Today we’d like to introduce you to Pepper Auerbach

Hi Pepper, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Being raised in Brooklyn, NY, inspired me on my creative journey and helped me love all kinds of art; I have been continuously drawing and writing since I was little, and the first career I wanted in elementary school was actually to be a writer/director for horror films. Later, I realized that the storyboards I created from my imagination could instead be comics of their own. Since then I have never stopped creating comics and illustrations for my stories. I sometimes would lose motivation or lose track of what I want, but art has been consistently there as what I desire to get better and better at.
I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2023 with a BFA in Illustration, and now am an Ambassador for NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness). I am working on my own book, an autobiography about my struggles with schizoaffective disorder, titled “My Brain Itches!”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I create a lot of autobiographical stories about my struggles with mental illness, and stories inspired by dreams I’ve had. Since elementary school I have had vivid dreams that would bleed into everyday life through hallucinations of all sorts: I call some of these hallucinations “my characters,” and they live with me everyday.
My schizoaffective disorder was diagnosed in 2015, and was crippling in my younger days. I could hardly focus on anything but my stories. I suffer hallucinations, depression, anxiety, and I have ASD. My hallucinations are often scary and distracting, ranging between visual, auditory, and tactile. My depression and anxiety has occasionally kept me from pursuing things I wanted. My ASD has made it harder for me to be understood, and related sensory issues make it hard for me to go to any loud events or get-togethers. I also sometimes suffer from lack of motivation which makes it hard for me to execute my story ideas. Because of these mental struggles, I was bullied quite a bit as a kid, which also kept me further from confidence.
However, in recent years my mental health have progressively gotten better with the help of new friends/experiences, therapists and medication. With this development, I have worked to help destigmatize mental illness through my Ambassadorship with NAMI. I am much more confident than I have been in a long time, especially after achieving a BFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts. I have often had a hard time with my mental health issues but now I can acknowledge at any given moment that when it gets bad, “this too shall pass.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am an illustrator and author, specializing in digital art and known for creating short stories. Usually these are horror stories inspired by my dreams and hallucinations, but I also am known for my work destigmatizing mental health topics with my art. I write and illustrate autobiographical comics taken from lived experience with mental illnesses to help people understand they are not alone in the world, while also attempting to educate those who don’t know enough about psychosis.
I would say my ability to mix mental health topics with my favorite genre, horror, sets me apart pretty well. I also do commissions such as custom-painted clothes and shoes, short comics, illustrations and photo edits; 25% of the profits from the sale of each pair of shoes is donated to NAMI to help someone in need.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

I was not much of a risk-taker as a kid, because I was so anxious. The first big risk I took was applying to only two colleges, SVA and Pratt Institute. I luckily got into SVA after being waitlisted for Pratt, and SVA was the preferred school for me anyway. Since starting in art school, I took many artistic risks and often did illustrations, paintings and sculptures about my mental health journey. I was very nervous to share my story but something I learned is that art school is not just about fun drawings, but education and critique. I was discouraged occasionally, especially when someone didn’t understand my pieces, but by graduation I had learned so much including work ethic and providing motivation for myself.
Sometimes even the small risks can have big rewards, and when I figured that out I worked my way up to bigger risks. I started applying for grants. I was so scared I’d fail and fall backwards into a spiral, but then I received the DeGroot Foundation’s “Writers of Note” Grant. It was less than the grant I applied for but it was still a big deal. When I learned to accept that I’ll never be the best in everyone’s eyes, it helped me understand that my art should be about passion, and being the best I can be in my own eyes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://HellPepperArts.com
• Instagram: @iwasateenagepepper