Today we’d like to introduce you to Elle Billman.
Elle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up south of Seattle, WA, and came to Colorado for college in Fort Collins in 2012. In school, I found identity and community with the queers in the Women’s Studies department. I came out and eventually moved to Denver. I began drawing fine line babes on my iPad to keep my hands busy and combat my body-focused repetitive disorders, trichotillomania, and dermatillomania. I chronically and obsessively pick at my skin and pull my hair. Art and drawing soon became a safer, healthier, and more holistic outlet for my busy hands.
My therapist told me to live my values, and with the community being such a big value, I decided to run with it. I had been yearning for the community I felt with other queers. A friend and I had been having consistent art nights together, just bringing projects and chatting all night long. We found ourselves wanting to share this with others. So we started an Instagram page and a Facebook event and hosted the first Denver Queer Art Club in October 2021 at Goldspot Brewery. We had about 8 people attend.
Flash forward two years and now we meet once a month with about fifty people attending each event. We strategically host 100% queer markets with 50+ vendors to highlight local art and keep money in the queer community. The community that DQAC and art have provided has been life-saving and life-giving.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It certainly has not been smooth. Being an artist and trying to run a business is tiring – sitting for eight hours at a market, being vulnerable with your art, selling nothing, and connecting with no one is heartbreaking. That’s why hosting successful, well-established markets has been so important to me.
I often find myself in creative ruts and struggle to get anything on the page. When those times come, I usually lean into an art night working on another medium to get the juices flowing. Collage with vintage porn is an all-time fave.
Balancing the cost of producing and printing work with the joy of creating has been a challenge. I constantly feel pressure to create “content” and have an online presence. All I want to do is make art and have it mean something to someone.
The art club has faced challenges in finding a venue that is large enough for our group. There is no shortage of creative queers in Denver!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in community organizing around the queer arts and minimalist, fine-line drawings of diverse babes. I work to reduce the noise and highlight the natural curves in all their glory. I am known for having a big laugh and lots of positive energy. I am most proud of the super-successful Rainbow Market. We had 1000+ visitors, many vendors sold out, and an overall great time.
I am also very proud of my solo art exhibit hosted at Ephemera Diners in February 2022 – a 26-piece art show highlighting bondage and the freedom found within sexual expression. I am set apart from others by my passion for inclusion and community, and my ability to organize others with the same interests.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Denver Queer Art Club, founded by myself and Sophie Gilbert (Honeypot Stitchery), meets once a month on the second Sunday of every month. October will be our 2nd anniversary so come out for a big celegaytion!!!
Pricing:
- Art Prints $12
- Custom Drawings $40
- Stickers $3
- Shirts $25
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ladyfinelines / @denverqueerartclub
Image Credits
Photos by Friends and Lovers Photography (2023)
