Meg Loeks (00:00)
Welcome to the Creative Thread Podcast. I'm your host, Meg Loeks, and I am so excited to talk to this artist today. Her name is Anjana Olson. And what I love about her work specifically is her self-portrait work. I mean, her portrait work in general is incredible, but I'm I'm really inspired by her self-portrait work. So we're going to be talking to her today about that.
Meg Loeks (00:24)
What I find so inspiring about it is her use of storytelling and symbolism. It has a slightly surreal feel to it that I'm also really drawn to. And I also love how she explores identity through her self-portrait work. So, first and foremost, and thank you so much for being here today. It's an honor to have you.
Anjana Olson (00:48)
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited.
Meg Loeks (00:51)
So for someone discovering your work for the very first time, how would you describe what you create, specifically again, your your self-portrait work?
Anjana Olson (01:01)
Yeah, my self-portrait work is very, very emotionally driven. So when I describe it, I think a lot about layers, deeper colors. I would genuinely say that it sometimes feels like it's both color-filled but also desaturated. my I I'm very drawn to color harmonies and what color can do for your images.
Anjana Olson (01:22)
And at this point, I think the cohesive nature is more the post-processing than the actual colors that are involved in that self-portraiture. but all driven by emotion.
Meg Loeks (01:32)
I you I I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe one of your greatest inspirations is Wes Anderson. Is that correct?
Anjana Olson (01:40)
Yes, I adore Wes Anderson. which is something I feel that we share. I love his color schemes. I love that he's weird. I
Meg Loeks (01:49)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (01:49)
love that there's outside of the box and nothing about it is expected. And that's something that I'm very drawn to.
Meg Loeks (01:56)
Yeah. It I think his work, well, the the color palettes, the color cohesiveness is just so incredible. His use of like creative
Anjana Olson (02:03)
Mm.
Meg Loeks (02:04)
compositions and symmetry as well. But yeah, it it does have a sort of like odd feel to it, a little bit off, which I am so
Anjana Olson (02:13)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (02:14)
drawn to. And not it's nostalgic. I don't know. It just the the tones, right? They they're just
Anjana Olson (02:17)
It is. Yep.
Meg Loeks (02:20)
very nostalgic. So it's it's very
Meg Loeks (02:22)
captivating and and I can see that within your work, which is one of the things I love about it. You're very welcome. Yeah. So
Anjana Olson (02:28)
that's the best compliment you can give me. Thank you so much.
Meg Loeks (02:33)
what did creativity look like for you when you were a child, when you were growing up?
Anjana Olson (02:38)
Creativity was an interesting aspect of my childhood, only because I don't think it was something that I was drawn to at a young age. I was very much science-minded. I was very, I think my goals were I'm going to be like my dad. I'm gonna be a biochemist, I'm gonna be a scientist, I'm going to be a doctor. I had strong inclinations in that direction. And when I got to
Anjana Olson (03:00)
High school, I had a photography teacher, an art teacher. And I took the class, I think, just because it was an elective. And again, never I love to read, I should say. My mom's a librarian.
Meg Loeks (03:10)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (03:11)
so I grew up imaginative. Like books were my world. Books, I would enter every single book, and it felt like I was a character in that book. So that's where my imagination was.
Anjana Olson (03:22)
But this art teacher, I took a few photography courses with him and then also was drawing with him. And at one point he said, You do know you're an artist, right? And that was a big identity shift for me to even fathom that, like,
Anjana Olson (03:35)
What? Like is that actually a side of me? so I started exploring that much, I would say later in life, I know it was just high school, but later from a standpoint of I don't think I was born thinking I'm going to be an artist. my mother did always say you're going to be a storyteller. She wanted me to be a, or not wanted me, I think I I was inclined towards children's storytelling, an author or journalism or something like that.
Meg Loeks (03:58)
I love that. You know, it's it's so funny like looking back on our childhood and and at our past, there's always like those those people that say something to you that have such a big influence on your life later on. You know, like I have
Anjana Olson (04:12)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (04:13)
a professor that said something to me that really just I don't know, it really shifted my thought process and the way I think and
Meg Loeks (04:20)
The way I I think it really shaped who I am today just from something he said to me. So I I love
Anjana Olson (04:26)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (04:27)
that you shared that. I have to ask you because I
Anjana Olson (04:29)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (04:30)
love I love to read. So what's your favorite like genre? Do you have a favorite genre?
