Ellen Forney (born March 8, 1968) is an American cartoonist, educator, and wellness coach. She is known for her autobiographic comics which include I was Seven in '75; I Love Led Zepellin; and Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me.[1] She teaches at the Cornish College of the Arts. Her work covers mental illness, political activism, drugs, and the riot grrrl movement.[2] Currently, she is based in Seattle, Washington.[3]
I was Seven in '75; I Love Led Zepellin, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me, Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life
Website
ellenforney.com
Careeredit
Forney received a B.A. degree from Wesleyan University, where she majored in psychology.[4]
In the 1990s, she produced the autobiographical strip I Was Seven in '75, which ran in Seattle's alternative-weekly paper The Stranger.[5] She self-published a collection in 1997 with a Xeric Foundation grant.[6] A complete collection was published as Monkey Food by Fantagraphics in 1999.
Her graphic memoirMarbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me[13] addressed her experiences with bipolar disorder.[14] Specifically, the memoir deals with how Forney perceives her mental illness in relation to her art, as well as her fears about medication diminishing her creativity.[15] Forney also notes the role mental illness has played in other artists lives, referring to a list of artists and writers with depression as "Club Van Gogh."[16] It was published by Penguin Books' Gotham Books imprint in November 2012,[17][18] and it was a New York Times Bestseller.[19]Marbles featured prominently in a graphic medicine exhibit that Forney curated for the U.S. National Library of Medicine.[20]
Forney's 2018 book Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice from My Bipolar Life is a graphic self-help guide, published by Fantagraphics. In it, Forney promotes her personal acronym for self-care: SMEDMERTS, which stands for Sleep, Meds, Eat, Doctor, Mindfulness, Exercise, Routine, Tools, Support System.[2]
Other workedit
Ellen Forney is also the artist responsible for "Crossed Pinkies" and "Walking Fingers", two murals in the Sound Transit Capitol Hill light rail station at Seattle.[21] She also is open for commissions such as portraits, wedding invitations, and tattoo designs.[22] More recently, Forney started offering wellness coaching for those who suffer from bipolar disorder.[23] She also connects with audiences about graphic medicine, health, and comics in frequent speaking engagements.[24]
2013: National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis "Gradiva" winner in Art for Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir[28]
^"Philly-linked artist adds life to award-winning book". Philly.com. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
^Hiskes, Jonathan (December 10, 2008). "Northwest Fiction Rooted in the Region". Crosscut. Seattle, WA. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
^"The Towerlight » Q&A with cartoonist Ellen Forney". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
^Graves, Jen (February 13, 2008). "New in Books". The Stranger. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
^Forney, Ellen (2012). Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir: Ellen Forney: 9781592407323: Amazon.com: Books. Penguin. ISBN 978-1592407323.
^National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis 2013 "Gradiva" Awards Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, naap.org. Accessed online 2014-03-04.
^The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event, thestranger.com. Accessed online 2012-11-21.