Monsters are a departure from 'reality' in a way that allows for a range of fantastic possibilities. I mean this within the world of literature as well as in regards to art. When I sit down to draw, I'm energized by the possibility of creating a monster. That is where I find beauty and pathos.

My parents met at the Art Institute of Chicago as students, and somewhere in there, they procreated off to the side and created me.

My mother was very, very beautiful, and I saw that the beautiful women around me were often constrained not only by their beauty but by the way that being an object of male desire frequently caused violence in their lives. And it caused them to be constrained in these terribly sad ways - their brilliance was not valued.

I learned how not to be alone in the playground.

The hardest thing is in terms of the drawing, because, you know, I really have to work to keep my hand fluid, and I've done a lot of recovery, but it's not the same as it once was.

I still do love monsters. And when I was a kid, they were really important to me. I couldn't wait for Saturday night.