about WILLOWS
welcome to the world of WILLOWS, a multimedia online magazine committed to uplifting the work of up and coming artists. WILLOWS is the creative brainchild of olive uzoma & natalia guerra (besties & co-editors). rooted in the transformative experience of creating and consuming art, WILLOWS features work that impresses itself upon you, works that evoke feeling. named for the trees of our childhoods & dreams, WILLOWS represents the symbiotic relationships between dark and light, death and life, pain and healing. new issues are quarterly reflections, released at the end of the featured season.
our inaugural issue, CATKINS, was released on june 21, 2025. CATKINS catalogued art that illustrated springtime themes of nascence, rebirth, and new beginnings. to make room for new growth, CATKINS has been archived for the time being.
you can indulge in the entirety of WILLOWS|CATKINS on our substack, coming soon!
about MACERATION
our second issue, MACERATION, showcases young artists of promise whose work is in alignment with the summertime themes of maturation, ripening, and the subsequent fall from such heights. this issue is organized into four general themes, extracted from our released prompts. while all the works that we reviewed were impressive in their own right, we selected works that stylistically & thematically aligned with our vision for WILLOWS: to share that which was felt, not just as what was seen or said.
MACERATION is organized by the four major themes that grounded the prompts we offered in our call for artists. these themes are:
(1) softening (2) greatest delights (3) over-indulgence (4) degradation
the art featured in this issue is equally intoxicating as it is delicious. several submissions stood out to us as particularly juicy, outstanding pieces of work. these works are:
“shank” by jessica ahrens
“the story of the hungry ants!” by dylan jones
“oenosis” by nupur chowdhury
you can read more about these artists & their process under the “interviews” tab.
if you like what you read here, let us know! feel free send us any commentary or queries through the “contact” tab. follow us on instagram @willowsmagazine!
about the editors
olive
olive is a writer and illustrator from long beach, ca. she is preoccupied by motherhood, mythology, mysticism, and the nature of the tragicomedic paradisean prison of life on earth. she wades through these themes by means of short stories, so-called poems, and drawings.
nati
nati is a creative from chicago, currently based in los angeles. she enjoys dipping her toes into various mediums, perusing that which calls to her only when it does. she currently dabbles in writing, cooking, dancing, jewelry-making, collaging, photo/film, and creating books. in the next year, she plans to explore playing the conga, scent-making, wheel-throwing, and sewing her own clothes.
— headshots by alia becker —