Ian Helm shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Ian, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’m definitely doing more wandering than path-finding these days, but honestly if you’re acting confident right now about your arts career, I’m real suspicious of that. Like when people are having a hard time making ends meet with crappy jobs they don’t care at all about, the idea of doing it with a career of choice? That’s just too rare to count on, I think. As far as I can tell, we’ve entered an era of hobbyism in the arts, and I don’t really know what that’s going to look like. But for me, right now, it looks like day jobs and commuting, and creativity gets whatever scraps are left. It’s not a pretty picture.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Wonderful? Wow, that’s harsh, it’s almost like you didn’t actually read my response. Anyway I’m an independent illustrator and writer, right now I’m working on the map for a board game. My ‘brand’ is nonexistent, I have no public-facing persona and frankly, I don’t want people to know much about me. This is probably not conducive to sales but, who cares anymore? Is art even about making money at all these days? Is it even a career any more? These are the sorts of questions that really stick with me as I clean up old sheds or load trailers up with lumber, the work I have to do because all the ways I learned to make money with art don’t make a lick of sense any more. I never cared for social media and it seems to be at an all-time worst right now, so… what would getting out there and being seen even look like? Just another dumb Facebook or Instagram page? Yawn.
Last time I did one of these Canvas Rebel things I was all proper about it and tried to put my best foot forward professionally, but you know what? Screw it. I have sincere doubts anybody will ever read this- is an editor even going to look at this before publishing it? Didn’t seem like it last time, you just published whatever I sent with zero revisions, so I’m being spicier this time, and if you actually catch it I’ll be amazed. Seriously, reject this article. I dare you to. Prove this isn’t just an empty room where you trick independent artists into listening to their own echo, and you guys just publish whatever and call it a day. Prove me wrong you phony jerks.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Lol “Thanks for sharing that” oh wow. To answer your disingenuous question, not-a-real-interviewer, dishonesty breaks the bonds between people, isn’t that ironic? As for restoring bonds- ha! No clue. Any attempts I make at moral behavior in 2025 are immediately met with a dizzying array of doubts- what does moral action even look like now? Does anybody even care for or want those bonds? I’d love to say that a firm or even zealous grasp of one’s own moral behavior means something or provides clarity but… I mean would it be honest to say I think honesty will win the day, when I have severe and crippling doubts about it?
Acts of kindness, and radical forgiveness, and all that stuff, it can still restore individual bonds, with an application of tremendous force and intent. But that’s one-on-one. If we’re talking about society en masse, like what can restore the bonds between individuals and humanity? No clue. I don’t even know if it’s possible anymore, the idea of a Team Human that we’re all on and benefit from… it just seems silly any more doesn’t it?
What breaks the bonds between people is everything, and what restores them is nothing. At the very least, disingenuous publications like this one keep everything seeming false and nasty and hopeless.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
2025 baby! Every stupid day of this year so far I’ve thought about giving up, and I may yet. It’s one thing to pile up adversity but to take away what little reward there was in the first place? Like we’re not even going to have professional artists any more just hobbyists that plagiarize all day via LLM and throw the results in a hole for nobody to see or care about? Joy of joys, it sounds so meaningful. Barf.
So yes there were times I almost gave up, but the real question is, can anybody even tell? Be honest with yourself- if you stopped making your art would anybody but you care? I’m not trying to be mean, if the answer is no that’s okay. Nobody cares about my art (except this parasitic wasp of a fake magazine), and yet I still make it. Severing the audience is, if anything, one of the few rewarding things left to do about them.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
“Sure”! Lol wow, you guys don’t even care at all, do you, you have a fake interviewer deliver pap but even the pap is disrespectful. Anyway, I don’t differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts because there’s no meaningful difference between the two- nothing lasts. And thank goodness for that! This idea of there being big swings that are truly meaningful and will be remembered, what a load of self-important hooey. You know we may not even have history any more after this era? Seriously, we may be in “post-truth” and we won’t actually have an agreed-upon record of events any more moving forward. And with no monolithic culture to tie us all in together, just atomized everything… yeah I don’t even know what a “real foundational shift” would be. Sounds like made up nonsense to sell iPhones that don’t have anything new to ’em.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
I wake up and it’s another day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://I-Helm.com
Image Credits
All images by Ian Helm. Nobody is behind the wheel at Canvas Rebel. Don’t get tricked!
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
