We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natasha Bowers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Natasha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
My current project is something that holds great meaning for me. As a senior illustration major at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), I get the opportunity to develop and self-direct a thesis project over the course of senior year. Or, in my case, my remaining semester in college. I chose to use this thesis project to build upon an idea for a comic book I’ve had for a while but never got the chance to fully realize. It’s called “Zeraya,” and it’s about a kindhearted young girl with developing superpowers who finally meets her estranged mother– only to learn she is the ruthless leader of a superpowered street gang. Initially writing out this idea, I wanted this story to act as a subversion of the trope where the main character connects with a distanced or estranged father figure, because not many stories give the same grace to mother figures in that same category. However, as I continued to explore the characters and the world they live in, I found the story of “Zeraya” influenced by my own relationship with my mother and my mixed emotions about motherhood in general. In many ways I am both Zeraya, the little girl who wants to understand and connect with her mother, and I am Lady Sol, the woman who feels like she can’t take the responsibility of motherhood because she only hurts those closest to her. I created this comic as a way to explore my own feelings and hopefully help women in my position do the same.
Natasha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Natasha Bowers, I am 22 years old, I use she/her pronouns and I am from Montgomery Village, MD. I like reading, playing video games, and playing my guitar. I love the color blue, and my favorite animal is the tiger. My favorite genre of music is hip-hop, though I also enjoy r&b, rock, and jazz. I make comics and animations inspired by my love of tigers and mixed African-American heritage while exploring social justice issues, character archetypes and relationship dynamics in interesting and relatable ways. I’ve wanted to make comics since I was nine years old. I knew, even before then, I wanted to do something with my life that would impact the world in a positive way, and I wanted whatever I did to be something I loved. I’ve been drawing for almost as long as I can remember, be it quick doodles on the back pages of my brother’s old notebooks, little characters exploring the margins on my classwork, or homemade comics on sheets of paper I’d “borrow” from my teacher’s printer. I was always telling some kind of story, hoping to entertain at least one person. That part of me hasn’t changed in the time it took me to get where I am now. I am most proud of remembering my dream and keeping it alive as I prepare to graduate with an Illustration degree from MICA. I’m proud of working to make stories my younger self would have loved to experience.
One of the main things I want people to know about me is I never want to make someone feel excluded or like we can’t coexist. I feel like that is the undercurrent to many of the stories I want to tell. In comics, a white male dominated industry, I want to create positive representations for people like me.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Personally, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the community I build as I grow and improve. Most of the people in my life I connected with because I can learn from them, help them, grow with them, or just make them smile. While I acknowledge the value of art as a form of expression or communication, I think art as a way of bringing people together is equally important; moreso in times of struggle and hardship.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I had gotten to learn more about and experience comic conventions earlier in my journey. I used to think they were just places where I could see cool costumes or buy comics at a good price when in reality they are so much more. Each con I’ve been to I had the chance to meet professionals in the comics industry and get feedback on ways to improve my craft. I also got to meet newer creatives I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Conventions are a microcosm of what the comics community is about– entertainment, connection, and a love of creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://natashabowersart.wordpress.com/
- Instagram: @jungleinx
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jungleinx
- Twitter: @jungleinx