We recently connected with Emryk Anselm and have shared our conversation below.

Emryk, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For me, my most meaningful project has been “Clusters,” an ongoing series of freehand inked compositions. Officially starting in 2020 with the work, “Summoning of The Woyrm Lords,” “Clusters” has served as a valuable insight for myself and the nature of my creative subconscious.

Born out of the Covid lockdown, I like many others had become isolated and spent most of my days mulling around in my head. I had become overwhelmed in my own headspace and craved an outlet. While my art has always been a go-to as an outlet, nothing I was doing at the time quite worked. So one early summer afternoon I grabbed a flat piece of cardboard, popped the cap off a sharpie, and just started putting ink to the canvas with no real plan.

Now I had dabbled with the art of freehand inking in the past, but I had never before allowed myself the confidence to dedicate a whole canvas to the way of the free hand. Lo and behold, this was the direction I sought as the outlet I needed. I went into building up what would become “Summoning of The Woyrm Lords” by inking out weird and bizarre faces across the cardboard surface. I then filled out their bodies throughout the composition, all fitting together as a sort of puzzle. Their noodle like bodies were not enough for me, filling out any blank space I could with more and more characters in between until there was no space left to fill. My subconscious guided the strokes of ink, allowing me to enter a flow state of freeform thought. I was satisfied.

This exploration with no discernible plan allowed myself to vomit out whatever flashed across the back of my mind. The characters and patterns of ink came all-together into one big maximalist and illegible concept. I found meditation in this new approach, and the avenue of subconscious exploration would serve as a new staple in my work. Thus the first piece of “Clusters” had formed. After “Summoning of The Woyrm Lords,” I have followed up the series with “Conjunction Party,” “New Multiversal Order of The Rune Heads,” “Froag Domain,” “Power of The Necrocraft,” “Through The Gate,” and “WWM.”

From time to time I’ve been asked what each of these works mean, and for me they represent both everything and nothing. I like to treat them as a sort of Rorschach test for the viewer. By the nature of their conception, “Clusters” are ambiguous. While I may be able to note elements of the compositions and tie them back to thoughts and revelations of myself, that is all but my personal response to the work. I hope that the undefined nature of the work too can allow fellow viewers to sit and meditate on, allowing the characters and interactions within to birth personal revelations and unique narratives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been a creative my whole life, so it was only natural that I decided to make a career out of it. I really didn’t start taking my work seriously as a career path until partway through high school. I am grateful to have the privilege of friends, family, and teachers who had seen something in my work and helped push me into making a life out of it. Of course I had to start small, doing minor commissions here and there, but it was a foundation none the less. I managed to land some good scholarships and explore a degree in animation at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, learning about the art world and building more connections along the way. Post-degree, I have pushed myself out into the world as a professional creative, seeking out opportunity.

With my work, I typically like to present weird characters within absurd settings. I’ve had folks describe my sense of style to be a grungy cartoonish display, through windows that present a deeper and unknown narrative waiting to be uncovered. Through detailed line work and bold colors, I aim to have works that pop out and are recognizable. I strive myself to exemplify more show and less tell, a goal to create works that speak for themselves.

While I still feel very young and new to the professional creative field, I’m proud to have worked on a number of projects ranging from album art, comics, and even a pilot for an animated show. More opportunities are on the horizon that I look forward to, and I’m always excited to collaborate on new projects with folks! I’m never afraid to try something new as I feel there’s always something I can pull and learn from a project, regardless of its nature.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the ultimate goal of my journey is to build community. We humans are social creatures, and surrounding ourselves with those like and unalike ourselves is important. I believe that by surrounding yourself with the right people, you can really aid and elevate one another to grow. In todays age with social media and the overall current social landscape, I feel we are inclined to isolate ourselves and others to our detriment. For me, the nature of my work has served as a great jumping off point in connecting with strangers, and through this avenue I have come to meet many great people. I’m always excited to hear what my work makes people think, having that connection of my mind to another’s through the portal of a canvas really brings a feeling of fulfillment. For me, my art is to be shown and shared with others, a path to deep communal connection and exploration. I encourage anyone who comes across this to go out and seek others, find a piece of yourself you can express and connect with, then share it with the world!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Something that’s important to know about pursuing the creative field; its filled with many highs and lows. There are times where you feel like your living the high life with cool and rewarding opportunities. Then you hit a point after those projects have concluded and opportunities run dry for a period of time, leaving you to explore other avenues to regain your footing. I myself have had to pick up the slack of bills and general living expenses by getting a part-time job at times. Sure it can feel defeating when your not having offers coming in for a period, but I always make sure to push through. Sure my main source of income during these times may not come from my creative work, but that doesn’t mean I stop creating. When opportunities aren’t coming my way, I take that time to cultivate opportunities myself and improve on my craft, for it is my true passion. Then, when I do start getting those offers again, I have placed myself in a position where I’ve continued to grow and support my craft rather than dwell in a sense of defeat. I’ve learned It’s ok to feel defeated at times, but I know there are always options I can seek out to get back on my feet. Passions are what drives us, so it makes it all the more important to cultivate and support those passions to keep us going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emrykanselm.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamryk/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emryk-jensen/