Anjana Olson (04:34)
my gosh. I don't know if I have a favorite genre. Historical fiction. I love anything.
Meg Loeks (04:39)
That's mine too.
Anjana Olson (04:40)
Yes, anything that puts me in a world that I don't know. I just I love I love the Midnight Library. I love the invisible
Meg Loeks (04:47)
Okay.
Anjana Olson (04:48)
life of Addie LaRue.
Meg Loeks (04:49)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (04:50)
slightly fantastical, but still lessons and realism in there, I think is my favorite
Meg Loeks (04:54)
Right.
Anjana Olson (04:55)
type of book.
Meg Loeks (04:56)
Right. Growing up, you know, I if I had a a really good book that I couldn't put down, I would not go to bed. I would read through the night. I remember there was we were on a family vacation and and one one night my dad came into my room was like three or four in the morning and I was still reading and he's just like, You're crazy. I was like, I can't put it down. So yeah. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (05:15)
I love those moments. And as we're adults,
Anjana Olson (05:19)
I feel like that those magical moments are so much harder to find. At least, like I if I read till 3 a.m., my next day is done for. But I remember that so much. What was your favorite book? Or what is your favorite book? That's a big question.
Meg Loeks (05:33)
So it is a
Meg Loeks (05:35)
big question, but I I would say like the series that has had one of the biggest impacts on me that I think about often is The Kite Runner and the all the the books that he wrote. Khalid, I
Anjana Olson (05:48)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (05:49)
can't I don't remember his last name, but he wro I it's been a long time since I've read those, but
Anjana Olson (05:52)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (05:53)
The Kite Kite Runner was one, Thousand Splendid Sons was the other.
Meg Loeks (05:57)
those are all historical fiction and I think about
Anjana Olson (05:59)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (06:00)
those books often. I also really love the nightingale. I I don't know a person that hasn't loved that book. It's so good. So yeah.
Anjana Olson (06:04)
that was so good. Yeah. Yeah. It is so good.
Meg Loeks (06:10)
yeah. so okay, growing up, you know, it it's very interesting learning about your background because you're I feel like you're one of those genius people that's both left and right-brained. I have friends like that where they're they're
Meg Loeks (06:23)
It blows my mind. I don't know how they do it because I am not. I am like what I just write brained only, cannot do both. so you didn't really, at that time when you were really younger, you didn't know that was gonna be this was gonna be your path, right? So
Anjana Olson (06:35)
Right. Yep.
Meg Loeks (06:37)
once you got into photography, was there a moment where you kind of like felt this is my boy voice, this feels like me, I found my style.
Anjana Olson (06:46)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (06:47)
Yeah. that took me a little longer to get. I actually my degree in college, I decided to c to kind of split and I did fine art charcoal illustration and nutritional science. And then I ended up with a minor in microbiology and Spanish. And I genuinely think this was because I was so confused. I didn't know which direction I wanted to go. And I just thought, let's just do it all and see what happens.
Meg Loeks (07:11)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (07:12)
And after college, I actually had an internship at Kraft, like the mac and cheese place, as
Meg Loeks (07:18)
Really? Okay.
Anjana Olson (07:19)
a microbiologist. And it was I remember just being there for six months and realizing like I don't think I can live in this lab. one, because I had to wear a lab coat and I love fashion. So I was like, no, thank you. and two, it just didn't feel like the right fit. So I remember so clearly they offered me a job.
Anjana Olson (07:35)
Out of the internship, and I said, No, thank you. I think I want to be a photographer. And it was such that would be my pivotal moment because I was turning down stability. and I remember this was my parents were supportive, but this was really hard, I think, because they were watching, you know, their daughter say no to a very stable job with a great income in you know, East Coast, like it.
Anjana Olson (07:58)
And then I'm just saying, no, thank you. I'm gonna throw this all in the wind and try something else. but I felt so sure about that decision. I I don't think I'm my personality isn't very fickle. It's pretty, I get worried about a lot of things. and first this this decision was not hard for me. so
Meg Loeks (08:14)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (08:14)
I think that would be the moment where I just made that decision. It was like, okay, here we go.
Meg Loeks (08:19)
Yeah. Yeah, I I'm with you on that. I I was working at a corporate job, my degree is in advertising, and the company got bought out and I was like, this is my my out. I was pregnant.
