This video offers a glimpse behind the scenes of our latest print issue and the making of our cover with artist Nikola Djukich, whose work speaks softly and lands with force. From Serbia to Vietnam, from inherited silence to self-authorship, Nikola’s practice mirrors the very ethos of Kailon: art as excavation, art as witness, art as becoming.

As we mark our third print issue and one full year of Kailon, this moment feels especially tender. What began as an idea has become a global conversation—built by artists, for artists.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. Thank you for believing in us.

It has been one year since we officially released our very first print magazine, and this marks our third issue. In that time, we have grown into a global team working across different regions and disciplines. Our first magazine was created in good ole standard Canva. For the second issue, our Executive Editor, Lilli, a genius, used the tools offered by the platform we publish with. With this issue, we reached a major goal in bringing together a full team to work within more stable, professional and efficient graphic design programs.

Our graphic lead and head of our marketing team, Michelle, is an absolute wizard, I cannot thank her enough for all she’s done. What we’ve built together truly feels like a dream team, and throughout the creation of this issue, I’ve felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everyone involved.

For this issue, we wanted to honor our debut while continuing to lean into the avant-garde, punk, and grunge aesthetic that has always shaped Kailon. At the same time, we wanted to create space for each artist within the pages to fully be themselves, much like our debut runway show last September. I had the unexpected honor of interviewing our largest features, many being artists I have long admired from afar.

The cover art is especially meaningful. After Nikola Djukich submitted his work for our last print issue, ‘Queer Alchemy’, I was immediately captivated by his style. It felt exactly like what I had been searching for, for this issue. Nikola graciously agreed and created the collage that now defines our cover, a piece that carries a deeply powerful story.

In Nikola’s own words,

“For the Kailon cover art, the piece came from a very personal and transformative place. I started with an image of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, as a kind of structural and symbolic anchor. From there, I layered different images of my body and my friend Nika’s body—photographs we had taken over the years, fragments of ourselves. It was very much about the body as a site of experience, vulnerability, and identity.

The work emerged after a conversation with my friend about our experiences with anxiety and panic attacks. For months, I felt like I was going through it alone, but reconnecting with him and hearing his story made me feel seen, understood, and less isolated. That relief, that shared experience of struggle and survival, became central to the piece.

Through this layering—of flesh, of personal history, and of the goddess Nike—I wanted to capture a sense of transformation, acceptance, and victory. It’s about witnessing ourselves, acknowledging the challenges and the trauma, and still celebrating life and resilience. The threads of flesh, divinity, and self come together as a reflection of survival, friendship, and the reclaiming of personal power.”

Nikola’s full feature interview is incredibly powerful, but passages like these stayed with me. This past year was difficult, there were many moments where I felt alone, carrying everything in silence. It is through community, through reading and hearing shared experiences, that we begin to feel seen, understood, and less alone.

To quote Nikola once more,

“The piece represents a triumph over self-doubt, over isolation, and over the anxiety that had weighed heavily on us. It’s about two people witnessing each other’s survival and claiming that, despite the chaos, everything is going to be okay. That was the emotion and sense of triumph I wanted to capture.”

I believe it’s vital for people to know they are not alone. While Kailon has hit the ground running, we are still very new and my greatest hope is that this platform continues to uplift artists who remind readers that everything is going to be okay. That you are not alone in this human experience. That you are loved. That you have something beautiful to share with the world.

And we hope, deeply, to be a part of that.

The December Edit— available now.

Queer Alchemy is finally here. Pride is not a product. Queerness is not a performance. And for us at Kailon, this issue was never just a seasonal theme or a trending hashtag — it was inevitable. Kailon is proudly queer owned and led and we absolutely wanted to show our love and our pride.

Vol. 1 Issue 2, Queer Alchemy,  is a bold, loving tribute to the transformation, resistance, and creative force of queer history and culture.  More than 40 pages of original writing, photography, interviews, and visual essays from all around the world– stitched together with one guiding belief– queerness is magic. Queerness is protest, joy and a force that remakes the world.

Inside, you’ll find voices that crack open the archive and reimagine it queerly—like Indie Sinclair, whose raw reflections leave smoke on the page; No Parts, a local music collective challenging genre and gender in one breath; and Nikola Djukic, whose visual storytelling flips the lens on beauty, sexuality and social defiance. Alongside them are emerging artists, writers, and visionaries, whose work pulses with the same energy: of becoming, of survival and of boundless self-definition.

This is not rainbow capitalism. This is not commodified pride. This is our living document of what it means to create, to remember, and to imagine as queer people across borders, lineages, and identities.

