We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brittany Bouyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brittany below.

Brittany, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

It’s definitely a personal project I created in 2021 in response to the first threat on women’s right to choose that was announced in Texas. I had such an immediate gut punch reaction I didn’t know how to respond with words so I sketched a floral uterus on the plane coming back from a trip with my husband. As soon as I got home, I started illustrating more details using my iPad and shared it on my instagram almost immediately and the responses were incredible. So many women were telling me how this lit them on fire to stand up for themselves!

This design has struck a cord with so many women and connected us. Things obviously have not gotten better since the news has shifted in 2022 to many more states making similar decisions. A lot of women around my age are also in the depths of family planning and so many of these women have shared their stories of loss, infertility, abortions, struggles and beyond. This piece specifically has given women a chance to be proud of their bodies, regardless of what they’ve had to deal with.

Brittany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Brittany Bouyer, I live in Chicago with my husband (he’s French and you may see an influence of France) in my work since we travel there quite a bit) and our dog, Riley. I’ve been working towards self employment for many years, I always knew I worked best when I had the most freedom and flexibility so I kept striving for it. Throughout the years I’ve explored mediums from printmaking, wood burning, watercolor painting and most recently digital illustration.

With a formal background in Art Education, I found myself always wanting to experiment and discover new ways to create so when I was determined to learn surface pattern design, I dove right in. Once I took the time to learn the technical aspects of drawing on an iPad with the ProcreateApp, I was taking on so many personal projects, to figure out my artistic voice. While I do think this is something that will evolve for the rest of my life, I know that there is definitely a theme within my work: femininity and women’s empowerment.

Parts of my business now show what my values are too, keeping all of my manufacturing in the United States, working locally as much as possible. I make sure to use sustainable packaging with every item I purchase!

Now you can find my work as art prints, screenprinted tee shirts, patches, stationery, wallpaper and fabric.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I have to say meeting and connecting with people that talk to me about my work. Women in particular love sharing their stories in response to some of my designs and it shows how impactful art can be. I think it proves to artists that our work is important, valid and necessary in the world. Plus if it weren’t for people connecting to my work and purchasing it, I wouldn’t be able to do this every day so it encourages me to keep going.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Well I think most people had to do some pivoting in early 2020 but I was definitely one of them. I was working full time for someone else while doing my own art on the side. When we were told we needed to stay home and work, my job shifted to just keeping my bosses businesses afloat, which was really difficult because I didn’t have much experience doing those tasks. The part I loved about my previous job was the people, the space and the ability to connect with coworkers, not the work itself.

After a few months of trying to juggle both in the pandemic, life felt overwhelming. Upon reflection I thought how quickly things can change and we can get stuck doing something just because we think its what we’re “supposed to do”. That was when I decided it was time to take the plunge into self employment. Was it scary? Was I unprepared? Absolutely, but it was still the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and I’d do it all over again.

Each day is wild and unpredictable but I didn’t sign up for easy.

Contact Info:

• Website: brittanybouyer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanybouyer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brittanybouyer/

Image Credits
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