Anjana Olson (08:33)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (08:34)
I was like, you know, I'm just gonna have this baby and focus on photography, which I was already doing on the side and really loved, you
Anjana Olson (08:42)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (08:42)
know. I'm glad that you had that support too. I think that's so important.
Meg Loeks (08:45)
even if, you know, the sometimes it's like it's hard to understand, you know, when you go to college and and you have this degree you're focusing on and and everything, and it's hard to know what you want to do and all of that. at that age, like to have it all figured out is just crazy. Nobody does really. I don't know a single person that does. So yeah.
Anjana Olson (08:58)
Yeah. No. No. And I
Anjana Olson (09:04)
look at, you know, I I look at my boys, my oldest is is twelve now, and I think to myself,
Anjana Olson (09:10)
Man, I still don't feel like an adult. When I don't know when you feel like an adult, but I don't.
Meg Loeks (09:14)
No.
Anjana Olson (09:15)
And I think about going to college at the age of like 17, 18, and having to make this decision on what am I gonna do in life? And it sounds preposterous. I just I
Meg Loeks (09:25)
Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Anjana Olson (09:27)
don't understand. And that and then it makes me understand, of course you did. Of course, children are wandering around these college campuses just like, I'm gonna try this and this.
Meg Loeks (09:35)
Yeah, yeah.
Anjana Olson (09:36)
Because how do you know?
Meg Loeks (09:37)
Right. Well, and I think that, you know, everybody that I've interviewed, they have different backgrounds, different degrees. A lot of them have degrees that have nothing to do with
Anjana Olson (09:47)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (09:48)
I say that, I say have nothing to do with what they're doing now as an artist, but really I think we are pulling a lot of of our past and our
Anjana Olson (09:58)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (09:59)
our degree and in some form, in some way into our current work.
Anjana Olson (10:03)
I agree completely.
Meg Loeks (10:03)
So yeah.
Anjana Olson (10:05)
I mean, I see your work and I do see strong like advertising in there, you know, and the way it's and I I love that part of it because I see your work and it there's so many storytelling elements within every part of that piece that I'm looking at. I can look at one of your images three different times and see something different. And
Meg Loeks (10:25)
ch thank you.
Anjana Olson (10:26)
That's that feels advertising too. You know, you watch a movie, you watch a commercial, you watch something,
Meg Loeks (10:30)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (10:31)
and every time you're like, my gosh, did you see that little detail that you're I it's amazing. I love that. I love that that background in you pulls out in your in your portrait work.
Meg Loeks (10:40)
Thank you. I appreciate that. So we we are connected in in that we both really enjoy self-portraiture. I'm so inspired
Anjana Olson (10:48)
Yes. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (10:50)
by what you do. And I have to ask, what drew you to self-portraiture in general? Like what's your reason why?
Anjana Olson (10:57)
Yeah. my my biggest reason was emotion, as I mentioned before, but and I'm gonna give a little bit of a a trigger warning to anyone listening because this is birth trauma related, but I'm gonna give kind of gloss over just so that you understand the impetus for it. but I had my third child and I had a uterine rupture. And
Anjana Olson (11:15)
It was, it was it was both traumatic but also healing in an odd way. there were just so many emotions involved in this, in that whole experience. And I had a lot of people say, you know, do therapy, do this. I had no words. I could not put into words what I was feeling. And also there were times where I was like, I'm not sure if it's okay for me to feel this feeling.
Anjana Olson (11:36)
And that was really my my beginning into self-portiture because it felt like when I was in the studio, I wasn't whoever was I was in my home.
Anjana Olson (11:47)
Some of the pain I was feeling, some of the guilt, some of the just all the emotions, it felt like I could enter the studio and disconnect slightly so that I could put a voice to those emotions through the camera. So it started out being much more, this is a necessary step in my emotional health.
Anjana Olson (12:06)
And maybe that's why now I really I'm working more on, okay, how do you enter into a creative space without deep, deep emotion?
Meg Loeks (12:15)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (12:16)
because that's my trigger for it.
Meg Loeks (12:17)
Right. I think it I I've always said like just being with my camera in in general is sort of like therapy. It it it doesn't solve things, but it it does help you work through things, maybe. So whatever yeah. Yeah,
Anjana Olson (12:31)
I agree completely.
Meg Loeks (12:33)
whatever you're feeling. it's sort of like for me, you know, everybody has different forms of self-care. And for me it's being with my camera, it's maybe going for a walk.
