We were lucky to catch up with Aaron Harrington recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I started Queer Snail at the same time that I was coming to consciousness as a trans man. I could feel my artistic voice starting to solidify as I was coming to know myself more authentically. It’s really a struggle to put into words how affirming it was to see my audience cheer me on the loudest when I was at my most honest. I can easily say that my most personal piece is titled “Self-Made.” I decided to create a portrait of a dragonfly whose abdomen is the same needle that I use to administer my weekly testosterone shot. Insects have always been interesting to me because most people consider them to be pests, but to me, they’re mostly harmless creatures with beautiful, resilient bodies. Their simple existence is proof of the transformative power of nature and the ways in which all of us have the potential to grow, evolve, and take charge of our own identities. Dragonflies are also notably very fragile and endangered by climate change. I really liked the idea of representing the experience of gender transition as one that involves intense strength, but also intense vulnerability.
I remember trying to choose how many digital prints of this piece to create for an upcoming market and feeling a lot of doubt that anyone would connect with it. I went with a lower number thinking that it was a specific piece that very few people would see themselves in, but ended up selling out. The audience’s response to this piece reminded me that there are more trans people in this world than we’re led to believe and that people outside of the trans community can find power in our existence and relate to us if they want to.

Aaron, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Queer Snail Studio is a small trans-owned business that prioritizes making art that helps queer people feel seen and express themselves. I sell products at a variety of price points as low as $2 so everyone can walk away from my table with something special. I’m a self-taught artist. I started off working with watercolor and began specializing in digital art within the last few years. I make prints, stickers, keychains, and I also just released my first zine. I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, but it was only in the last year or so that I really started to get interested in figuring out how to turn my designs into products like these. I sell the vast majority of my work at local markets, which is where I got my start. It was almost exactly a year ago that I vended at my first Big Gay Market in Albany and I had no idea that it would become a recurring market I’d be selling at a few times a year at least.
I feel really proud that I’ve been able to share my art with my community in spaces like these. Primarily selling at local markets gives me the chance to see how my work can make people feel seen in the same way I crave to be seen as a queer person. Seeing that there is such a demand for art coming from this perspective really drives me creatively.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One thing I wish I knew earlier in my creative journey is that making art is a viable career path. I always viewed art as a hobby or an emotional outlet and no adults around me ever guided me towards a career outside of academia. Before quitting my full-time job about a year ago, I was an administrative assistant for five years. I found value in the work where I could, but I really struggled with feeling out of place in an office. The idea of finding any success selling my work seemed unlikely to me, so I spent a long time behind a desk before I got here. One silver lining about not realizing the possibilities sooner is that I had a lot of time to develop a cohesive style that I think helped me a lot in creating a strong audience.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When I think about my work’s mission, I think about what I needed when I was a queer kid growing up in catholic school. I have such powerful, emotional memories of seeing little glimpses of myself in media when I was young. Some of my favorite moments now are seeing the way kids respond to my art. Being able to make something that helps a young person feel seen in a world that is often not kind to them is important to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: queersnailstudio.squarespace.com
• Instagram: @queer_snail

Image Credits
All photos taken by me (aside from the photo with me in it, which was taken by my husband)