In the words of our Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Nidia Álvarez-Nguyen:

“This is not just any issue—it’s a collective pulse, a fierce and affectionate offering. When we released our first print issue last December, there was no question what the next one would be. A celebration of queer life. A mirror held up to joy and resistance. A tribute.”

Born from months of intimate labor—conceptualizing, rewriting, revising, rebuilding—Queer Alchemy is more than a finished product. It’s a process we’re proud to show the seams of. As Nidia writes:

“There is an entire universe that exists behind every page: the editorial labor, photoshoots, the months of correspondence and conceptualizing, the rewrites, the doubt, the breakthroughs. To echo our incredible Executive Editor, Lilli, the process itself is a work of art.”

Queer Alchemy is also a deeply personal issue. Kailon is queer, woman, and minority-owned, and we carry those truths proudly into our work. What we’re building here isn’t just a magazine—it’s a sanctuary. A challenge. A community built on trust, vision, and wild creativity.

In our first year of public life, we’ve grown faster and farther than we could’ve dreamed—now read in over 18 countries and counting. Our network of interns, artists, writers, and collaborators grows daily, and every voice that joins us shapes who we are becoming.

Queer Alchemy is for the visionaries. The rebels. The lovers and the fighters. For those who know that queerness is not just an identity, but a way of reshaping the world around us. A form of alchemy—where fear becomes freedom, survival becomes art, and beauty walks hand in hand with truth, loudly and proudly.

We invite you into this constellation. Into this living, breathing collection of queer stories and queer futures, with no apologies.

Get your own digital or print copy of Kailon Magazine’s new print, ‘Queer Alchemy’

Fall in Tallahassee, Florida often disappoints. This time of year, I dream of vibrant oranges and yellows and reds swirling around me when I walk outside, of taking long walks in the cold—but instead, all I get here is the odd fallen, crusty magnolia leaf crumbling underneath my converse. I ache to feel the world changing around me, but the weighty humidity keeps me stuck in place. I don’t think eighty degree Novembers and relentless sunshine are what the Romantic poets imagined when they wrote about Autumn. While I wish I could wear a cream woolen sweater and drink a hot cup of earl gray while reading Robert Frost, my cheeks flushed like a romantic comedy lead, my autumnal fantasies are never fulfilled. So, I turn to poetry for a sense of change and magic when I’m uninspired by the palm trees and evergreens outside my door.

Here are three poetry collections to stir the soul and open your heart to the world this Autumn—wherever you may be. (Although I seriously envy you, reader, if you are somewhere where the temperature has dared drop below seventy degrees Fahrenheit.)

If solitary walks in nature were enough to inspire Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, who am I to avoid the humid outdoors? Oliver’s verse never fails to fill me with a sense of wonder. Her writing paints the natural world as a gateway to spirituality, illuminating beauty in the most ordinary things. In reading Devotions, I think you’ll discover a golden thread which pulls you from wherever you are sitting into the arms of the nearest oak tree. Look no further than the poem “Loneliness” to be inspired to seek solace in nature:

“I too have known loneliness.

I too have known what it is to feel misunderstood,

rejected, and suddenly not at all beautiful.

Oh, mother earth,

your comfort is great, your arms never withhold.

It has saved my life to know this.

Your rivers flowing, your roses opening in the morning.

Oh, motions of tenderness!”

There are few poets that make me feel as connected to the natural world as Mary Oliver, and in the absence of magical seasons, Devotions helps me find magic in the ordinary. Mary Oliver will teach you how to be in awe of the world.

Delightfully introspective, Louise Glück will pull you into winding narratives over fifteen poems in Winter Recipes from the Collective. In her own words, “the book contains / only recipes for winter, when life is hard. In spring, / anyone can make a fine meal.” Across allegorical, and rather mystical, settings and characters, Glück communicates a unique stillness and reflection—reflection I find myself starved of in our whirlwind of a world. Forget long walks in the brisk cold, you need only Winter Recipes to consider the passage of time and change this November.

John Keats is synonymous with an appreciation of autumnal beauty. In the style of the English Romantic poets—which I can feel even in American Mary Oliver’s writing—he evokes a sense of longing and a profound experience of nature. Since I immigrated to the United States from England, Romantic poetry has felt like home to me—the rolling fields, the playful daffodils, the fairy homes in mossy hollows remind me of my childhood in the Southern English countryside. Through poetry, I feel as if I’m returning home. Keats particularly captures the transitory and reflective feel of Autumn, and his verse makes me wonder what it means to leave the Spring of my childhood behind. In these lines from “To Autumn”, he gives the personified season a reminder that I find myself needing at this time of year:

“Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too”

Keats reminds us to appreciate the present and find beauty wherever we can.