Meg Loeks (12:42)
Sitting on the porch, just I I'm a porch sitter. I will sit out on the porch with nothing
Anjana Olson (12:42)
Yes. Yep.
Meg Loeks (12:47)
and just maybe a coffee or a glass of wine and watch my chickens and my kids. And like that is my therapy. So
Anjana Olson (12:52)
That's that's
Anjana Olson (12:53)
actually amazing in a world where I think everyone needs something in their hand at all times. This
Meg Loeks (12:59)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (13:00)
is this conversation right now is going to be my inspiration to be a porch sitter. I'm gonna try it.
Meg Loeks (13:04)
You know,
Meg Loeks (13:05)
you know, I I don't know. I the older I get, the more I do it. Because I I think I used to be like I could never sit down. You know, I could never, I
Anjana Olson (13:14)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:14)
was like always going, going, going. And the older I get, the more I'm finding like the need to just be like, just gotta have a little bit of quiet here where I'm doing nothing.
Anjana Olson (13:22)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:23)
Maybe because I'm getting more overstimulated as I get older, like with
Anjana Olson (13:25)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (13:26)
the chaos of everything, you know, but
Anjana Olson (13:28)
Yeah, I definitely am.
Meg Loeks (13:31)
yeah, yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:31)
So I question for you on your self-portrait work, do you see it
Anjana Olson (13:35)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:35)
as more narrative or emotional or symbolic, or is it kind of like a combination of all of those things?
Anjana Olson (13:43)
I would say it's a combination at this point because I'm I'm it I'm attempting to become much more versatile with the way I approach my self-portraits. I I feel like it started from this mad dash for for some sort of normalcy or some sort of communication. And
Anjana Olson (14:01)
Then it then it kind of evolved into, I'm really enjoying exploring storytelling. especially as a multifaceted human, I think mothers uniquely have so many identities. and I I realize that my emotion is also heavily linked to my children's emotion, but at the same time,
Meg Loeks (14:19)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (14:20)
I am the compass in the house. So my emotion.
Anjana Olson (14:23)
kind of dictates their emotions. So it's this odd connection. and things people always mention, the mental load, all these things that I feel like there's just a hat being changed every every hour. You know, you're somebody different. And my self-portiture kind of kind of evolved to communication of, okay, this is this is the person I'm feeling today. This is this is the hat I'm putting on.
Anjana Olson (14:45)
And now it's transferred more to, my gosh, now that I've mastered some of those things, what about technical challenge? What about creativity? what are elements I can introduce that are just beyond what I would normally do or completely outside the box, but I am growing and learning as an artist.
Meg Loeks (15:01)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (15:02)
I want it to be hard now.
Meg Loeks (15:04)
Yeah, I noticed that. And in your last self-portrait post that you had, it was like a series in the shower. It's so creative. Like you could tell you were really experimenting and thinking outside the box. I mean, you always are, but I I especially noticed that in that series that you were pushing yourself. And I think that's such a a beautiful point. that it does help us grow as an artist. when we're
Meg Loeks (15:27)
With the camera, you know, we're experimenting.
Anjana Olson (15:29)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (15:30)
You have that one-on-one time, you know, it's it's your me time, right? and I I do love that.
Anjana Olson (15:35)
Yeah, absolutely.
Meg Loeks (15:36)
I love that about you. So my my next question kind of that spins off of that is how much of what you do is planned versus discovered while you're actually creating it?
Anjana Olson (15:47)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (15:50)
I would say it's a it's a 2080. I walked into that, I was gonna say I walked into the shower, but that sounds weird. But when I I had always planned to do this session in our bathroom because I just that green, I could not handle it. The
Meg Loeks (16:05)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (16:05)
plan I had completely 100% did not work.
Anjana Olson (16:08)
I had this vision of me being much smaller in the camera. I sold my wide angle lens. We're not getting any smaller in that. Like there was no way space-wise for me to create the the shot that I wanted. and I had envisioned it from up above, but I
Anjana Olson (16:23)
the thought of me trying to figure out how to suspend my camera because my boom stand wasn't working in there, all these things. so my plans are usually loose in that this is this is what I'm envisioning. And then as I take test shot after test shot, I realize that, okay, these are my limitations. How am I gonna pivot on that?
