Meet Mary Sette

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Sette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Mary, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Oh man, I don’t think I’ve overcome imposter syndrome at all. I deal with it all the time. I just did SPX (Small Press Expo), a big comics/cartooning festival in Maryland. I’ve done a lot of events in Los Angeles, but this was my first time flying to exhibit at one this big. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, but I never got around to it because of work obligations and general life hysteria. I also wasn’t sure if my work was ready yet. It’s challenging because you create these projects, and over time, your style evolves —hopefully becoming better and sharper. And then you have an inventory of work that maybe doesn’t resonate with you as much. It can be really challenging to want to evolve and sharpen your technique while also honoring your more cartoonish or less “technically proficient” work.

I also struggle with feeling like my work doesn’t fit into the style of traditional comics or cartooning. I often battle those feelings, wondering where I fit in and whether people are responding to it or if they don’t understand. I usually experience those fears before I table an event. It’s so much more anxiety-inducing than a film screening because, at least in that case, I’m not standing next to the screen while the movie plays and being like, “DO YOU LIKE IT??” Film is so collaborative, too, that you can distance yourself from it and be like, “You’re right! I wish our editor had cut that too, but don’t tell him, I said that!” But artwork, you draw the thing, you paint the thing, and if it sucks, it’s ALL YOUR FAULT. And then you go to these events where these artists literally make PAPER and you’re like, I gotta go. I mean, I have to ask my partner to assemble and staple all my books because it turns out it’s physically impossible for me to fold things in a straight line. So, needless to say, I had a lot of imposter syndrome about it.

Of course, having said that, SPX was a really cool experience that I definitely want to repeat, and overall, I was proud of myself for not looking like a total dumbass. And then I came home and crashed and went down the “Did I do a good job? Did I do enough? Do I suck? When will death come?” thought spiral, so it’s a constant struggle. We also obviously live in a society that promotes insecurity to keep us buying things to fix us. I always think I’m one face cream away from being cured of my personality. I don’t think you ever overcome imposter syndrome. Maybe if you’re rich, you can! They can buy a lot of things! But for most of us, I think it’s something that waxes and wanes, and you just get better at dealing with it.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a writer, director, illustrator, and graphic designer working in Los Angeles. I think my work has been described as “wonderfully demented.” I work across a variety of media, but my overall goal is to create evocative imagery that blurs the line between dark comedy and surrealist horror. And then just in general, tell stories that capture something real. I’m not sure what real things are until I force myself to draw them.

I just got back from exhibiting at SPX in September. I’m tabled at the San Diego Zine Festival in October. Next month, I’m hibernating so I can make more new stuff and hopefully work on the graphic novel I’ve been chipping away at, Horrible Corpses. I have a bunch of events next year that I’m hoping on doing, and while I really do love tabling at festivals, I’m also an introvert who needs to hide from humanity occasionally in order to feel human.

I also have a Substack (wow, amazing, original) called “Hearts are Zero Points,” an inside joke for anyone who’s been on Weight Watchers and wants to eat the rich. It’s a series of comedic, confessional essays where I bitch about late-stage capitalism, my worst bosses, my shittiest friends, and paralyzing neuroses. I also rant about my favorite old movies and how bad new TV is these days. (There’s a lot of it, these days, ISN’T THERE? It’s almost like it’s written by a bunch of rich people! Ok, I’m done.) It’s equal parts me sharing my personal failings and me kind of putting people (who remain NAMELESS) on blast for their own bullshit.

It’s writing for judgmental people who hate themselves for being so judgmental, but it’s not their fault; they usually end up right.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Well, I think I’m always a little bit unhappy with everything I do, which, for some masochistic reason, I think might be a good thing. I always want to improve on a technical level. I think that’s what’s kept me working so much. I think what’s been the most impactful is consistency, experimenting, and crying over tuna sandwiches. I strongly recommend tinned fish in your future endeavors.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

I’ve started working with film photography and learning ways to incorporate it with fine art and graphic design. It’s really nice to learn something new, see if that can elevate your other work, and also not care if you’re “good” at it. I’m working on a graphic novel, and I’ve been experimenting with photography for backdrops and scanned images of organic materials (pressed flowers, soil, paper collages).

I also love working on graphic design projects, where I combine my illustration style with typography to create event flyers, album art, and sticker designs. It’s a different muscle. Right now, I’m working on a semi-annoying idea of mine for an album art project for my partner’s band, Trash Castle, where I want to incorporate black-and-white film photography and explore what it would look like as a risograph print with graphics. I also want to make these papier-mache masks for the shoot because the band doesn’t want to show their faces on the cover. It’s a little silly and probably convoluted, but it’s fun to experiment and do something you’ve never done before.

It gives you a reason to live. Just kidding. Nothing does!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maryasette.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masette/
• Other: https://marysette.substack.com/

Image Credits

Artwork credited Mary Sette. Photos credited CJ Ballesteros.