Lindsey Palmer is a visual artist living and working in Pittsburgh, PA. Currently she holds the position of Youth Mentor at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and co-leads the museum's grade 6th-8th grade after school program centered around arts, making and social justice. She holds an MFA in Photography and Related Media from RIT in Rochester, NY (2019). Most recently she has taught introduction to digital photography to a local community college, and to a Youth Advisory Council at the Children's Museum.
Published on May 19th, 2022. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I'm excited to have direction for a body of images I've been ruminating over for quite a long time. In 2021, I aimed to photograph more regularly, even if that meant just using my cell phone, which admittedly I use the most out of all of my cameras. I had really fallen out of practice photographing for non-work purposes, and it took patience to grow my confidence back. I've now started planning to remake images I've gathered as sketches with larger format cameras.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
I, yet again, made a job switch. Working as a clinical photographer was probably the most intense job I've ever had, and it really broke me down. It was a job that allowed me to survive during a global pandemic, to challenge myself, but ultimately working in a hospital isn't a work culture I could thrive in. I returned to the Children's Museum as a full time Museum Educator, and then was promoted to be the Youth Mentor. It was a rocky switch, but in the end the leap was more than worth it. I immediately was immersed in arts and making, and it came not a minute too soon.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
My creative space is filled with books, both for research and inspiration, negatives strewn about, piles of potential materials, darkroom equipment, and photographs. I usually am listening to music in cozy clothes (my studio is on the third floor of our house and has no insulation, so dressing for the weather is important). I discovered over-the-ear headphones helps me to focus more, as well as writing and journaling about the work I'm making.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
I did a really lovely remote residency in early 2021 through Spruce Arts in Indiana, PA. It's a 12 week program where you meet virtually to critique and work-share with artists from all over. It was crucial to me this year and helped me stay positive and connected to the art-making community. I was able to keep making images when I honestly didn't feel like I wanted to, and I got to know some incredibly talented artists along the way.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I have a specific goal to remake a lot of my favorite images from this past year, and maybe write a small novella to go with a larger body of work. I would be venturing very far from my normal way of storytelling, but it feels like something I'm ready to tackle. I've grown very attached to writers who write about photography, and I think that is something I'd like to think a lot more about.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I'm excited to have direction for a body of images I've been ruminating over for quite a long time. In 2021, I aimed to photograph more regularly, even if that meant just using my cell phone, which admittedly I use the most out of all of my cameras. I had really fallen out of practice photographing for non-work purposes, and it took patience to grow my confidence back. I've now started planning to remake images I've gathered as sketches with larger format cameras.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
I, yet again, made a job switch. Working as a clinical photographer was probably the most intense job I've ever had, and it really broke me down. It was a job that allowed me to survive during a global pandemic, to challenge myself, but ultimately working in a hospital isn't a work culture I could thrive in. I returned to the Children's Museum as a full time Museum Educator, and then was promoted to be the Youth Mentor. It was a rocky switch, but in the end the leap was more than worth it. I immediately was immersed in arts and making, and it came not a minute too soon.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
My creative space is filled with books, both for research and inspiration, negatives strewn about, piles of potential materials, darkroom equipment, and photographs. I usually am listening to music in cozy clothes (my studio is on the third floor of our house and has no insulation, so dressing for the weather is important). I discovered over-the-ear headphones helps me to focus more, as well as writing and journaling about the work I'm making.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
I did a really lovely remote residency in early 2021 through Spruce Arts in Indiana, PA. It's a 12 week program where you meet virtually to critique and work-share with artists from all over. It was crucial to me this year and helped me stay positive and connected to the art-making community. I was able to keep making images when I honestly didn't feel like I wanted to, and I got to know some incredibly talented artists along the way.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I have a specific goal to remake a lot of my favorite images from this past year, and maybe write a small novella to go with a larger body of work. I would be venturing very far from my normal way of storytelling, but it feels like something I'm ready to tackle. I've grown very attached to writers who write about photography, and I think that is something I'd like to think a lot more about.
Find Lindsey Palmer on Instagram