Anjana Olson (16:40)
And I've noticed that when I do have a solid plan, I'm so much more emotionally disappointed when it doesn't work. I lose the ability to be as creative as I want to be because I'm so stuck in this idea of no, this is what I want this to look like. so that's something I'm trying to let go of quite a bit, to just let that creativity flow. And every time I let it flow, it's a it's I don't know where I'm ending up, but it's exactly what I wanted.
Meg Loeks (17:04)
That's such a such a beautiful point. It's so true. And I I tell people all the time, like I fail constantly. I set up and it doesn't turn out the way I want it. But
Anjana Olson (17:11)
all the time. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:15)
you learn I know it's cliche, corny, whatever, but you do learn a lot from it, you know? And and
Anjana Olson (17:21)
You do.
Meg Loeks (17:22)
and you need to pivot. That's part of
Anjana Olson (17:23)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:24)
like this whole process as an artist is okay, this didn't work out the way I had envisioned.
Meg Loeks (17:29)
Let's try something different. Let's be curious and experiment. I think that's a big part of of growing as an artist is curiosity, right? Like what happens if I move the light here or I move my camera here
Anjana Olson (17:37)
Yes. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:40)
or I change this lens or I change the settings? What's what's gonna happen? What's that gonna look like?
Anjana Olson (17:44)
Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned curiosity also because that's kind of been my my pivot for the last two years. just because I feel like in general the world is has become less curious. And
Meg Loeks (17:56)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (17:56)
it's been really fun to enter into relationships and to conversations with people and with other artists and even within the studio and just enter with the mindset of
Anjana Olson (18:05)
I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to be curious today and what does that look like?
Meg Loeks (18:09)
Right. Right. Are there themes that you find yourself returning to within your work?
Anjana Olson (18:15)
That's a great question. And it's a hard one for me to recognize. I think when I see when I see my work as a body, I do see themes of the link between color and emotion. I do see themes with understanding that, I felt this way and I chose this. And I can see my themes getting stronger as I evolve into an artist.
Anjana Olson (18:36)
But I have a hard time see the only link I can see between it all is that link to emotion. And as you were kind of saying before, I think what's happening within that theme also is every time you spend time with yourself in this self-portrait, you know, world, I think you find more parts of your identity that you didn't know existed. or that you maybe knew but you'd never faced. And
Anjana Olson (19:00)
I think as my work kind of progresses in that direction, I see more and more parts of my theme, almost like a puzzle piece, kind of coming together. so I hope to in the future be able to look at my work and think, this is my this is my story, this is my overall theme. But I I have a hard time seeing it from where I am.
Meg Loeks (19:19)
I I definitely see just you mentioned this already, but I I do see such strong emotion within your work. you know, diving into also like identity. I mean, that's kind of how why you started the self-portrait work in some in some form, right? You know, the sh the
Anjana Olson (19:34)
Yeah. Yep.
Meg Loeks (19:36)
story, the birth story you shared, which thank you for sharing that. And and I I I think one of the powerful things about it is that
Meg Loeks (19:44)
it's relatable to so many women, especially like where the they feel connected and and share like a common thread with
Anjana Olson (19:53)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (19:53)
with you and and with all of us when when we share such vulnerable work, you know, they're like, well, I'm not alone here. Like I've been through something
Anjana Olson (20:01)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:02)
similar. So yeah. gosh. I
Anjana Olson (20:03)
Yeah. I hope so.
Meg Loeks (20:06)
yeah, definitely. It and your work is so versatile too. That's the thing.
Meg Loeks (20:10)
I I always have I I struggle with people that say, you know, stick to one genre or stick to like a certain vibe because I'm all
Anjana Olson (20:19)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:19)
over the place. I'm like, I'm like it depends on my mood. I'm one time I'm like, one day
Anjana Olson (20:23)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (20:24)
I'm like, I wanna do something colorful like Wes Anderson and quirky
Anjana Olson (20:27)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:28)
and weird. And then another day I'm like, let's lean into the surreal and do something a little bit whimsy and kind of dark. I don't know.
Anjana Olson (20:35)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (20:36)
What I love about about your work also is that you're you're so right. I I see fantastical, I see magical, I also see very real portrayals of motherhood. I see you share emotion, but in a way that
Anjana Olson (20:50)
Not, I mean, I don't even know if relatable is the right word, but it makes it it may it allows women to actually feel that and understand that it's okay to feel that, but also it's a little funny. You know,
Meg Loeks (20:59)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (20:59)
like there's a there's a realism to it where it's like both joyful and yep, also it's hard. Also, it's all these things.
