We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Bourne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
As an artist, resilience found me early on. Although it didn’t feel like it for a long time.
I am the only person in my family who has pursued a creative field as my career choice within the last several generations. While most of my family has been deeply connected and drawn to art in one way or another, I spent my childhood watching those people with passion for a craft turn towards “sensible” careers because it was the “realistic” thing to do.
I have a very clear memory of telling a family member that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up– think 8 or 9 years old– and their response was that artists usually have a “real” job in addition to the pursuance of their craft. I didn’t have to ask in order to understand that a real job fell into the 9 to 5 category, and felt stifling, boring, and unimaginative. A 9-to-5 was my worst nightmare. In fact, I think it still is.
When I picked up my first camera and found photography as an art form, I knew I’d found my medium. I had a potential career– it was the first time I knew I could make it, I wouldn’t have to choose between art and a career.
However as more and more people began to ask what I wanted to do with my life, I began getting more pointed responses: Photography was a hobby, what would my “real” job be? It was near-suffocating, but I continued taking photos, asking my friends to model for me, taking work for pennies, anything to get behind a camera and practice more.
I didn’t have anyone shining a light, showing me what it meant to pursue an entrepreneurial, passion-fueled career. However I was determined. The fear I had of my own light being snuffed out, my art being put on the backburner; it simply wasn’t an option. I fought against complacency, finding every place I could to make art– and with it, finding resilience.
It wasn’t until after my son was born that I consciously found that place inside of me that had kept the fire inside of me lit for so many years, though. I was brought to my breaking point, between the need for comfort, safety, and the perceived security in a 9-to-5 job, and the need to follow my life’s purpose at any cost. It was the first time I’d genuinely been reread to give up on photography, throw in the towel, and fully let it go. It felt easier than continuing to push against an ever changing industry to find my footing.
I recognized my own resilience when I finally considered letting it all go. I loosened all the tethers that held me to photography, and I realized that nothing in my life could ever stop me from taking photographs and creating art. Even when I got nothing in return but satisfaction, I knew I would always come back to it. I always had.
I stood in the face of pressure, assumption, and judgement, never backing down from what I knew I was meant for. My desire, the soul inside me pressing at the seams, begging to create, single-handedly formed my resilience.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My driving force is and always has been creating art. I currently find the intersection of art and career within the family and wedding photography industries, and balance out my schedule with a combination of the two. I aim to serve humans who see the beauty in creation and collaboration, and love experiencing and documenting humanity. As I pursue serving my clientele as a brand, my side projects range from pottery to novel writing, and I am currently working on a project that I hope will be part of my first art show.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Th most important thing I ever did for myself as an artist was inner work. Being able to connect with the darkest parts of your soul and then find beauty in them is intense and rewarding work. It deepens your empathy and also brings a very important level of self-awareness, and when you’re a service provider, those two things are invaluable.
It’s easy to be swept into the drama and politics of the photography community, but when you’re focused on your deepest, most authentic intention, at the apex of service and creating art, you won’t be as easily swayed by the opinions of other people in the industry– instead, you’ll have the wherewithal to take what resonates with you and leave the rest.
Learning the difference between service and creation was also a huge revelation for me: you must be able to pour yourself into a project and create something meaningful for yourself, and that doesn’t always mean it has to happen with every single client experience. Sometimes a session is just work: it’s the thing that keeps the lights on. It doesn’t make you a bad creative to have a session that doesn’t feel like your next big thing. Making time to ensure your creativity can be fully honed is really important. I do this through styled shoots, writing, and pottery.
Additionally, to all my starving artists: invest in some business education. Marketing yourself might not feel natural, but it’s a necessary component of paying those aforementioned bills, especially at the beginning.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Overwhelm should be my middle name. I am basically always feeling overwhelmed as a new mom and a business owner, and when I feel stuck or stagnant within my creative endeavors it’s pretty easy for me to get discouraged. My favorite tool has been the To Be Magnetic program. It is a self-help program focused on subconscious inner work. My second favorite tool has been the Fair Play system, which helps partners divide the mental load involved in managing a household. It’s such a huge weight off my shoulders to be able to hand over tasks to my husband, and have an external tool to help with those discussions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilybourne.co
- Instagram: emilybournephoto
- Other: tiktok: emilybournephoto
Image Credits
Emily Bourne Photography
