Life & Work with Kaj Kunstmann

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaj Kunstmann.

Hi Kaj, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My name is Kaj Kunstmann, and I’m a queer non-nonbinary illustrator and writer, and head of Biolumen Press. My husband is John Grillo, a queer artist and co-head of Biolumen Press. Biolumen Press began under another name in 2013 when I launched my comic Warhead and set up a table at Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco to promote its imminent first issue to be published the next spring. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t turn a profit. 

A bit crestfallen but undeterred, I continued to table at California-based shows, with my slowly growing arsenal of Warhead comic issues. Around 2015, I cast a hook into the waters of the internet to try and get contract illustration work. The staying power I demonstrated in my own work helped assure my clients I would see jobs through, and from there, I was able to transition from living off savings to making income. It also opened the doors to friendships and associates I would have otherwise missed out on. 

Ultimately, however, it wasn’t sustainable to take on so many contracts simultaneously. The workload ended up burning out my dominant arm from overuse, and I had to take a step back and seek other employment. This, though disappointing, did provide me with the means to move to Los Angeles. After gaining some strength back I went back to art and illustration, but this time solely with my own work in mind. I had met John by this point, and his enthusiasm for my work was the shot in the arm I needed to really put pen to paper on finishing Warhead as well as trying my hand at some other ventures. 

Since John fully embraces my non-binary identity, I felt more confident in sharing those aspects of my life in stories and art. I had always been open about my sexuality, but non-binary and trans identities are heavily stigmatized right now, so having someone in my corner was bolstering. I’m hoping to do even more this year with non-binary identity and support for the queer community as a whole. 

John helped push me to try and build my work into something which allowed me to follow my interests and not be afraid of diverting from expectations- something which was drilled into me as a big problem by colleagues. John has always placed my success as a creator among his highest priorities- he even bought me a bundle of ISBN numbers for Valentines Day. Much better than a bouquet of roses, I think. We have plenty of projects we’re slowly shaping on the back burner while I focus all my attention on Warhead. 

I’m currently three months away from finishing Warhead with only 88 pages left to color; I’m excited to finally be able to share the last book with everyone! Warhead Volume 3 will launch on July 20th, 2024, so stay tuned on Insta to join in the book launch fun! 

You can also see us at Wonder Con this March at booth SP-43 and San Diego Comic Con at Small Press Booth O-11! 

You can also find my work in Catnip Coalition in Burbank, Hive Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles, and in The Pop-Hop in Eagle Rock. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely had its ups and downs! The majority of this business has been solo, and it’s only been since 2019 that John has been part of Biolumen Press; prior to that, any struggles that arose, I had to muddle through on my own. I definitely struggle with the endless grind of visibility and marketing. It’s a challenge to both constantly be sharing and creating new work at the same time- particularly when algorithms on social media are often nonspecific about what they want in order to boost visibility. It makes social media feel like a second, unwanted job, particularly for an introvert like myself. I’m still trying to figure out what a workable process for marketing and social media looks like to me. I sincerely dread the thought of annoying people by talking too much about my work. I worry that something I share will come off as irritating to everyone the more I post about it. At the same time, without any feedback, posting feels a lot like shouting into the void. More often than not, I tend to say very little. Moreover, I don’t have a particularly boisterous attitude about myself or my work, which sort of puts me at odds with what feels like to me to be one of the core ideas of marketing. 

Etsy, for all its warts, has been pretty good at directing traffic toward my work if it relates to something they’re already searching for. Rather than fighting to reach a potential client, Etsy helps the client find me. Etsy allows for flexibility in selling styles, I feel, which helps work with the ebb and flow of my schedule. For example, right now, I’m deep in creation mode on Warhead Volume 3, coloring 2-3 pages a day, so I’m not turning out as many new sticker or pin designs. However, some of my audience follows me on Etsy and are notified when I post new art of pins, and additionally new folks who find me on Etsy have the opportunity to follow me once they find something in my shop that they like. It helps to keep folks engaged without necessitating me to do heavy lifting. So far, I haven’t had the opportunity to do some investigation into alternatives to Etsy that allow me to be discovered based on similar interests, but it’s definitely on my to do list. 

Conventions are also great means of overcoming the social media trudge! When I was starting out, the whole process of conventions was an anxiety-filled mess, haha. Now, however, while there is still nervousness about making sales, I find the experience to be very encouraging. I’m able to connect to people in the moment and see their reaction, which is incredibly affirming and motivating. It’s also grounding to see the immediate impact, both financially and readership-wise, after a long weekend of engagement at a show. It really helps break the feelings of isolation and lights a fire in me! I’m hoping to expand my convention schedule in the second half of the year after Warhead is wrapped up, and I can engage with small projects that will allow my schedule to be more flexible. We also have to work around John’s Day job schedule, which may see me taking on more shows solo. I’m excited at the idea despite any anxiety about having to table solo. 

