This month I am thrilled to interview one of my dear friends, Carolyn Raship. I first met Carolyn working on some downtown theater production on the Lower East Side in New York many moons ago. Turned out we shared many of the same interests, like reading mysteries novels and true crime. She got me involved with a theater company she was involved with, and also introduced me to my very first writing group. I have had the privilege of seeing many of her plays performed at various venues in NYC, and also seeing her artwork displayed. And I am pleased to say that my cell phone case sports a Carolyn Raship design. If you haven’t seen her artwork, you really must. Honestly, it is all just fantastic.
Carolyn Raship draws pictures and writes stories. Some are true, some are not.
Carolyn, thank you so much for joining me this month on Not Even Joking. Over the years, I have known you as a playwright, fiction writer and a visual artist. Lately it seems that you are focusing much more on the visual arts. Is this accurate? Why the shift?
I’m pretty much just drawing now. I mostly just like it better – I mean, most of what I do is still narrative in some sense or another, so it’s not the largest shift, really. Just fewer words. And there’s a real freedom in spending loads of time just worrying about the craft and being able to divorce myself from content.
When I think of your artwork, I think of everything from mermaids to chorus girls to monsters. What inspires your work?
Mostly history, actually. I don’t think I’m particularly good at coming up with fiction, but I like seeing correlations and parallels in different times and events in history. The more I read, the more similar things seem. Though, certain things resonate particularly with each other – like, for example, I think we can learn a lot of lessons now by looking at the explosion of ideas that were happening in the late 18th century. The dynamics of the Whigs and Torys in England feel very similar to the current political divide in our country. Though I look at the French Revolution and shudder.
I definitely like to look at history through a woman’s lens, and (as you know!) crime totally fascinates me. I recently did a one page comic about Mary Toft, the woman who became an early 18th century tabloid sensation by claiming she gave birth to rabbits. She became this complete celebrity who got invited everywhere for about five minutes, and then everybody turned on her and she wound up in prison for fraud. She was totally the Octomom of 1730.
Is there a project that you are particular proud of? Or could you tell us a little bit about something you are working on now?
I’m working on a couple of things now that I don’t feel totally comfortable talking about yet, but one thing I would love to do is to illustrate books. I hate that most books now aren’t illustrated, but with the Kindle and the Tablet, it’s so easy. At the top of my list are the works of Willkie Collins (whom I’m obsessed with) and Colette’s Claudine books. And maybe some 18th century French fiction because it would be really fun to draw.
And, this is going to sound silly, but I’m really excited about drawing bigger.
What else gets you up in the morning? What are you passionate about? And how does this influence your creative life? (or does it?)
Oh, god, this is exactly the sort of thing I never think about! Deadlines drive me. And I have so many ideas and plans. Also, I love the practice of drawing, like, I love getting better. I think “don’t be terrible” basically constantly. I try to push myself into being better. And I really enjoy inking. If you want me to bore your readers at great length talking about inking and paper, I’d be happy to do so!
What advice would you give to a young person who is considering a career in the arts?
Don’t go into debt. Don’t get an MFA. Read everything. Take your work seriously. Work really hard and make a point of not being terrible.
Really awesome advice. It took me a long time to take my work seriously, and yeah—reading EVERYTHING is essential I think for any kind of creative person. And it’s interesting you bring up the MFA thing. I recently had a guest blogger tackling this issue her on this blog.
Thank you so much for joining me here today, Carolyn!
Readers, you absolutely MUST check out Carolyn’s work. You can connect with Carolyn at on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TUMBLR and FACEBOOK. And check out her shop CAVIGLIA’S CABINET on ETSY!