As the days slip away ever faster, and November too quickly becomes the new year, these collections offer meditations on change and beauty. They urge us to reflect inwards, to discover stillness, to find something beautiful wherever we choose to look. So, whether you’re bracing for the cold or living in a swampy land devoid of seasons at this time of year, I hope poetry can fill your heart with wonder and Autumn spirit.

Are you an artist, writer, or visionary with a story to tell? Kailon Magazine is now accepting submissions for our upcoming print issue, set to release in June! This edition will be a bold celebration of Pride, and we want to showcase voices and perspectives that are vibrant, powerful, and unapologetically authentic.

What We’re Looking For:

We welcome all forms of creative expression, including:

• Short Stories – Fiction that captivates, inspires, and challenges norms.

• Poetry – Verses that resonate with raw emotion and vivid imagery.

• Think-Pieces & Articles – Insightful commentary on culture, identity, activism, and more.

• Art & Photography – Visual masterpieces that speak louder than words.

No medium is off-limits! Whether you’re experimenting with digital art, analog photography, or written narratives, we want to see how you express your truth.

Theme:

This edition will be largely Pride-themed, celebrating the history, beauty, struggles, and triumphs within the LGBTQ+ community. We’re particularly interested in works that push boundaries, ignite conversations, and showcase unique perspectives.

How to Submit:

Send your submissions to KailonMagSubmissions@gmail.com. Please include a brief artist statement or bio with your entry.

Deadline:

Submissions will be accepted until May 1st. Don’t wait—share your voice with the world!

Join us in creating a space where visionaries and rebels collide. We can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!

— Kailon Magazine
Curating the bold, the unconventional, and the limitless.

In the realm of art therapy and spiritual exploration, few voices speak with the raw authenticity and depth of Paula Gasparini. A self-proclaimed "lover of truth," Paula's work transcends traditional boundaries between art, therapy, and spiritual practice, creating spaces where healing and transformation naturally emerge.

"I don't prescribe to any specific tradition - I'm not Eastern or Western, Christian or Buddhist," Paula reflects. "I'm simply a lover of truth." This truth-seeking has led her to study extensively across religious and philosophical traditions, from the Book of Mormon to the Bhagavad Gita, always searching for the common thread that connects them all. "Within all religions I've studied, I've found the same essence - interconnection, love, and unity."

The Art of Emptiness

Perhaps Paula's most profound insights come not from ancient texts but from her intimate understanding of grief. "I have a deep philosophical theory that the avenue to truth is through grief," she explains, quickly clarifying that she doesn't define grief merely as loss. "I define it as an encounter with the unknown. Our first experience of loss, whether of a person, safety, or connection, was our first entry into the unknown. From that space, we develop entire coping mechanisms to prevent us from touching that void."

This understanding has deeply informed her work, particularly in correctional facilities where she recently completed what she describes as "one of the most beautiful projects I've yet done in my career." Working alongside incarcerated artists at Madison Institution, Paula helped establish a two-week intensive art therapy program. Rather than positioning herself as an expert, she approached the work laterally, recognizing the expertise already present in the incarcerated artists themselves.

"I always try to enter any relationship - whether business, therapeutic, or artistic - as empty as I can be," she explains. "I'm trying to remove all bias, all agenda. What helps us all as humans is feeling connected, feeling seen, and feeling that thread of truth, which I believe to be the interconnection of all things."

Transformation Through Creation

This philosophy manifests powerfully in her artwork, particularly in a monumental 17-foot canvas that represents her history of trauma. The piece culminates in an image of a woman offering a peace lily to the past - a moment Paula describes as transformative. "It was the first time I understood grace. Until then, I always thought trauma was something we had to heal from. But through understanding grief as intimacy with the unknown, I discovered it was something to simply say thank you to, allowing the whole story to be what it was without having to turn it into anything else."

Paula's artistic process mirrors her philosophical approach to life - a delicate balance between creation and destruction. "All art is a balance of de-creation with creation simultaneously," she notes. "The de-creation, which is what I call grief, is as essential as the creative act itself." This interplay between building up and breaking down creates a space where authentic expression can emerge.

Redefining Hope

One of Paula's most striking pieces, "Give Me Hope and I'll Give You Anything," explores the complex relationship between hope and fear. The work, split across two canvases, represents a profound shift in her understanding of hope itself. "I used to think of hope as a huge part of my prison," she reveals. "That form of hope was actually just the other face of fear - it was where I was unwilling to face the things I was afraid of.

