Meet Emily Bourassa | Artist & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Bourassa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I’m terrible at work life balance, or any kind of balance, and in the last few years I’ve just decided to embrace that mess. Whenever I’ve tried to create balance, I realize that what I’m actually doing is trying to give 100% in all areas and totally burning myself out. For now, I view my life in chunks of time, and each chunk has a short list of priorities that get the best of me, and everything else is likely getting cut. This mindset is really tough for anyone who struggles with perfectionism, or people pleasing, or has any kind of FOMO! What it looks like for me, is usually someone asking me to participate in something that sounds fun or interesting, and then doing a gut check of that thing against my list of priorities, and quickly seeing that it doesn’t make sense for me in this phase. My priorities for this phase are: My family (my kids, my husband, my parents, brother, and chosen sister. My work & education (I’m in grad school right now, getting my MFA in illustration.) Self care & relationships (these are the things that have to be the most flexible in this phase- but I return to them again and again to fill my cup! Going to a museum, seeing live music, quality time with my close friends.) Even as I’m reading this, it’s wild to me that there are still things outside of this list that require my time and energy! But for me, this is the recipe for a full life- meaningful relationships, working and learning something I love, and being inspired along the way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It seemed like every article or profile I read about artists was that they spent their childhood drawing any chance they got. They always knew they wanted to be an artist, and so they happily followed that path for themselves. I never related to those statements. As a child, I was always making things, drawing, experimenting, but saw myself as someone who couldn’t draw and was likely better at other things, so I didn’t even bother learning. As I got older, I realized I was someone who could be happy doing a bunch of different things- I had a ton of interests, and really liked school, and felt the need to make a practical and thoughtful choice about my career so that my hard work would “pay off.” There was no clear path and no lifetime of practice to guide me.
I mostly felt like it was too late to start learning how to draw and paint, even though I felt such a sense of envy when I would see artists woking.
The timing of Covid was sort of perfect for me. My kids were out of the preschool years and could function more independently. There were a lot less external demands on my time, and less pressure to get out and so I became less busy, in a sense. A lot of learning went online, so I had access to really amazing education. And I was approaching my 40th birthday, looking ahead to the next phase of life, and asking myself questions like, what do the next 40 years look like, and what will make me feel proud of my time here on Earth?
As I began learning, I did a ton of analysis about what I had “missed out on” by not going to art school. I noticed patterns in the programs, and decided to create a similar experience and rigor for myself based on what was available online, and what I could do in between moments of helping my kids (one doing school via Zoom, and the other a combination of Zoom and homeschool.) I decided that although I hadn’t spent my childhood developing drawing skills, it was simply a matter of getting my hours in, and began carrying sketchbooks with me everywhere I went- creating a little art set up at the kitchen table, or the park/beach, or in bed working late at night while everyone else slept.
It was a lot of hard work that didn’t feel hard at all because I was being energized from within, realizing that at the end of 2-3 years I would be in a place, skill wise, that I would be really proud of. And as artists, you know that you keep learning, and keep improving, always, and that starts to become really fun the more you dig into it.
What I’m doing now felt impossible 5 years ago. I couldn’t have dreamed that there would be an MFA program that I could do from home, especially at an amazing place like SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) or RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)- where I earned certificates in both Painting and Natural Science Illustration. There’s no way that I could attend programs like this in person, and run a business and be the kind of mom that I want to be all at the same time. I really believe in online learning, especially for parents.
I really believe that it’s never too late to connect with the parts of yourself that you’ve been quieting for practical reasons. If you love something, it really brings it’s own energy to your life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A perfect weekend in LA:

We start at Tartine Santa Monica for a morning bun and a latte in their front garden. Inspired by the plates, we head to Heath Ceramics on Beverly. (Edith Heath is one of my absolute favorite artists.) I have a collection of vases & serving platters and really love the experimental glazes by Tung Chiang, their Clay Studio Director.
Then onto the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. You’ll find me in the 20th century gallery or sketching in the garden with a glass of wine and a bag of potato chips.
For dinner, it’s Felix for bolognese or cacio e pepe.

The next day we’d start at Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster. This independent art supply store has all of the best supplies, and carries thing you’ll rarely see in the US. They have all of my favorite hard to find Holbein sketchbooks and palettes, and a truly robust selection of brushes, plus everyone who works there is knowledgable and passionate about art.
Onto South Coast Botanical Garden to poke around in the trails looking for mushrooms to sketch and paint. The cactus garden is another favorite spot for taking reference photos or working in my sketchbook.
While we’re in the South Bay, we’re either getting udon and fish cakes at Otafuku in Gardena, or crispy rice at Izakaya.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mom is an artist and she can do anything. She is a ceramicist & silversmith, she grows most things she eats, and can out cook anyone! She’s the reason I exist and the voice always saying, of course you can do this! Of course you’re good at this! Who would have ever doubted?!

The book that changed my mindset is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I check in with it about once a year, and try to return to the morning pages and the journaling when I can. Pursuing a creative path can be confusing, and can create a lot of self doubt. The exercises in this book always set me straight.

Website: https://emilybourassastudio.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilybourassastudio

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybourassastudio/

Image Credits
Patricia Peña