“When it comes to comics, I really consider myself a late-bloomer”

CC     Can you walk us through your journey as a creative? How did you get started, and what led you to where you are today?

CF     Being an artist is the one thing I’ve understood about myself for as long as I can remember. My childhood was difficult, and I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to pursue my interests to the fullest when I was growing up, though I did have a few mentors along the way that had an impact on my understanding of myself as an artist. In my youth I struggled with substance use disorder and a major turning point in my life came when I started down the path of recovery. I’ve been clean for 11 years this February. In my early days of recovery my creativity was reignited as was a new drive to pursue making comics. When it comes to comics, I really consider myself a late-bloomer. I’d always loved to draw and to write stories, and through the animated series and films of the 90’s I was familiar with many characters that had originated in comics, but I was really just never exposed to the books themselves. My earliest engagement with comics was with newspaper strips whose characters I borrowed to recreate my own. I think I was around 17 years old, and working at the local movie theater when I was introduced to Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’ by a friend and coworker. That book was transformative to me and sparked my lasting love of the medium. Now several years later and not long into my recovery I started submitting works to anthologies and then began freelancing. Like so many other people it was during the Covid pandemic that I found myself at a pivotal moment - I’d been working another dead-end job in a series of jobs I hated and I was laid off unexpectedly leaving me in a very uncertain place. With the blessing of my extremely supportive partner I decided to jump into art with everything I had. My journey has been filled with learning, struggle and the building of relationships that have taught me the importance of community. Probably the single most important step along this path was my acceptance into the Creative Futures Cape Cod arts fellowship through the Cordial Eye. I encourage everyone to look into all of the work that the Cordial Eye is doing.

CC     What are you working on these days?  

CF     These days I’m very busy! I’m working on multiple projects including a graphic novella in partnership with the Hyannis Public Library which tells the story of the library’s origins - a project I’m co-authoring and co-illustrating with local artist Gabe Ribeiro. I’m simultaneously working on two different short comics for separate anthologies (‘Cthulhu Invades Fairy Tales Vol. 2’ and ‘Storage Horrors’), and always continuing development of my own graphic novel ‘Black Sam’. I’m also very excited to be working on an exhibition showcasing work from ‘BORDERx: A Crisis in Graphic Detail’, a book I contributed to that examines the journeys of migrants coming to the United States and our broken, often cruel immigration system; and for the second year in a row I’m helping organize COD CON, Cape Cod’s own comics convention in collaboration with the Yarmouth Town Libraries, the Hyannis Public Library and the Cordial Eye. I’m also fortunate to be a fellow in this year’s Capacity-Building Program through the Art’s Foundation of Cape Cod. In my teaching capacity I’m thrilled to be part of the Creative Care program through The Cordial Eye where I will be teaching a class for boys aged 9-13 called ‘Men in the Making’ with fellow artist Filipe Borges, and I’m mentoring two young artists through MassHire’s ArtWorks program.

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CC     What does a typical day look like for you?

CF     On a typical day I drive my kids to school and then head down to my studio in Hyannis. I do a bit of administrative work and try to keep up with my emails and scheduling first thing in the morning. I’m involved in a number of projects so it’s pretty common for me to have meetings after that. Then I work on my projects until the afternoon when I have to go pick up the kids, and we usually come back to the studio where they can hang out while I get a little more work done until it’s time to head home. I’m also teaching, mentoring, and I facilitate a weekly meetup of local comics creators called the Cape Cod Comics Collective, so with all of that and the workshops I attend through the Arts Foundation Fellowship I usually have something going on in the evenings.

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I’m a traditional artist, and as someone who has experienced financial barriers to accessing more expensive tools and supplies I’m a firm believer in the magic that comes from working with what you’ve got, and subverting perceived limitations.

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CC     What tools can’t you live without?

CF     I’m a traditional artist, and as someone who has experienced financial barriers to accessing more expensive tools and supplies I’m a firm believer in the magic that comes from working with what you’ve got, and subverting perceived limitations. I see beginning artists struggling all the time thinking that it’s their tools that are responsible for the quality of their work and I reject that. The tools that I most often work with are the Pentel Graphgear 500 0.5 mechanical pencil with blue lead, and the Pentel DuoPoint Flex Double-Ended Brush pen for inking.

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I’m inspired by my kids every day! I’m interested in the working class struggle and how we come together as a community to overcome the difficulties inherent in our system, especially in the unique ways that they present themselves in a place like Cape Cod.

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CC     What or who inspires you?

CF     I take inspiration from the incredible artists around me and the people in my community. I’m inspired by my kids every day! I’m interested in the working class struggle and how we come together as a community to overcome the difficulties inherent in our system, especially in the unique ways that they present themselves in a place like Cape Cod. Artistically I’m inspired by illustrators like Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, comics artists like Bernie Wrightson, Moebius, Herge, Katsuhiro Otomo and of course Hayao Miyazaki.

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CC    What would you like to learn more about in the future?

CF     I’m working on learning more about housing policy and how it applies to Cape Cod. I’d like to see the development of Artist Housing in every town on the Cape.

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CC    What do you find most challenging as a creative?

CF     The first thing that springs to mind when thinking of the challenges of being a creative is probably no surprise - it’s the money! Artists' minds tend to be more geared toward creating than toward the business side of things. Unfortunately, the creative sector is highly competitive and most of us are wearing many hats if you will. Social media, marketing, networking, building and maintaining a website, bookkeeping (just to name a few) and finding time to actually create art on top of all of life’s other responsibilities is a huge challenge! We’re also operating in a society that largely views art solely as a commodity in a landscape controlled by corporations that are working hard to develop AI technologies that will give them more control over the means of producing content disguised as art.

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CC    What do you think creatives on Cape Cod could improve on?

CF     I’m not sure it’s the creatives themselves that need to improve. I think it’s the institutions large and small that need to improve by expanding their support outside of art centered around the sort of coastal themes that appeal to tourists, and I’m actually very happy to say I think they are. The absolute best example that I can think of is The Cordial Eye, and I can’t sing their praises enough. I’m also really excited by some of the work at the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and so many others! I think it’s more important than ever that we rally around each other and inspire each other to improve.

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CC    What do you do when you're not working?

CF     I try to read as much as I can, and I try to spend as much time with my family as possible.

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This interview was done over email.
Photography: Christine Johannessen