A Q&A with Artist Abi Stevens

​I recently discovered the art of Abi Stevens and was immediately intrigued by her use of color, references to mythology and especially her portrayal of chronic illness through digital illustrations. As someone who’s lived with migraine for many years, Abi’s artwork resonates with me not only because of its unique representation of migraine symptoms, but because of the empowerment and determination behind every illustration. 

Abi lives and works in Cambridge, UK, where she’s preparing for a fundraising exhibition to benefit the National Migraine Centre. She just wrapped up a successful Kickstarter campaign and will be releasing her line of enamel pins later this month. She hopes to continue raising awareness about chronic, invisible illnesses and to remind other spoonies that they’re not alone. 

I couldn’t wait to talk with Abi about her experience with chronic illness and how she’s using her art to make a difference for others who are suffering.

Abi Stevens, Artist and Chronic Illness Warrior

Q: What inspired you to create your Chronic Warrior and Migraine Warrior pins?
A: I started making illustrations about migraine and connecting with other spoonies online, and I wanted to create something empowering for myself and others: a kind of visual symbol of pride for those of us with invisible illnesses and anyone else who wants it.

"Sharp"

Q: What was your first illustration inspired by migraine?
A: At the time I had only recently been able to spend any time in Photoshop again after being completely incapacitated by migraine for a while. I decided to try to work through some of my feelings via my art, which was a new approach for me. I wanted to express the pain, the swirl of emotions, and the struggle of migraine management, with things such as finding effective medication (which is why the border has little pill shapes in it). 

Q: I love your use of bright, bold colors in your artwork. Was that a conscious choice? 
A: Thank you. I think it started subconsciously and then has become more of a conscious thing as I paid more attention to my balance of color and tone when constructing an image. I'm instinctively drawn to bright, highly saturated colors (they cheer me up), and now I find if an illustration doesn't have some bright colors, it doesn't really feel like mine. I think my color palette has become one of the more recognizable aspects of my work now: lots of warm oranges and yellows or bright pink, for contrast against deep purples, blues and greens mostly. 

Popshot Magazine Illustration

This illustration for Popshot magazine is one of my recent works which really ties together the various elements of my style: the color palette, the sketchy line-like shading of the figure, the stylized border and shape elements, and a heavy helping of symbolism! ​

​Q: One of your illustrations that really resonated with me is Transient Aphasia. It's something I've struggled with in the past, and it's not talked about often. Can you tell me how you came up with the idea for this illustration?

"Transient Aphasia"

A: Luckily I've never lost the ability to understand others, but I do have trouble finding words sometimes during attacks. My speech slows down and I can slur my words. I wanted to represent loss of the power of speech and the kind of out-of-focus feeling of some attacks. I decided to use the visual of language literally slipping between your fingers, and a vacant-looking expression to show the disorientation and communication issues migraine sometimes causes. The green segments of the circle represent the missing connections in your mind. 

Q: I was also intrigued by Smothered. Can you explain what this illustration represents?
A: This illustration is the most personal of the series for me. It represents the despair and isolation that can come with chronic illness. After being signed off work and mostly bedridden for months, I felt as if my chronic migraine was swallowing up my life and my personality; I no longer felt like myself because my enthusiasm, energy, and “productivity” were all smothered in the fog of constant migraine: a monster I couldn't defeat. 

"Smothered"

After making it, I actually found this one uncomfortable to look at for a while because it represents such raw emotion for me, so I ended up making a companion piece: fight/struggle (I keep changing my mind on the titles for this pair), which represents support and acceptance from friends and family helping you fight back against the impact chronic illness has on mental health. I turned the upside-down keyhole-like border right way up as a deliberate visual inversion of Smothered. It's a representation of hope to counter the first illustration's representation of despair. (Actually, Hope and Despair might be better titles for them!) ​

"Fight/Struggle"

Q: How has your art helped you cope with chronic pain and illness?
A: It's been a cathartic exercise for me. As medication started to improve my condition and I could draw again, I started making illustrations more personal to me as a way of processing what was happening to me. Sharing my work online connected me with others who resonated with the images, and interacting with other spoonies has made me feel less isolated and more determined to find healthy ways to deal with my condition. 

Chronic Warrior enamel pin

Q: What do you hope to accomplish through your artwork within the chronic illness community?
A: As making my migraine art has been empowering for me, and seems to resonate with others in the community, I want to keep using it to empower others, remind them they're not alone, and help to raise awareness for chronic illnesses, starting with migraine: which is very common but often dismissed as “just a headache” when in fact it's a pretty complex neurological condition. 

Having just Kickstarter-funded these enamel pins, my next step is a fundraising exhibition night this Saturday, September 14th, in my hometown of Cambridge. I'll be raising money for the National Migraine Centre.

To see more of Abi's artwork and order your own Warrior pins, visit her website and follow Abi on Instagram!