In her first graphic novel, Unholy Kinships, 23 year-old Swedish artist Naomi Nowak imagined an intricate world with complex characters that were forced to delve deeply into their personal relationships in order to discover themselves.
In November, her second graphic novel, House of Clay, will be released from NBM. House of Clay follows a formerly well-to-do girl named Posy as she is forced into taking a job at a factory and finds herself involved in a complex love triangle with few confidants. With a mix of romance and cynicism, Nowak takes a close look at what defines love and how we use love to define ourselves as people.
PW Comics Week : How was House of Clay conceived and developed?
Naomi Nowak: It started out as images, scenes—then a story to connect them. After I started drawing, the story changed many times over, but I think I kept the little pieces that made me want to write it in the first place.
PWCW : Your Web site describes House of Clay as being about “imagined love and finding integrity.” How do the two aspects intersect in the story?
NN: I see them as connected. With my limited life experience, it’ll be really hard to answer a question like this without sounding silly—it’s a lot easier to draw stories about these things because it doesn’t mean I have to answer them, just kind of ask them through my characters. What the story is about, essentially, is believing or trying to believe that another person can solve everything for you: “If he/she loved me and we were together, everything would be fine.” Part of it in this case is idolizing somebody you don't know. But also, unless you were okay on your own to begin with, how could you avoid making the other person feel suffocated in a relationship?
PWCW : Posy, the main character, takes a job in a sweatshop after her once wealthy family is left destitute. How is the setting of the sweatshop integral to the development of her character?
NN: If she got a nice, comfortable job or if she was able to study, I don't think she'd be forced to ask herself things that are important to the story. Most of us have a lot of comfortable ideas about who we are, and who our family and friends are and unless we end up in difficult situations we might not challenge them.
PWCW : A recurring theme in your work seems to involve confusion, with characters slowly coming to terms with themselves during the story’s progression. Do you create characters with the intention of sending them through a journey of self-discovery?
NN: Not consciously—but I’m at a point in my life which seems to be about nothing but self-discovery and it’s hard to keep me and my characters completely separate. I don’t even know that I want to keep us separate. I shouldn't say "point in my life." If I could have my way, I would like life to be about discovery all the way until I discover what it's like to be six feet under.
PWCW : I t seems as though you're very comfortable putting your characters in situations that may be uncomfortable to them.
NN: I'm not sure why they always end up in such tricky and uncomfortable situations. I guess because that's the kind of story I find interesting? I try to think, like, what would I do if it happened to me?
PWCW : It’s been a year since the publication of your first graphic novel, Unholy Kinship. How have you grown in that year?
NN:It's been a year since publication, but two years since I finished that story. A lot happens between age 21 and 23, and looking at Unholy Kinship, I almost feel like it's the work of somebody else, even though I still care very much for the characters. As for specific techniques, color means a lot to me, and I hope I've developed that in House of Clay, as well as gotten better with layouts and the general flow of the story.
PWCW : When creating comics, do you find that your artwork generally inspires a story, that a story dictates the artwork, or do you develop both in unison?
NN: It’s sort of a circle and sometimes I’m not sure how to answer this question, but like I said above, it starts out with scenes rather than just images or words. I think of comics as a stage, kind of, so it's really hard to separate artwork and story. A lot of comic artists complete a story first and then start drawing—I admire them for it because it probably makes for a more streamlined creative process. Personally, even if I try I can't seem to work that way.
PWCW : According to your Web site, your paintings are done by mixing various media. Do you find that the process by which you mix mediums in painting is planned or do you build different mediums in as you paint?
NN: I think it’s always been important for me to make sure I experiment with techniques and try to learn as much as possible on my own since I’m not in art school. At least, that’s part of it—the other part is the simple fact that I get more excited than a kid in a candy shop when I visit a store with a good selection of art supplies. I like to get my hands on all kinds of paints and paper and try them out.
PWCW : Do you have any projects upcoming?
NN: Yes, I’m working on a new comic, which I’m actually very excited about. It’s just that I have so little time to draw at the moment! I also want to find time to paint and hopefully do more gallery shows. I’ve had to put some of that on hold for a couple of months in favor of a day job. I’ve thought a lot about my priorities lately and come to the conclusion that whatever I do in life and whether I will ever be able to scrape a living solely from art, I want to arrange things so I have as much time as possible to draw. Drawing or painting something that I’m truly feeling for is, for me, ultimate satisfaction.
