We recently connected with Bridget Anthony-Hlioui and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bridget, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

‘What is Home?’ is my most meaningful project to date. It’s more than a project; it’s this essential question I continually ask myself. It’s become a compass of sorts that guides my artistic work. I first remember asking myself this question while sharing my bedroom with a refugee family, not your everyday kind of experience for a rural American girl about 7 years old. This family of four had fled their country witnessing atrocities. It was harrowing knowledge for a child and illuminated my view of our world. Consequently and consecutively the world became wider and closer. Sensual experiences opened my mind. Golden skin graced my eyes. Rhythmic syllables awakened my curiosity and fragrantly spiced dishes tantalized my tongue. I suppose we did assist the family in getting settled and learning their way around but they taught me so much more!

So today my artwork explores my connection with our world’s cultures through patterns, layers, and symbols whilst ‘what is home?’ echos in my mind. My process is reflective and detailed. Ultimately, I create in hopes of bringing respect and honor to displaced peoples by recognizing their natural and cultural heritages, many of which have been ravaged by environmental disasters and war. My work features their beauty to offset the “bad press” such places receive. Currently I am working on a mixed media piece which highlights architectural and natural symbols of our world’s highest displaced populations featuring countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and The Democratic Republic of Congo to name a few. It’s heart breaking that as I work the numbers increase.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been making something. As a child I was forever busy crafting in mom’s ceramic studio, dad’s wood shop or even in the garden. But when it came to choose a career path, I was lost. One cold, icy winter day I was taking pictures with my Pentax K1000 in the middle of a cornfield. A friend of mine, playing the role of the lightning strike, said, “Why don’t you become a photographer?” And so I did! It was the only logical option enabling me to pursue what I loved and become a creative entrepreneur with a purpose. I enrolled in a fine art program and graduated with a BFA in photography. Since then I’ve done a few career switches but I’ve always managed to keep art as a central focus.

Today I work as a full-time artist from my home studio and within a local clay co-op in the Washington, DC region. I offer original and fine art reproduction prints of my mixed media work and photography, as well as pottery from my website. Additionally, I show within exhibitions and art markets.

My work is meant to be reflective, an immersive meditation of cultural symbols and subjects. The deliberate detailed manner in which I work adds depth to my style. I find pleasure in the making of geometric compositions of patterns juxtaposed against scenic impressions of geographical regions. The outcome demands a higher awareness of the viewer and invites them to pause and reflect. I find this reflection reminds me of our shared humanity, of our Creator, and our final spiritual home.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I did work for some years as a photographer however my career interests shifted once I had a family. I began teaching youth in diverse schools with a focus on arts and world cultures. My time in the classroom enlightened me to the therapeutic value art had for my students and their need to feel represented. I also wrote integrated art curriculum for nine grade levels while teaching full-time and thusly burnt myself out. By 2018 I was hitting that mid-life crisis phase and decided it was now or never. Time to become a full-time artist.

Once out of the classroom, I was faced with what to create first. I tried to recommit myself to photography. I thought, ‘You have a degree; you’re good at it. It’s something you enjoy.’ But it wasn’t where my heart led me. I found myself using techniques I’d taught my students to make tessellations. My fascination with Tunisia and its symbols began to swirl and reveal itself in the patterns and layers I fashioned in my mixed media series entitled “My Tribute to Heart’s Wandering”. Additionally, in an effort to gain some therapeutic time for myself, I decided to begin again with pottery. Pottery offers an earthly connection as well as a mystical wonder. I enjoy making the forms as well as painting on the surfaces. It’s been a steep learning curve undertaking life as a full-time artist and business woman but I am so grateful for the privilege and opportunity.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Well, in my experiences so far, the hardest thing for non-creatives to understand is that art for me is a spiritual practice. I do have the rituals of my faith I follow that I would not replace. However, through my creative process as an artist I find meaning and connection to all of creation and the Creator while using my talents. It is just something I must do to fulfill my sense of purpose. I truly feel that God had given us all talents. For me one of these is to be a visual artist and I think I’ll be asked how I used it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bahlioui.com
• Instagram: @bridget_a_hlioui
• Facebook: @BAHliouiArt

Image Credits
Bridget Anthony-Hlioui