We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Buschur a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
The best part about being an artist is the continuous learning process. How many times have I pushed paint around, and how many different outcomes have I found? I am so thoroughly interested and invested in that exploration. Most of what I have learned is self-taught, even as I spent time in academic environments finding it.
Jordan, 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?
I started painting in high school, after taking a summer class at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. Art making has remained a major part of my life since then. I have had all kinds of arts related jobs along the way, sometimes with more studio time, sometimes with less. All of it contributes to where I am now, even if I can’t always see the through-lines. What an amazing thing to build this path- at its best it’s full of internal motivation, critical thinking, wild creativity, and community.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I recently returned to undergraduate teaching part-time, and I frequently think about students at the start of their artistic paths. I remember my beginnings- the freshness of the search for subject matter, the simultaneously daunting and exciting feeling of possibility when making it up for yourself. Thinking in this way helps me return to those ideas now, twenty or so years into my practice. Every small decision I make in the studio has the potential to shift the path of inquiry I follow, and I still find such joy in the mystery of learning to see that.
Along with that, I love sharing my work with others. Much of my recent work is deeply personal, so it is especially meaningful to me when it resonates with someone else too.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I was in graduate school, it seemed like there was a limited way to define success. It included living in a major city, securing gallery representation, and moving up a hierarchical ladder. That definition does not fit my life as I choose it- I live in a small mid-western city, I show mostly with artist-run spaces, I’m raising three young kids, and I value other activities in my life, like gardening, mushroom hunting, and leisure. Success is only worth achieving if it is defined personally, with different shapes based on different stages of life. I’m trying to keep my internal compass strong. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jordanbuschur.com
- Instagram: jordanbuschur
Image Credits
Personal photo by Natalie Tranelli-Jacobs