Because We Care

Text by Haruka Ostley with Gabriel Ostley

“When one of us lifts the other up, we all lift each other up. I thought that was a very beautiful thought, and it’s something to remember as we artists collaborate with each other.” — Gabriel Ostley

It’s hard to believe it’s been over twenty years since I first met Gabe Ostley. After sharing so many ups and downs through our lives, I sometimes feel like there is very little I don’t already know about him, an award-winning graphic novel artist, my best friend, my husband, the father of my son, and my fellow artist in this world. At the same time, interviews are not only about discovering something new, but also about creating space for conversation, reflection, and the sharing of stories with others. I hope this interview can become a small archive of the path we have traveled together, and because of that, I truly believe you are the perfect person for the final interview of my first-year program.

Thank you for saying yes to this conversation.

Haruka Ostley:  You have been consistently making comics for as long as I have known you,  an incredible amount of pages, stories, and worlds. You never seem to stop creating. What continues to motivate you to make art after all these years?

Gabe Ostley: I think making art, for me, has always been one of the most fun things a person can do with their clothes still on. Artwork has always been a conversation, and I love consuming other people's conversations. Whether it's films, music, television shows, plays, great works of literature, or comic books, every time I become part of one of these conversations, I feel a need to add to it. That's what creation is to me. It's a response to other creative works as well as the world around me.

Haruka: Have you ever doubted your path? I feel like I am always dancing around changing my focus, trying some other form, painting, theater, installation, now art and social practice. And also artists often face real life struggles. 

Gabe: Yes, that is a constant struggle for every creative person. You look around you and see other people your age and your station in life, and you see the amount of money, wealth, possessions, fancy vacations, and beautiful cars, and you wonder, maybe I should be part of that too, so I can have that stuff as well. 

But what keeps bringing me back is very simple. I can't really have fun doing much else. I have tried working jobs that most adults do, and I'm not good at them. I just don't have the patience to be part of that. I am always thinking about what the next thing I can make is, because that's where my joy comes from.

Haruka: So is this your calling? 

Gabe: I understand the idea of a calling, and maybe it is. I remember one day when I felt very down about what I was doing. I thought, am I actually crazy? Then I remember thinking, do I like singing in the car or singing in the shower? Is that crazy? I don't think that's crazy. I think it just comes out of you, and you enjoy doing it. It's fun, and ultimately, that's really what drives me. I think it just comes out.

Haruka: I'm currently taking a class about collaboration. How does artist collaborate with each other. Where is the ownership, and how do we remain motivated and be truthful to your creative process? What role does collaboration play in your creative process?

Gabe: I really value collaborating. I have tried to write things on my own or do artwork on my own, and I have done those things, but no matter where I go with any medium, there comes a point where I feel like I'm too much inside my own head. I start repeating ideas and repeating things. I'm no longer surprised by my own brain.

But the minute another person joins me and we can bounce ideas off each other, everything feels fresh, exciting, and new. In comic books, collaboration helps a lot. If one person is more of the alpha dog, what I mean is there are a lot of egos out there between writers and artists, some kind of understanding needs to develop where one person has the final answer. Otherwise, a lot of arguments and hurt feelings can arise. So I would say that, at least in comic books, the collaborations that have been the most successful and fulfilling operate more like a general and infantry relationship, if that makes sense. Typically, the writer in comic books is on top. They're the ones starting the ball rolling. Everyone else follows along and helps that vision come to fruition, much like a director on a movie set. Then the artists, pencilers, inkers, colorists, and letterers are all actors underneath that director. Without the director, the film set becomes chaotic because there are too many opinions.

Haruka: I totally understand. How can we all have an equal part and still be able to create something you authentically care about and keep motivation high? So I feel it is important to communicate and see what each collaborator cares about. What are their curiosity and intentions?  The trust between collaborators is essential. I’m learning to take time in the process. 

Gabe: I have two different collaborative projects that are very different. One of them has become very popular with audiences, but that collaborator and I struggle a lot because we are almost like brothers. We wrestle over ideas instead of having a clear delineation of job duties. That has been a very rewarding and successful collaboration, but it is not easy. There have been many times when I felt like giving up because we weren't seeing things the same way. But maybe that makes a good collaboration. Maybe that struggle and effort forges something interesting.

Haruka: You are also collaborating with other artists creating anthology books. Connecting many artist’s stories together to tell a bigger story. To me, that is also a form of art and social practice. How did it all begin? And what was the intention? 

Gabe: I found a book called “The Blue Fairy Book.” It was written by Andrew Lang and his wife in 1889. They went around collecting fairy tales all over the UK. When I read it I was so surprised by how wild the stories were. How full of imagination and crazy things. I immediately thought it would be great as comics. However, I thought if I adapted them all it would take years of toil. So I hit upon the idea of asking other cartoonist friends if they could adapt a story. We are now on our fourth issue and have about twenty of the stories adapted. It’s fun- when we began compiling it, we all became closer, and are now good friends. We support each other. 

My friend just had a huge kickstarter project in which I contributed one of my comics. He gathered 175 artists, writers, poets, and more for the book. He said, “When one of us lifts the other up, we all lift each other up.” I thought that was a very beautiful thought, and it’s something to remember as we artists collaborate with each other.

Haruka: What are your thoughts on AI and its role in creative work as a collaborator? You mentioned there was an artist who announced that he will be making a movie collaborating with an AI, but ended up throwing away the idea all together. 

