I couldn’t be more excited to share today’s episode featuring Anna Ogier-Bloomer, a feminist artist/mother who uses photography to document and interrogate domestic space. Anna walks me through her artistic life journey from being a children of hobbyist photographers in Cincinnati, to a college arts student in Boston, to a postgrad and then grad student trying to find creative community in New York, to a professional practice consultant/artist/mother working around the country, most recently in Los Angeles.
Anna prefers candid shots populated by personal connections and often emotionally-charged moments. We talk about the struggle of protecting privacy while documenting and honoring intimate relationships and also staying present. We share stories of intergenerational guidance (Anna’s mother is a lactation consultant, among many other things!) through parenthood, raising children and making art in the time of COVID, and taking time in your professional arts practice to focus on work and life over exhibitions.
Additionally, Anna lets us in on some of the insights she’s developed as a professional practice teacher and counselor cleaved from skills honed over years of mentoring artists (some of you may remember Anna from the 2019 Artist/Mother retreat!). She tells me about guiding her own husband into postgraduate arts education, and we consider the uphill battle of artists with day jobs everywhere: “an artist’s potential cannot be fully realized if they are spending 40-60 hours doing something else.”
Most importantly, Anna and I discuss the necessity of understanding your personal priorities for your art and not depending on the standards of success others set for you. Always remember to reinvent and rewrite your definition of “success” as your life changes!
See more of Anna’s work on her website or on IG @annaogier.
The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @kaylanbuteyn