"

Looking at the piece now, she sees "so much love for my little survival self that was trying to overcome all the pain she had inside of her." This evolution in perspective reflects a larger truth in Paula's work: that genuine transformation often requires us to release our attachment to conventional forms of comfort.

The Safety in Vulnerability

Paula's approach to both art and therapy centers on creating space for authentic expression and connection. "The truest protection we have is that energy that is eternal - that's the thing that can't be lost," she reflects. "If you really review your life, these self-protection strategies we all implement never actually protect us from harm. Harm is inevitable. Pain is inevitable. The truest protection is having so much connection to that eternal energy that our ability to regenerate after pain becomes natural, like nature itself."

This understanding transforms her approach to working with clients and creating art. "Security and safety are vastly different," she explains. "Security means being free from care and comfortable - that's what people seek but will never find. Safety is homeless, found in that space where we've taken our compost - the good and the bad - and we've made it all one, so there's nothing to escape or fear anymore."

A Container for Transformation

Her recent exhibition "From Grief to Grace" embodied these principles, creating what she describes as "a beautiful container for the Tallahassee community." The show became a space where grief could transform into love before her eyes, witnessed in "people's words and people's eyes." The exhibition demonstrated the power of creating spaces where vulnerability is not just accepted but celebrated as a pathway to connection.

"Let grief in," she advises those in the midst of their own transformations. "Let the heaviness hold you in enough stillness where you finally surrender all those subconscious acts - the running, the avoiding, the controlling, the grasping. Let the heaviness make you so still and just get ready to receive the most beautiful gift that grief has to offer, which I believe is the space of love."

For Paula, the path to truth isn't about accumulating knowledge or perfecting techniques - it's about becoming empty enough to receive what's already there. "Truth is in the unknown," she insists, "and our willingness to be in that space." Through her art and therapeutic practice, she continues to create spaces where others can discover this truth for themselves, finding in the void not emptiness, but abundant possibility.

[This article stems from an intimate conversation exploring the intersection of art, therapy, and spiritual truth, capturing the philosophy and practice of an artist-therapist whose work continues to transform lives through authentic connection and creative expression.]

“I just want to be that spark that gets people to think,” Kas Sennings expressed. Reading his book of poetry, A Lovers Covenant, and speaking with him, nothing emulates who he is better than those words. At twenty-seven years old, this may be his first published book, but the deep emotional thinking that is evoked through his poetry has followed him from a very young age. His book was born out of an experience of love and heartbreak. Gracefully, Kas touches on topics of personal transformation, spirituality, and the meaning of life itself. Elements of Kas’s identity, the fact that he was born in Juventino Rosas Mexico and now lives in Dallas, Texas, give some insight into who he is. Nonetheless, there is no better way to understand someone deeply than through their art. Take the time to read Kas’s art and let this article be an additional component to that understanding.

In the first pages of his book, Kas explains that he wrote it three separate times. The first was written in the whirlwind of infatuation. The next in the despair that is heartbreak and the final time was when he found himself as the love he was always searching for. 

This book is not simply made of love poems, it is one man’s unique healing experience. Kas did not intend to write a book. Poetry has always been his way of coping with intense emotions and experiences. However, writing poems throughout his experience with love did not necessarily soothe him. As he explained it to me, he can write a poem and walk away still steeped in pain. Writing many of the poems in his book was incredibly hard for him, but he noticed that he kept pushing himself to write more. At a certain point, he understood that there was a different purpose at work: others were supposed to read his poems.

Kas initially hired an editor but felt that his edited words were unrecognizable to him. He wanted the words to represent his raw human experience, so he parted ways with his editor. Reading the book, one notices misspellings and grammatical errors. These were all present when Kas first wrote his poems and he intentionally included them to ensure that he presented something completely honest to the world. “It doesn’t have to be professional to be beautiful,” he said.

Considering the poems in this book are unedited, I was curious if Kas worried that some people may not understand the messages that he meant to convey. When faced with this question, he reiterated what he said at his book release, “If you don’t see the value in what I wrote it doesn’t hurt me and I do not dislike you for it. There is nothing in it that is yearning for me to be acknowledged.” Art is highly subjective which faces many artists who are pursuing success with the hurtful truth that someone else will decide whether or not their creation is “worthy.” Being that Kas has large aspirations, such as becoming a New York Times Best Selling Author, it is very impressive that he can stay grounded in his intent to share pure, truthful art rather than gain validation from those who read his work. 

