We were lucky to catch up with Brittany Otto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have always had an urge to create. I grew up on a family owned organic farm in NH and had the importance of work ethic and solid community contribution emphasized in my upbringing. As a kid, as much as I loved creating things, I got stuck on the idea that I really didn’t want to succumb to the “starving artist” trope and that being an artist may be too esoteric of an occupation and wouldn’t have real value. So I spent my school years through college focusing on my second love of studying biology and environmental sciences.

When it came to my final year of college, though, I realized something big after a friend of mine asked me if I could help her create a cosplay costume. Helping my friend with making her costume re-awakened my creative passions that I had pushed down for so long. Wanting to be an artist wasn’t just a phase for me or just a side hobby activity. It was actually core to who I am and something I needed to pursue. After graduating in 2012, I essentially pulled a 180 and with the support of my then boyfriend, now husband, was able to really start my journey and explore my options for my artistic path.

I started by exploring various media and learning a broad range of skills through creating elaborate costumes. I loved the puzzle that each creation provided and the creative solutions I could come up with. I also loved how I could explore my own creative expression through costume and I loved the element of transformation that the costumes provided. However, after struggling to figure out a sustainable structure where I could support myself through the costume projects I was creating and came to the conclusion that I needed to shift my course once again.

This realization coupled with some other life hardships plunged me into a very low place in 2015. Luckily, another friend of mine invited me out to an art gallery show that her workplace was hosting and I saw a piece there where someone had combined simple sheets of layered paper with light, and that was my lightbulb moment. I created my first 3D illuminated layered paper art piece in March of 2016 and have been creating and exploring what I can do with paper and light ever since!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a paper artist known for combining layered paper and light into shadowbox sculptures that I call Oneiroframes. I’ve been based in Seattle, WA since 2012 and since creating my first piece in 2016, I have further developed my own techniques of cutting and layering paper to create my own unique and illustrative voice.

Art is my language. Words often fail me, but the images I create allow me to speak clearly about what I feel and to share the worlds and images floating through my mind. Through my struggles with anxiety and depression, I find a sense of grounding through my artistic process of transforming simple materials into something beautiful.

The challenge of turning the hard, cold medium of paper into soft edges and warm lines provides me with an endless series of puzzles. I cut every line by hand, a process as complex as it is organic—a process that makes the art feel timeless and meditative.

The lighting is the capstone that brings a beautiful transformative element to my work. I find it fascinating and liberating to rely on light to imbue my art with life and color. I also occasionally integrate invisible UV painting to further push the transformative theme of my work, as a burst of vibrant color is revealed only under specific wavelengths of light. My work shines brightest when surrounded by darkness. I hope it brings a sense of solace to the viewer and invites them to lose themselves in another world, even if only for a moment.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Aside from the obvious financial stability and growth that all businesses strive for, I find that what makes being an artist important to me beyond my own expression is how my work can connect with the viewer. While I have particular thoughts or themes that I hold in my mind as I’m creating a piece, I believe in leaving space in my work and its interpretation for the viewer. When someone relates to one of my pieces in a way that provokes an emotional response that holds meaning for them, then I feel as though I have done my job as an artist. That sense of sharing and curiosity of how others relate to and connect with my work is one of the most rewarding interactions I have experienced. I feel so blessed when those moments happen as an artist because it means that by work has made a real impact for someone else.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have a perfectionist streak and one of the big lessons I had to learn in order to progress and develop as an artist and creative business owner is that perfection is fleeting. What may feel perfect in one moment may not be in the next and as an artist, I’m so close to all of my work that I know every little possible flaw and decision that went into a piece. I’m always analyzing and critiquing my own work and often lose sight of how cool or beautiful it is because I am so close to it. It has led to a lot of fear and decision paralysis for me at times, to the point where I had to learn that it’s better to complete a piece to a point where I am happy with it rather than aiming for absolute perfection. I aim to complete projects to the best of my current ability, then for my next projects, I try to play with something new and continue to develop my skills. This is how I believe artistic style develops — by doing, moving forward, and exploring.

My struggle with perfectionism doesn’t have any particular stand alone origin story, but it has been influenced a lot by my struggles with mental health and low self esteem. It is still something that I struggle with today, but I do my best to keep creating and aim for development and learning over a lasting sense of perfection.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.badgerburrowstudios.com/
• Instagram: @Badger_Burrow_Studios
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/badgerburrowstudios
• Other: Email: [email protected]
  BlueSky: @badgerburrowstudio.bsky.social