Meg Loeks (21:05)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Anjana Olson (21:07)
but the color harmony within all of your images makes gives it that same. I mean, Norman Rockwell, it's very
Anjana Olson (21:14)
I see all of these themes in your work where I'm like, and those spoke to me from a motherhood standpoint for sure.
Meg Loeks (21:21)
Thank you.
Anjana Olson (21:22)
I don't know how many times I've shared with my husband, like, this is how I feel. Just look at Meg's work, just look at this image. And but it doesn't feel heavy or hard in that image. It just feels real. And I appreciate that a lot.
Meg Loeks (21:33)
Thank you. Thank
Meg Loeks (21:34)
you. Yeah, I think it's good to, you know, lean into our emotions. And I tend to be a little bit sarcastic and I do like to lend in
Anjana Olson (21:41)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:41)
or l lean into like the humor sometimes, especially I mean, parent
Anjana Olson (21:44)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:45)
being a parent, I mean, kids are funny and unpredictable. And
Anjana Olson (21:48)
Yeah. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:50)
you know, so I do like to lean into that. are there any projects that you are working on
Meg Loeks (21:56)
right now that feel especially meaningful to you.
Anjana Olson (21:59)
Yeah. right now my main project for for my own self-portra to lean heavy into body identity. I've had such a journey with just you know, post this third child of mine and my body not being what I thought it would be, and having to work so hard to become strong and to do this, but also acknowledge that
Anjana Olson (22:23)
We are who we are, and that's okay. And so I do have projects in mind for okay, how do I bring this to life? with a lot of of emphasis on art history. I love art history. I love the storytelling in these old, old works of art. I hope that the next five years takes me to Europe so I can just explore art.
Meg Loeks (22:41)
I hope so too, for
Meg Loeks (22:42)
you. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (22:43)
Yeah, yeah, it just but that is something that's kind of in my brain and I would love to go the direction of fine art gallery work with my self-portraits, being fully aware that I'm not ready, I'm my body of work is not ready for that yet, but it's it's in my brain for a cohesive work of or body of work that focuses on body identity and what that looks like.
Meg Loeks (23:05)
To disagree with you though. I think that you are very much ready. I will be like the first person to walk into that gallery when you have one. We're gonna say, we're not gonna say if, we're gonna say when you have one
Anjana Olson (23:14)
my gosh. Thank you so much. When?
Meg Loeks (23:18)
because you will. We're gonna manifest that that's gonna happen. and I'm so excited for you because you your your work, like I said, it is so emotional and and beautiful and just.
Meg Loeks (23:28)
diverse and creative and surreal and all of those things. And so I'm really looking forward to seeing all the things that you create. which leads me to my next, my next final couple things here. What advice?
Anjana Olson (23:39)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (23:40)
This is a big one, what advice would you give artists who are, yeah,
Anjana Olson (23:44)
You drink a coffee.
Meg Loeks (23:45)
of course, who are trying to find their voice
Meg Loeks (23:48)
they're you know, maybe struggling with their identity, what advice would you give
Anjana Olson (23:51)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (23:52)
to them?
Anjana Olson (23:53)
I think my my biggest thing this just in general is just do it. And I don't mean do it as in do it perfectly, do it the way you want it to be in the end. Everything is such a journey. And we kind of touched on this, but every time you mess up, it takes you one step closer.
Anjana Olson (24:12)
To both identity as well as growth as an artist. And I think it's necessary. I think it's 100% necessary to approach a challenge from the standpoint of I will not succeed on this first try. But what does success mean? Because every time you take one step further, you have succeeded. And I just I look back at
Anjana Olson (24:32)
my work, my self-portrait work from two or three years ago. And my work is both vastly different and so similar. But my growth is evident to myself. And that is one
Meg Loeks (24:43)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (24:44)
it's confidence. It is understanding that you are capable of doing something. but do it wrong. Do it horribly. Just
Anjana Olson (24:52)
Do it so that the next time you do it just a little bit I don't even want to say better. I just think you learn something to do it differently and to try, you know, to learn yourself better. I don't know if that was a real sentence.
Meg Loeks (25:04)
Hey, it it make perfect sense to me. And it's it's so true that whenever I'm feeling like just not great about my work, maybe I have imposter syndrome, maybe I'm in a rut. That happens
Anjana Olson (25:18)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:19)
multiple times a year. Look back at my old work, look back at your old work. It's so important because you're gonna see
Anjana Olson (25:20)
One hundred percent. Yes.
