Tiny Talks is an interview series with Tiny Spoon’s talented contributors. This week we spoke with Ray Frost from Issue 9, Cut/Copy/Paste: The Remix! Find their collage comic, “The Intimacies We Have Shared” in our ninth issue!

Tiny Spoon: What was your process for engaging with the Cut/Copy/Paste Remix? How did you choose what to keep or what to omit?

Ray: I read through the whole issue once just to experience it. Then I reread it a few days later and cut out all of the words, phrases, and images that jumped out at me. The next day I looked at everything I cut out and played with arranging them until I found a poem that I felt told a story.

Tiny Spoon: What kindles your creativity?

Ray: Nature, music, and things I see out riding my bike.

Tiny Spoon: Are there any artists, heroines, idols & friends that you look up to?

Ray: I look up to a lot of the other artists who also work out of the Reno Generator. It’s an amazing community with so much talent. I also look up to Ashley Anderson (@hiddenstash.art), Pine Bones, and Hyena Hell.

Tiny Spoon: Are there any natural entities that move your work?

Ray: The moon is a huge symbol in both my life and my work. My work is also heavily influenced by the landscape of the Nevada high desert.

Tiny Spoon: We’d love insight into your creative process. Could you share what it is like for you, either with your work that appears in Tiny Spoon or in general?

Ray: Most of my work starts with a note in my phone and a bunch of reference photos on my laptop. I make sketches until I find an image that speaks to me and go from there.

Tiny Spoon: Do you have any current or future projects that you are working on that you would like to share?

Ray: I’m currently working on finishing up issue 10 of my zine series How Did This Happen??? which follows the adventures of a reanimated roadkill coyote

Tiny Spoon: What book, artwork, music, etc., would you recommend to others?

Ray: Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt.

Tiny Spoon: Is there anything else you would like others to know about you, your creations, or beyond?

Ray: My art is a huge part of how I cope with my depression and I hope my work is a bright spot for other people as well.

Tiny Spoon: Where can people learn more about what you do?

Ray: @indoorcoyote on Instagram.