We love learning more about our contributors, and an interview seemed like a fun way to hear more about the writers and artists we publish, so we gave them a choice of questions to answer. We hope you also enjoy hearing more about the artists and their works. Read on and check out issue 27 for work from B.W. Wiese.
What was the inspiration for the piece published in the issue?
I started getting a bit of a hunch from my poor posture at a somewhat soul-sucking office job. Sitting all day, regardless of posture, turns out, isn’t the best thing for you. My spouse’s job is a bit more manual and his knees are starting to go even though neither of us have even hit 30 yet. At its core, the inspiration for the piece is how we sell our bodies, our time, and our health, regardless of industry, in order to live. We might do it to different degrees of intensity, but, at the end of the day, our work will cause permanent changes to our bodies, and we get far less out of this than we give. In this piece, people are using their literal bones as currency, but I don’t think it’s far off from the way things actually are in our current capitalist society.
Who or what inspires your work generally?
Shower thoughts, nature walks, and drawing out a bit far longer than it needs to be. I think there’s inspiration to be found all around us, in every ridiculous pun or overturned leaf. There’s a story in a caterpillar beset by parasitic wasp eggs and there’s a story in a handbag being a bag for your hands. You just have to let the brain walk on its own from there.
What is your #1 advice for other writers or artists?
You can and should take inspiration from other writers, but don’t compare yourself to them. There is no standard to aspire to. Everyone is different, including the most successful writers, so don’t get down on yourself if your work is its own unique thing written at your own unique pace.
What is your creative process? Do you plan pieces out or let them happen as they come?
A mixture of both. Oftentimes, like with “Of Ossuary Oblations”, I start with a concept or image and just let it flow from there. With longer works there might be a loose framework or an ideal ending I’m working towards. I try to make outlines for those, but I am incredibly sloppy when it comes to coloring outside the lines.
What is your “white whale”?
My white whale is actually finishing a longer work. I have several pieces with tens of thousands of words that’ll never see the light of day. Right now, I’m working on a kind of environmental dark fantasy novel. Fingers crossed, I’ll actually finish this one!