 Short Vine: Art can be highly subjective, yet deeply personal. How have you gone about developing your style? Do you have any major inspirations, whether it be another artist or something in your life? 

 LH: I grew up just outside of Toledo, Ohio. As a kid I went to the art museum and the zoo a lot. I was obsessed with the graffiti and murals I would see on the drive there. That combined with my love of cartoons, dragons, and dinosaurs evolved into me trying to draw and create my own. I didn’t start using art to express how I was feeling until elementary school after I started getting bullied. Sometimes I would draw monsters eating my bullies, which wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but it’s kind of funny to look back at now. 

 Short Vine: If you had one piece of advice for artists that were considering submitting or showcasing their pieces, what would it be? Is there anything you’d like them to know? 

 LH: You should do it! It can be scary, especially if it’s your first time, but it is worth it. My biggest piece of advise is to not be afraid of rejection. It’s a hard thing to do, but if you decide not to try something new just because you’re afraid you will get rejected, you’re only rejecting yourself. 

 Short Vine: Do you have any previously published work or upcoming work you’d like to plug?

LH: I will have a painting in a Minnesota exhibition called Don’t Tell Your Mother. Currently, the dates of the exhibition are being decided.

Be sure to check out Lily’s artwork in Fall 2021 issue of Short Vine!