Happy Pride Month!
For Pride month, I decided I wanted to branch out and do something about queer art instead of queer books, prompted by my love of the cover art for “Uncommon Charm.” Below is a small list of some of my favorite queer artists whose work I have followed for a good while.
Artist #1: St. Marlowe Lune
Marlowe is the artist behind the cover art for this months book, “Uncommon Charm!” I have followed their work for many years and am simply in love with their style, which is frequently history and folklore inspired. They also provided the art for the fantastic epistolary story project, “Sealed with Honey,” which is set in the 19th century. Their own projects include “Lo Conteureuse,” a collection of queer and trans fairy tale stories; “Anise & the Devil,” a graphic novel inspired by the fairy tale “Vasilissa the Fair”; and the Merry Blackbird Postcard Society, where you can get original art postcards sent to you on a quarterly or monthly basis. I am a quarterly backer for MBPS and I really cannot emphasize enough how much fun it is, each shipment, in addition to the postcard, you get access to digital behind the scenes things and a curated playlist that fits that month’s theme. Very fun, highly recommend.
Artist #2: Fliff Gahris
Fliff is an Ohio-based illustrator and jewelry-maker who made a name for themself pre-pandemic on the convention circuit under the name Studio Fliff. They have recently rebranded their store under the name Eight Tides and have returned to in person selling at local markets as well as rebooting their online store. In addition to prints, they specialize in sticker and vinyl decal designs, laser-cut wood pins, resin earrings, wire wrapped rings, embroidered patches and more. Their newest products include a mushroom person keychain and a set of pride potion bottle stickers. I am personally, very deeply in love with every single food themed item they have (the Summer and Pink Magic sticker packs have some really good ones).
Their online store selection is currently a touch limited due to the recent reboot following its move from Etsy, but it is ever growing and Fliff is presently open for commissions as well, if you want to head over to their website and check out their gallery.
Artist #3: Greer Stothers
Perhaps best known in internet spheres for their cats, Pangur and Grim, and their fantastic enamel pins, of which I own just… so many, Greer is an accomplished illustrator who specializes in risograph illustration and has done work for museums, books, magazines and a variety of other projects, such as a limited edition risograph print and set of enamel pins for The Magnus Archives podcast. They are also currently working on a flower breeding game called Normal Orchid Game. You can find prints, pins and other merch at their shop. Some of my favorite items include the fantastical fetus pins and the responsible pest pins. The current available pin preorders are memento mori pins featuring extinct flowers and animals and animal pins based on various poems, including Wild Geese by Mary Oliver, a personal favorite of mine.
Artist #4: Erik/Abprallen
Abprallen is probably my favorite place to go for queer pins, both badges and enamel pins alike. After I got my first set of pins, I kind of forgot about the store for a bit, until I saw a Tumblr post about the kickstarter for the first set of pastel goth pride pins in 2020. I immediately backed and have been an avid follower ever since, jumping on the kickstarter for the second set of pastel goth pride pins the same day it went live. The trans pride pins from both sets are some of, if not the best trans pride pins I’ve ever seen. There’s a particular sort of vicious euphoria in them that really speaks to me and how I experience my own gender. My favorite pins are Sorry You’re Cis, Get Well Soon, Trans Healthcare, Now! and Heteronormativity is a Plague. If pins aren’t your jam, the designs are now available as stickers and shirts too.
If you enjoy what I do and would like to see more, please consider buying me a Kofi or supporting me on Patreon!
Snap Book Reviews 