We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Guenther. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.
Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
When I came to my parents at the ripe age of 13 and announced that I was going to be a photographer for the rest of my life, they were … unimpressed. I had already had 3 career changes in my short life – musician, swimmer, equestrian – and, thanks to yet undiagnosed ADHD, none had held my extreme passion for long enough to give my parents comfort about my new life choice. My mother, luckily for me, was always more interested in doing what was best for her children than in understanding WHY we did what we did. She arranged for a meeting with my high school photography teacher, Kathy Pilat who I am still connected with to this day thanks to social media. She asked Ms, Pilat point blank “is this viable? Do we support her? How do we support her?” I am sure my mother was convinced I would become a lawyer and that it had never crossed her mind that I would pick art instead, she was in uncharted territory. Nevertheless, she was determined to support me in my choices. And support she did. She attended every single show, every awards ceremony, and drove me up to college when I was still just 17 years old and handed me over to MCAD, trusting them to continue her work of supporting me as a young artist. To this day, just this last winter in fact when I was showing at One of a Kind for the first time, she still comes to support me and my art. I still don’t think she fully understands why I’ve chosen any of this, but I know, at the very least, she believes in my choice to pursue it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
While I started my career as an artist in the field of fine art photography, I did not remain in that space for long. Shortly after graduation I sought out commercial photography studios and transitioned into advertising. For 20 years I worked in advertising and marketing in various studio roles assisting other photographers on sets, photographing for clients myself, doing retouching and production design work for various ad agencies and other various clients. I had been making my own art during this time, and one of the art forms that I had gotten into was soap- and candle-making. In 2019, I was burnt out from those decades in the commercial sector and decided I was going to do the thing that friends and family had been pushing me to do for those decades – sell the candles and soaps. In hindsight it’s easy to see where my timeline choices left something to be desired. October of 2019 was when I wrapped up what I had hoped would be my last project in corporate America, and we all know what came just a few months later. Challenges of a global pandemic aside, I pushed on, and I am terribly proud of what I have been able to accomplish during these difficult years. From 4 fragrances and two products in 2019 my line now consists of 10+ products available in 9 different fragrances, all handmade by me. In 2024 I taught myself stained glass, and now I have 15 unique designs that I consistently make and sell, and I’m working on creating more. My line, OuroHermetica, is based on the concept of “intentional living” and invite my customers to engage with small acts of magic through selfcare rituals. My fragrances are each inspired by herbal magic and align with specific intentions, and my stained glass pieces are likewise inspired by magic and, occasionally, it’s intersection with science.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I love watching people experience art. I love seeing someone see my art and beeline for it, never breaking eye contact with the piece. It’s like witnessing someone falling in love. But it’s with something that I made. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. Knowing that people buy my art to support me because they love and believe in me is wonderful, but knowing that people buy my art because they feel like they can’t live another day without it in their world is absolutely unbeatable. Getting to connect with complete strangers over a bonded love for a piece of art is indescribable. I feel it’s one of the best parts of being human.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Raise the minimum wage. Sorry to get all socialist about it but like … yeah. Caring about the poor and disabled, caring about equity, voting to end homelessness and food insecurity – all of that would support artists. Many artists are disabled, queer, poor, and otherwise marginalized. And for those who aren’t any of those things, they and their art could still benefit, as everyone could, from simply caring about those with less.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ourohermetica.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ourohermetica
- Other: @ourohermetica on everything, if TikTok makes it, I’m there too.
Image Credits
Rebecca Guenther