We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Bourassa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I started drawing at age 37, because it had never occurred to me to learn how. My mom was the artist, and my brother, and I was the one that wasn’t very good. What would be the point at trying, when I already knew I “couldn’t draw?” But as I got older, and my wisdom started kicking in, I realized that I was feeling jealousy. Jealousy towards artists in my life, or that I had seen on Instagram, and disbelief that anyone could really make art their work. That was how impossible making art felt to me, I wouldn’t even give it a try. I started to realize that what I was feeling was actually a very strong desire and a natural inclination toward art. It was me wishing I could have art in my life, in a real way. At that point, I felt I had nothing to lose, but time. Why not try, and maybe fail, but at least I would have tried? I already saw myself as not an artist, and not great at drawing, so I really didn’t have much at stake. Something shifted, when I became willing to fail. Suddenly I could see behind the curtain. The only difference between me and the “real artists” was a few classes and a few skills. I started to get to work on learning, and it became my fuel in everything. Learning art energized me so completely. It was relaxing but also stimulating. I could end the day utterly exhausted, but still have energy to draw all night. I had found my missing piece.

Emily , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My primary focus right now (besides my family), is earning my MFA in illustration. It’s a 2 year program that I am completing through Savannah College of Art & Design, and I’m honored to be a part of it. In the meantime, I do all freelance work- wedding invitations, content creation, and creating paper goods and art prints that I sell on my website. My dream project would be to illustrate a cookbook, as I can’t seem to stop painting food lately.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Well, I wish this would have existed earlier in my creative journey, but online classes have been absolutely life changing for me. I think it’s a really important space for the education system. Learning from home is so different from what I grew up with, but as a parent, it’s pretty much the only way I can access higher education. I imagine if this had existed in 2011 when my daughter was born, I would have gotten started at that time, instead of so many years later. I’m really excited for this next generation to have access to learning that doesn’t follow a traditional mold. In my classes, we have babies on laps, we take breaks to do drop off, and, guess what- we learn a LOT.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I can’t even begin to describe it, but if you’re an artist, or a frustrated non artist, I bet you will understand. For so many years I felt restless. My life looked the way I wanted it to, but I was jumping from hobby to hobby, and constantly picking up new things- cooking, knitting, needle felting, calligraphy… I have entire cabinets of supplies in my house from all of these “not quite it” things. And it’s funny because I now know that I was literally avoiding doing the hard thing- learning how to draw. The minute I decided drawing & painting were it, I immediately felt that restlessness disappear. It’s rewarding because I feel centered and focused now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilybourassastudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilybourassastudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilybourassastudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybourassastudio/
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emilybourassastudio
  Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/emilybourassa.bsky.social

Image Credits

Molly Lowe-White
https://www.instagram.com/molly_shoots_film/