Building a brand itself has also been a hurdle since my work is so intrinsically tied to me as an individual. For the longest time, my brand only Warhead, really, and some fanart. Slowly, more monster-themed work crept in, and I felt myself wanting to really explore anything I felt like doing but also share it with my audience. 

It feels unnatural to stick to the conventional wisdom of a brand, which seems so limiting to me. In my heart, I want to create what is most compelling for me to create at the time, which may or may not be “on brand” for my previous projects. I feel like with Biolumen Press, I have enough playroom in the idea that it gives me leeway to wander wherever my heart goes without coming too much out of left field. For example, I might not have been able to create my comic book cookbook narrated by a little dragon, Trash Dragon’s Tasteful Noods, Foods, and Treats, if I hadn’t carved out space in the concept of Biolumen Press as a whole. 

Networking is another huge challenge for me mentally. I’m introverted, so talking to folks at shows is already one stumbling block. If I realize that someone I’m speaking to may be influential, I tend to freeze up and not know what to do. 

Being a natural extrovert, my husband, John, has greater confidence when it comes to opportunities and networking. He has less anxiety about it and is better able to know when and how to flex a network to achieve results. John more or less does this for Biolumen Press, but since, at the moment, the majority of the work is mine, it still ultimately means I need to maintain the network once I’ve met people. Even in the age of digital media, this can be stressful- not wanting to bother people and such. I’m doing my best to improve and overcome these obstacles that are at such cross purposes with my nature when I’d much rather be putting pen to page. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Biolumen Press is a small art house and small press publishing company featuring the work of myself, Kaj Kunstmann, a queer nonbinary illustrator and writer, and my husband, John Grillo, a queer artist. We specialize in making sequential art stories with narratives drawn from our own personal experiences. We hope sharing our experiences in this way will resonate with our readers. More specifically, we love the strange and bizarre, monstrous wonders that light up the imagination- hence the name Biolumen. We love the way monsters and myths stir the soul and create an excellent setting for the small battles that rage in the heart during the daily to and fro of life. Monsters and strange characters in the mundane setting, more or less. I think, above all, I’m proud of my graphic novel trilogy Warhead. Warhead is near and dear to my heart, it began as a desperate attempt to build a career after finishing a screenwriting degree abroad and became an outlet to work through my trauma and mental health issues, as well as explore my identity and sexuality. It’s truly a very personal project that has a lot of myself in it. 

Apart from Warhead, I’m very proud of the charity work we do. 

We have Cat Saint-Stained Glass Portrait Stickers as well as seasonal witchy cat stickers, I illustrate, and a portion of the sales from those items go to Kitten Rescue Los Angeles. I also paint large format holographic watercolor paintings of silly cats (I call them Disco Cats on account of the color shift paint reminding me of a disco ball), and 100% of the proceeds from those go to KRLA. Last year alone, we raised over $1000 for KRLA, which is quite a bit since we are a small outfit! Monthly we also donate to other animal organizations like the Mountain Lion Foundation. Animals are something very close to our hearts, so we are happy to be able to pitch in and support. We also foster with KRLA, so it’s great to be able to help in more ways than one. 

I think what sets us apart from others is the fact that we tend to, first and foremost, treat our artwork as something special and important for us as creators. It might sound selfish, but if our work isn’t bringing us happiness while we make it, then there’s no point. 

We rarely seek to capitalize on trends or cater to the ebb and flow of what might be popular if that trend doesn’t spark something within our own imagination. We believe art should be personal and handmade- we always want our creations to be important and cathartic for ourselves first, and we never use AI generative art. 

I’m excited in the coming months to be able to break ground on short format comics that dig even deeper into aspects of identity set in places that are meaningful to me. I really want to center on character-driven stories; I love how pacing and timing can evoke such exquisite turns of emotion in the choices I make as a storyteller. I love Warhead and I learned so much in the process of making it, and I’m excited to bring that experience to even more stories. 

I’m also eager to make time to continue with some Tarot Decks I started a few years ago and start to share the art from those once the decks are finished. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck plays such an immense role in any business! Knowing when a connection or opportunity is important is so difficult to discern, and knowing how exactly to capitalize on good connections and opportunities can be tricky. All connections are important, of course, but some definitely have the potential to move more mountains than others. Who you happen to meet and who happens to see your work can easily dictate the success of a business and career. Trends also, for all my disinclination towards them, also have the power to elevate a career if used correctly. It’s very easy to get FOMO at networking events and trade shows, thinking you’re not meeting the right people. I think I haven’t had the best of luck in the networking arena, apart from the good fortune of meeting John- which is no small feat of luck! 

With John at the helm of the more social aspects of things, luck has risen a bit. All the same, it’s not like an extrovert can instantly turn up promising opportunities and contacts- it’s still, by and large, chance and circumstance which are notoriously difficult to control. 

I’m hoping that in the future I can take more solace in my own sense of things in networking and be able to make my own luck as I feel more confident. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.biolumenpress.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k_sanzo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksanzo/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4WKAIcZmyjlQ7eBMLwyAww

Image Credits
Katrina Kaj EK
John Grillo