Unclaimed
Ellen Forney
Memoir & Personal Growth
Ellen Forney is an American cartoonist, educator, and wellness coach whose autobiographical comics explore mental illness alongside political and cultural subjects.
Biography
Ellen Forney, born March 8, 1968, is an American cartoonist, educator, and wellness coach. She is known for autobiographical comics, including I Was Seven in '75 and Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me. She teaches at the Cornish College of the Arts and, as of 2019, was based in Seattle, Washington. Her work addresses mental illness, political activism, drugs, and the riot grrrl movement.
Shortly before turning thirty, Forney was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Concerned that medication might diminish her creativity and threaten her livelihood, she spent years seeking mental stability without losing her sense of self or passion. In exploring the idea of the “crazy artist,” she drew inspiration from artists and writers who experienced mood disorders.
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Books by Ellen Forney
Marbles
Marbles recounts Forney’s bipolar disorder diagnosis and her years-long effort to find mental stability while preserving her creativity and sense of self. It also explores the idea of the “crazy artist” through the lives and work of artists and writers with mood disorders.