Even though it is not his main goal, Kas certainly does receive validation for this book and his other poetry. He has built a very successful Instagram page and gets messages from people who have read his book telling him how deeply his words resonated with them. Instagram is, as he described it, quick and easy but lacking in meaning. He would prefer people to walk up to him and share a conversation about his book and their own personal experiences. This is a claim made by many, but I believe Kas truly meant it. When I shared my favorite excerpt from his book during our interview, he listened intently and allowed it to ignite further conversation.

As a child, this author was quiet and simply didn’t enjoy talking to others. He grew up isolated and insecure in his own potential. Writing his first poem in fourth grade, in which he described his mother as a flower, he found that poetry helped him cope. This led him to love simple things. Simple things that could take on entirely new meanings for each individual person. Kas started to see that he had creative potential before writing his first poem. His uncle mailed him small sketches that he drew during his time in prison. Kas doodled images to send back to him, and in the gloom that was his young insecurity, he found hope that he may be able to create something beautiful, too. When he was six years old, Kas’s uncle took his own life. At a very young age, he was faced with the reality that people could simply disappear. He was terrified and drowned in the idea that everyone around him would vanish. There are lines throughout A Lovers Covenant that reflect Kas’s spirituality and deep understanding that life is temporary. As he describes it, his spiritual beliefs center around being completely present in the current moment of his own experience. 

Concerning how Kas views himself as a writer, he said, “I am the believer that my thoughts are not my thoughts. Everything that I think and everything that I believe comes from something beyond me. I simply am the thing that puts it into words.” 

This artist, however, is not just a poet or writer of short stories. He draws. Throughout the book, two illustrations appear. Kas believes that they are a visual representation that “I am not just talking about flesh, I am not just talking about people, I am talking about the idea of what a person is.” His art experience stretches back to the drawings that he exchanged with his uncle and he is fully self taught. Jazz inspired art, with its abstraction, resonates most with him. The two characters that he depicts in the book are of this style and full of symbolism. The doodled lines within their forms represent the complexity of people and love itself. The red versus yellow coloration depicts the hot passion of love and the subtle adoration of that love. In his final drawing at the end of the book, a rose demonstrates that love comes from within. 

When you read this book, you will see into the author’s deepest thoughts and feelings. If you have an ounce of my nosiness, you will also inevitably wonder if the woman who he writes about has read these words. I asked Kas if he knew whether or not she had read any of the book. He chuckled, “Yes, I do know, because I got a message.” 

Kas is working now on his first novel, Lamenting Clementine. Unlike his book of poetry, this one will be written in a more classical style. The book, based in the 1950s, follows the small experiences that litter the life of a man who is coming to realize that his time on Earth is temporary. He wants people to read the story and learn more about themselves through it. For some, the small moments won’t seem important, but the author believes that others will recognize their heavy significance.

Read A Lovers Covenant and you will be faced with a multitude of thoughts, emotions, and maybe even epiphanies. No two people will read the same words, take away the same messages. If you are to gain anything, Kas would like you to understand how truly insignificant everything is. To use that knowledge as a catalyst to live your life to the fullest.

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To stay informed about what Kas does next, follow him @kassennings on Instagram. You can find the link to purchase A Lovers Covenant through his Instagram, or you can search the title on Amazon.com. 

Kas’s favorite poem from A Lovers Covenant:

If the fire of your existence

Ever dimmed from this earth

I would burn everything in

Sight to bring to this world your warmth again

Disclaimer: If you or anyone you know is struggling with self harm and suicidal thoughts, call 988 for support.

Kailon Magazine is not just a publication—it’s a revolution of creativity, storytelling, and artistry. Our debut print issue is a treasure trove of compelling voices, captivating visuals, and daring ideas that celebrate the unconventional and the limitless.

Inside, you’ll find exclusive interviews and stunning features with trailblazers like renowned writer and author Kas Sennings and visionary artist Paula Gasparini-Santos, who invite you into their worlds of inspiration and brilliance. Dive into heartfelt short stories, evocative poetry, and thought-provoking essays that challenge the ordinary and ignite the imagination. The cover art, created by the extraordinary Jackie May, captures the essence of our mission—bold, beautiful, and unforgettable.

Every page is a testament to the power of storytelling and art to connect, inspire, and transform. Kailon is for those who crave depth, those who embrace beauty in all its forms, and those who live with passion and purpose. This is a magazine for the dreamers, the rebels, and the creators—a place where your imagination can run free.

Kailon Magazine is more than a collection of pages—it’s a movement. It’s a celebration of life lived boldly, with integrity, creativity, and courage. Don’t just read Kailon—experience it. Let it inspire you to find the beautiful, the noble, and the limitless in your own journey.

Grab your Kailon Print Magazine available now!