Gabe: We are in a very important part of human history, and I don't think anyone really knows the correct answer yet. But I do know that whenever you feel the need to fight against technology, almost always, you will lose. We might have to stop thinking about it as a fight and really embrace AI as a tool and as a collaborator. That is very difficult, though, especially for those of us who spend hours and hours on our artwork. How can this machine do what we do in just a few seconds? That hurts our feelings. But I think we need to get over it. I still think about what another artist said when they saw someone complaining about AI. They said, "You sound like the person who made horseshoes complaining about car tires."

Haruka: What advice would you give young artists navigating new technologies? I noticed many students that I have used to procreate and some of them do not have the patience in using a pencil and other raw materials. They enjoy using technology and having access to modify, edit, fix things in a matter of seconds. Even just a type of line, now they have access to use different textures, brush types etc.. all in one app. 

Gabe: I had a professor of writing who told us that people who study architecture still have to start their craft by learning how to draw with rulers, pencils, and compasses. When they master that, then they can move on to using CAD software. I believe creative work is the same. We need to understand and study the fundamentals before we can move on to using the race car.

Haruka: How has becoming a parent influenced your work as an artist? I certainly caught myself censoring sometimes how I express things. And can they also be your collaborators too? 

Gabe: I believe having children makes you a stronger person and artist. I am very interested in my children's opinions whenever I create something. I think about them when I work. Will they enjoy it? Will it be interesting to them? There's also the question of responsibility. If you create something very edgy, dark, and disturbing, will your children eventually find it? And what will they think about you? This idea probably scares a lot of us. I can see myself at eighteen or nineteen thinking that was a bad thing and that I would have to censor myself. But I don't see it that way now. I see it as pushing me to really discover my true intentions. If I'm trying to be dark and disturbing, I have to investigate those feelings even further. When you go down that road, the motivation becomes something different than simple shock. It can become very powerful. The idea of having children and thinking about your responsibility toward them can actually sharpen you into a much better artist.

Haruka: What is it like having an artist as a life partner?

Gabe: Listen, every one of us who makes art is insane. We need to accept that. We are not normal. We can try to fit in, but we will not fit in. So I believe it is very helpful to have another crazy person in your life, someone with whom you can discuss your psychosis and help each other along this path. Otherwise, if I didn't have my partner, I would definitely need a psychiatrist. :)

Haruka: What do you think about the Art and Social Practice program that I am studying right now? You are witnessing and listening to my struggle, complaints, joys, and all of those things so closely. I sometimes wonder what you see, and think about it as an outsider, but who is equally almost experiencing this journey?

Gabe: I love using other artists' and creative people's examples for questions like this because I think it helps to see things from the outside. There was a famous actor who had just been chosen to play Hamlet. He was on a talk show talking about how nervous he was. He said he was almost in tears before the first day of filming because he didn't know if he could do it. An older actor said something to him that has always stayed with me. He said, "You care... You care so much. That's why you're doing this." Ok, this makes me cry…

Haruka: Now you are tearing up! Seeing you tear up always makes me cry. Now we are both crying. Hahahaha 

Gabe: That, to me, was everything. And that's what I see Haruka going through. She cares so much. This wouldn't be a struggle if she didn't care so much. That's why I feel this experience is valuable for her and for us as a family, because she's doing something she deeply cares about. When something matters this much, it becomes difficult. But just as that actor was told, it's worth it. This art and social practice idea is maybe the highest form of art because it is art that is separated from a physical medium. That, by itself, is a very difficult thing to understand, not only as an audience member, but also as the person making it. It's very high-level art, and that's where a lot of struggle can be found: deconstructing what you're thinking, analyzing your intentions, and trying to be a good communicator. But this is also exciting because this is where new things come from. This is where new ideas come from. They don't come from painting anymore. They don't really come from anything else. They come from people struggling with these ideas in the realm of social practice art. Eventually, someone will create something that no one has ever seen before or experienced before. That's like being one of the first explorers in outer space. It's a very exciting place to be. It's scary too, and who knows what the right answers are? But it is unexplored territory.

Haruka: I do sometimes feel the responsibility of it too. Because there is so much potential to this program but could also be “What’s the point? And how that could be art when others are naturally doing these things already in their term. Are we here to claim that this is art and yours is just a party activity or volunteer work? It can be so confusing. But I know, it is a very powerful form that is worth exploring, especially when human connection is becoming invisible and there is not enough direct connection between people to people. Emotion to emotion.. Will you continue this journey and struggle alongside me for the next two years?

Gabe: Of course, all of this is very exciting to me. I feel like I learn a lot from our conversations and from all of the ideas explored in this program. Artists are always trying to break the rules on some level. This program has a lot of potential, and it will be exciting to see how Haruka is challenged and what she creates in response to those challenges. I am here for it.  I believe it will be much longer than two years!! 

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Gabe Ostley (he/his) is a versatile comic book artist and illustrator known for a style that blends classic sequential storytelling with the quirky, detailed energy of underground COMIX. Gabe draws words and writes pictures, and every panel earns its ink. He holds a BFA in Sequential Art from Savannah College of Art & Design and is currently earning his MFA from Seton Hill University. His art career has brought him to NYC working for an illustration agency specializing in licensed characters and through Hong Kong and Shanghai working as an Artist-in-Residence for Yew Chung Education Foundation. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his artist wife and two sons and pet dog Rocky. 

Haruka Ostley (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores memory, identity, and human connection. Born in Japan and raised across four continents, she draws from her diverse cultural experiences to create paintings, installations, performances, and socially engaged projects. Her practice centers on storytelling, shared experiences, and honoring personal and collective voices. 

Haruka graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and she has served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Yew Chung Education Foundation in China. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Art and Social Practice at Portland State University, where she continues her lifelong commitment to learning, collaboration, and creative engagement.