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Sara J. Winston is a Hudson Valley-based artist. She earned her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2014. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in library collections including the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University and the National Art Library at Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Winston is currently working on a multi-volume book project inspired by her experience of autoimmune illness. Two previously published volumes of this work include the books "A Lick and a Promise" published by Candor Arts in 2017, and "Homesick" published by Zatara Press in 2015.
Published on March 29th, 2020. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What projects are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on two photobook projects: one is a photographic response to my father's recent cardiac episode and illness, and the other is a taxonomy of my monthly Multiple Sclerosis treatments. A few weeks ago, in August 2019, I became a first-time mother. I’m excited by the photographs I’ve made during pregnancy through the first weeks of my child’s life and am excited to see this work continue to evolve and grow.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
My primary goal in keeping myself accountable is to achieve a work-life-practice balance. In the best cases the three overlap in a meaningful and profound way. Psychologically, the only way I can describe how I keep myself accountable is through my compulsion to make photographs and respond to the questions they present. On paper, I keep myself accountable to my practice by doing at least one thing related to my creative practice each day. I keep track of what I’ve done with spreadsheets--whether it be research, correspondence, submissions, hands-on making, writing, or photographing. To keep myself accountable during the first year of my child’s life I am fortunate to be participating in Atelier Smedsby, a one-year long international workshop in Montreuil, Paris and online overseen by photographers JH Engström and Margot Wallard.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
There is an overlap between holding myself accountable to my practice and remaining motivated to create. I believe that the two have a symbiotic relationship and that both must be in good standing for me to be at my best. I love making photographs and strive to make images every day. I remain motivated by looking at other artworks in order to consider ways to become a more sophisticated image maker with a distinct visual vocabulary.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
I’d like to remind my future self it takes courage not to be discouraged.
What projects are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on two photobook projects: one is a photographic response to my father's recent cardiac episode and illness, and the other is a taxonomy of my monthly Multiple Sclerosis treatments. A few weeks ago, in August 2019, I became a first-time mother. I’m excited by the photographs I’ve made during pregnancy through the first weeks of my child’s life and am excited to see this work continue to evolve and grow.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
My primary goal in keeping myself accountable is to achieve a work-life-practice balance. In the best cases the three overlap in a meaningful and profound way. Psychologically, the only way I can describe how I keep myself accountable is through my compulsion to make photographs and respond to the questions they present. On paper, I keep myself accountable to my practice by doing at least one thing related to my creative practice each day. I keep track of what I’ve done with spreadsheets--whether it be research, correspondence, submissions, hands-on making, writing, or photographing. To keep myself accountable during the first year of my child’s life I am fortunate to be participating in Atelier Smedsby, a one-year long international workshop in Montreuil, Paris and online overseen by photographers JH Engström and Margot Wallard.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
There is an overlap between holding myself accountable to my practice and remaining motivated to create. I believe that the two have a symbiotic relationship and that both must be in good standing for me to be at my best. I love making photographs and strive to make images every day. I remain motivated by looking at other artworks in order to consider ways to become a more sophisticated image maker with a distinct visual vocabulary.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
I’d like to remind my future self it takes courage not to be discouraged.
Find Sara J. Winston on Instagram
Photo by Matt Austin
Photo by Jordan Swartz