Today we’d like to introduce you to Menhefen Rasberry.
Hi Menhefen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a child I was fascinated and enamored by cartoons. I initially thought they lived inside the TV like in a seperate dimension, then I saw a short documentary behind the scenes of Snow white, how it was made and I immediately thought “Oh wow I can draw these myself! I can make my own worlds!” I drew corny comic books and even tried submitting a comic strip to the post, to no avail. I went to college for illustration and while I struggled to find my own style (or voice?) I made a pivot to filmmaking. I still maintained a fascination with cartoons and everything animated and so about ten years ago I decide to just create collections of illustrations paintings and found object sculptured based on a them I might be obsessed with at the moment. For now i am stuck on vintage cartoons and overwhelming amounts of color. I am currently working out of the compound studio on Kirk ave in Baltimore Md.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road was not as arduous because I do not really create with any specific goal in mind. I don’t ever have any expectations beyond impressing myself. I want to blow myself away, and hopefully others will appreciate as much as I do but I can’t expect anything so most challenges are welcomed, that’s all.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in story-making. I am a writer at heart but I am a visual thinker and explorer. I am most known for making music videos and my skills as a film editor; which is my profession, it is how I make a living. I love the arduous task of manifesting what my mind easily creates through words. Illustration forces me to interpret things that are indescribable; and there is the challenge I am obsessed with artistically. I draw and paint elaborate collages to try and make a visual mess of the chaotic beauty that is always bouncing around in my brain. I am currently crafting a manga that so far has proven to be very dense. It is the saga of a all girl punk band that encounters a supernatural drug. I am extremely proud of what it is becoming but I am quite anxious to learn what others think about it. I hope they like it. And that is hat sets me apart from most artists. I am happy to admit that I need validation from the crowd. I very much care what people think of my art. It doesn’t make me create based on the desires of the audience but it fuels my creativity in a way that wants to earn the respect of the audience.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Strangely enough and as much as I have desired one I do not have any mentors. The few artists that I have met that inspired me to such a degree found me obtuse,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/FUNZITO
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funzito/
- Twitter: https://x.com/Funzito
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@menhefen
