We recently connected with Gillian Lowry and have shared our conversation below.
Gillian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on is one that I am working on currently. I am researching and studying the artwork of Lucille Oille, who was a Canadian printmaker. She worked mostly in wood engraving, and made images to accompany her husbands writing. As a printmaker and a writer, I’ve been drawn to her work because of her skill and imagery, but it is also intriguing to me because it is hyper local, and somewhat niche. I live in Orillia, Ontario, and have ties to the land around where Lucille Oille worked creating prints for the book called “The Owl Pen”, so I feel a connection there. I love her work as a printmaker, it is incredibly detailed and well executed, and I am having a lot of fun recreating images with my own relief prints, using lino, merging her style and my own. I am also having a lot of meaningful discussions with local people who knew her: she worked here in the 1940’s and 1950’s, so it has been wonderful to connect over stories, in real time. It feels very grounding and authentic to connect in this manner, off of technology, and to keep a tradition of storytelling alive.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a multidisciplinary artist. I work in printmaking, digital illustration, painting and writing. I have always been interested in creating, but really got into it in high school. After high school I attended The University of Guelph: I started in an International Development program but took a quick turn into the arts, graduating on the Deans list with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts with a minor in Geography. I have also always loved nature and animals, so this was the perfect blend. After University I worked in the equestrian industry and became a Registered Veterinary Technician, because I thought I needed a “real job”. My heart was never fully in that though, and on the side I always had art projects on the go. For a time I was silkscreening shirts and making relief prints, and selling them online, and at small markets and art fairs. After having kids I left the veterinary medicine world and began establishing myself as an artist only! The business side of art has always been my achilles heel, I would much rather create than sell and manage my work. Despite that, during the pandemic I created a line of educational colouring posters with my business called “Little Tigers”, and was able to keep my creative practice going under that umbrella while home with our young children, and even though it was a struggle I was able to get a handle on the business aspect. Post pandemic, with everyone back at school, I have gotten back to printmaking and writing, and dared myself to start painting, which I am now in love with.
To financially bolster my studio practice I do take on graphic design work for a few select clients, and I also work with my husband helping him with aspects of his business.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I find that for each new thing I try, there is always a struggle with imposter syndrome. I feel confident in my printmaking skills because I was trained to the University level, but with my writing and painting, I often feel like I have no business stepping into that area. For each new thing I try, I try to be patient with myself and acknowledge that feeling, and then set it aside and carry on. In the beginning, that was very difficult for me, and it has taken a long time to unlearn that programming. I do not need to be fully trained in a type of practice to give it a try. For example- when I first started painting, I had a really strong desire to paint freely, with great expression, which kept me going- but while I was painting the chatter and inner monologue I had with myself was horrible. By the end of a session I would be feeling ill because of it. After a few sessions I had to have a real talk with myself, and shut down that train of thought. It was a real trip! That example with painting is the most extreme, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself, and can be impatient. I call myself an Artist, so I demand excellence in anything art related. Even though I had never painted before, a part of me had really high expectations. So relearning that beginner mindset has been hard, and allowing myself grace and patience.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The biggest motivator for me recently has been time and legacy. I feel like I have things I want to accomplish in this life and it’s me versus the clock! I recently went to New York City, and when I left I was very inspired, and was reading about female artists who had successful art careers after children and after age 40. I set the goal for myself to have one major art project per year, something that could make it onto an Artist CV. My upcoming show on Lucille Oille and The Owl Pen is my first step in that direction, and I have a lofty writing project in the wings. I am trying to lean in to that feeling of imposter syndrome as well, and let whatever I want to express be expressed. I recently wrote a poem for project, which felt incredibly uncomfortable and vulnerable, but it has also touched a lot of people and been very rewarding.
Some events have happened recently that are also reminders that time is precious, and that if I want to leave this legacy then there is no time like the present. I also am motivated by the immense pleasure that I get in being creative, and I love and am drawn to the flow state and feeling of timelessness I get while immersed in a piece.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gillianlowry.ca
- Instagram: @gillianlowryart
- Facebook: @gillianlowryart
Image Credits
Headshot by Rachel Callan