On Visual Storytelling, Comics and Healthcare: Catching up with Sam Hester
You know a great storyteller when you hear one. But it takes an exceptional artist to help us really see a story.
Sam Hester does just this — and both her skilled work and commitment to impact is one of a kind. A recognized leader in the field of graphic recording, Sam uses deep listening skills, her signature graphic style and a passion for community-building to engage audiences in meaningful ways.
I was lucky enough to find Sam through our mutual TED connections. In her TED Talk last year, “How Visual Storytelling Creates Better Healthcare,” Sam talked about the important and growing graphic medicine movement. To illustrate its impact, Sam shared the very personal role graphic medicine played when Sam was a caregiver for her mom –and the change that it drove for the better.
Sam instantly impresses, showcasing the intersection of her talent, passion and impact in both her words and pictures. In our interview, we discuss the benefits of feedback, the overlooked stories that inspired her creativity during the pandemic and her advice to others who are building their own distinct work in the world.
Laura: You have such an impressive spectrum of creative work — from comics journalism to the graphic medicine movement. When did you know you wanted to be an artist? Was there a moment, or was it fluid over time?
Sam: The stories came first: I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I studied English literature. But I suspected my writing wasn’t that great, so I supplemented my stories with pictures to make the stories more engaging. At the same time, when I drew or painted pictures, I found I was always including words, to add context to the images. Everything clicked when I started writing autobiographical comics in my early twenties, and I realized that I didn’t have to choose between words and pictures — I could have both, and the work was better when I combined them. I’ve never looked back!
Laura: Who have been your greatest influences as you’ve developed as an artist?
As a child, I read comics, but it was children’s writers and illustrators who inspired me the most. I loved it when great writers, like Eleanor Estes and E. L. Konigsburg, were brave enough to illustrate their own stories. And I loved it when visual artists, like Raymond Briggs, were brave enough to write stories to accompany their pictures. Of course, I love the work of author/artists like Maurice Sendak and Arnold Lobel, who seem so perfectly at home in both.
As an adult, I continued to read and love young adult fiction, and was especially inspired by the funny and brilliant New Zealand children’s writer Margaret Mahy, who placed her stories in her own local settings, at a time when publishers and audiences were skeptical about doing that. Mahy’s work really inspired me to rethink the way I saw my own local surroundings, and to be brave enough to write stories set in my own hometown!
I probably have to mention Bob Dylan: I’d known him as a folk singer of my parents’ generation, but in the late 1990’s I was amazed and thrilled to discover that he was still playing amazing concerts all over the world. I followed his tour all over the place for a few years. Entirely apart from his skill as a performer, I love Dylan’s ability to use words in a powerful way, and I have been delighted to see his writing beginning to receive the recognition I think it deserves.
When my children and I talked about the artists and writers who have inspired me, we noticed that almost all of them are white English-speakers. I am glad my kids love them too, but we’re always on the lookout for work by diverse creators, so that the stories and pictures we love are more reflective of the world around us. We recently re-discovered the beautiful children’s story “Crow Boy,” by Taro Yashima.
Laura: Do you ever get “stuck” when you’re trying to find your next idea? How do you get ‘unstuck’?
Sam: Yes, of course, I get stuck all the time! I’ve found that it helps to refresh my perspective. There are two ways that I try to do this.
I first try to take the work as far as I can get it — even if it’s just a messy storyboard and lots of hand-scrawled notes. At least that gives me something to go back to when I return. Then I go away and do something else, or go to bed, and come back the next day to look through all those messy notes. I usually find something new in them or see something in a new way that I didn’t notice earlier. That might help me to get the story a little bit closer to where it needs to go. Then I repeat the same process all over, until finally I come back to a draft that feels like it works. Of course, because I write comics, the process doesn’t end with the script — it continues as I make the drawings, too. I start with scribbly outlines and keep revising. I go over the scribbles with proper lines when I’ve decided what that picture should be.
The other thing that helps me get “unstuck” is working with an editor. Getting editing help on my comics still feels new to me. When I started writing comics for a local journalism outlet a few years ago, nobody on our team (including me) had any experience editing comics. But by trial and error, we landed on a system. I send in my draft storyboard or script — or sometimes an almost-finished comic — and my colleagues at the Sprawl send me feedback and suggestions for improvements. Usually, we know right away if it’s great or if it just isn’t hitting the mark. Bouncing ideas off each other helps us to see a different way to frame the story and turn it into something that works. At first, I worried that outside suggestions would compromise my own vision, but I’ve come to welcome this process and to trust that these outside perspectives just make the work better!
Laura: All of us have had to learn a ‘new normal’ these past two years. Has there been ‘something’ that’s inspired you during this time that shifted how you think about your own creative practice?
Sam: I’ve always been inspired by personal real-life stories. I’ve joked with myself that I can never run out of material, because real-life stories are always happening, and I always find them interesting. However, during the pandemic isolation, it’s tested my ability to find something interesting and inspiring. How many stories can I write about staying at home with my kids, over and over and over again? However, this narrowed lens has helped me to appreciate those small, overlooked stories even more, and to look for new inspiration in places I thought I already knew inside out. It still surprises me when I find it.
Laura: What advice would you give others who are looking to start or build their own creative practice?
Sam: I think I’d advise that it’s ok to work on your creative practice “on the side,” while you’re also doing whatever else you do — your work, your family caregiving, your education. Your creative practice can provide a welcome outlet after your “daily grind!”
And, you never know what that might lead to. When I was younger, I dreamed of being a full-time creative artist and writer but couldn’t figure out how to make it work. When I was in my mid-thirties, I reached a place where I accepted that it wasn’t ever going to happen — it wasn’t realistic. My freelance attempts had never earned much, and I had my family to support. I put all my art supplies in the basement and told myself I’d just enjoy creative projects as a fun “sideline” — nothing serious. Instead of chasing those old dreams, I started volunteering in my neighbourhood and getting to know my local community. No one was more surprised than I was, when I found that my own local scene was full of people, stories and opportunities that inspired a whole new chapter of creative projects for me, and ultimately led to me quitting my “real” job to start writing comics and doing graphic recording. That was ten years ago, and I have been so lucky to end up having a career that, so far, has actually fulfilled some of those dreams. I guess my advice would be to do whatever feels realistic and be open to wherever it leads!
Laura: Just for fun, is there a song on your playlist that inspires your creativity?
Sam: It’s funny, but although there are many musical artists I love, I don’t think I listen to music to inspire creativity. When I’m writing, I like silence. After I’ve figured out what I’m doing, I like to draw while listening to words and stories: podcasts, the news, a phone call with a family member. When the work is done, though, I like to listen to music to celebrate and relax.
I think my favourite song to listen to when times are good, is a special version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.” In 1997 the BBC invited about twenty-five very diverse singers and musicians to perform this song together, to showcase the wide range of music offered by the BBC. The result is a stitched-together song that just uplifts and leaves me wanting to hear more from all those artists. I don’t think this version of the song is available commercially, but it’s easy to find online. Wishing you a perfect day!