Meg Loeks (25:24)
how far you've come, you know?
Anjana Olson (25:26)
Now.
Meg Loeks (25:26)
I there was when I first started out, I have these photos that I thought were like, I'm like, that's it. I never have to take another photo again. This is the best photo I've ever taken
Anjana Olson (25:32)
Yes. Yep.
Meg Loeks (25:34)
in my entire life. And I'll never forget, there was one of my second son, Woody, and he was I stuffed him in a a like a basket, but he was too big for the basket. He was kind of like falling out. And I was shooting in backlight. I think honestly it might have been for the first time. So I was really excited. but
Anjana Olson (25:49)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:50)
didn't really know how to shoot in backlight very well and
Meg Loeks (25:52)
It was very muddy. It all the things kind of technically that
Anjana Olson (25:55)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:55)
were not great about you know, there was issues about it. But at that time I was like, Wow, this is so good. And I look back and I'm like, Wow, this was not really that good. But you know what? I'm so glad I have this image of my son. Look at him, he's so cute, he was so little. And I could you know, I s could see the growth, you know.
Anjana Olson (26:07)
Yeah. Yes. Yep. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (26:14)
And I think everything is so scary until you do it. You know,
Meg Loeks (26:17)
yeah.
Anjana Olson (26:18)
like if you've never used lights, using a light is scary. If you normally use one light, using two lights is scary. using five lights sounds ridiculous, but then you use five lights and you're like, whoa, that was
Anjana Olson (26:29)
That was really fun. And then you think about gels and you're like, well, that sounds horrible. What how did people even know how to do this? And then you do it and you're like, okay, I didn't love that. How do I move this? And all of a sudden you realize you know how to use all of these tools.
Meg Loeks (26:41)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (26:42)
And it just feels, honestly, it feels very confidence building. It feels very
Meg Loeks (26:46)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (26:46)
like, look at me, look at what I am capable of learning.
Anjana Olson (26:50)
And I want everyone to feel that. You are everyone, you are so capable of learning. Everyone can learn. It doesn't matter how long it takes, everyone can do it.
Meg Loeks (26:57)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, when I started with off-camera flash, I was so intimidated and it it felt very overwhelming. But I just
Anjana Olson (27:05)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:06)
started practicing and not creating
Anjana Olson (27:08)
No.
Meg Loeks (27:09)
like the best work. But, you know, I just started experimenting and I I love it so much. Like I I love setting up my strobes and seeing what's gonna happen and what this is gonna look like, you know?
Anjana Olson (27:18)
Me too. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:21)
And I I still sometimes
Meg Loeks (27:22)
struggle. I s I shouldn't say sometimes. I struggle often still, you know, setting up lighting. Sometimes it takes me hours, but I'm doing it and I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying the process,
Anjana Olson (27:27)
For sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:32)
you know.
Anjana Olson (27:32)
And there are times where you think I know everything because we're human and you just you get to this weird place. There's both imposter syndrome and then there's the other side where there are days where I'm like, I am so amazing. And I walk in the studio and I set up a light sis like I set up the lights in a way I've set them up a million times. And it doesn't work.
Meg Loeks (27:50)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:51)
Yeah. You get humbled.
Anjana Olson (27:51)
It's not what I anticip yes.
Anjana Olson (27:53)
And then I'm like, okay, well, thank you. I
Meg Loeks (27:55)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (27:56)
don't know everything and right now this is my mistake to learn something new. This there's always
Meg Loeks (28:00)
Yeah. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (28:02)
something to learn.
Meg Loeks (28:02)
Yep. I I so agree. So one of the last questions I ask every every artist that I interview on the Creative Thread is this question. What's one very specific thing that makes you feel nostalgic?
Anjana Olson (28:19)
My gosh.
Anjana Olson (28:21)
That is a really interesting question. And I also have
Meg Loeks (28:23)
Just a fun little
Anjana Olson (28:24)
never been asked this question in my life.
Meg Loeks (28:27)
Something fun
Meg Loeks (28:28)
and just for people to get to know more about you.
Anjana Olson (28:31)
Yeah, I think the one thing that makes me feel the most nostalgic is my books. and not not all my books. I have this set of books that my my mom was a librarian for 25 years. And so I would go sit in the library from the age of four. Like she would have a six hour shift and I would just sit in a chair and read the whole time.
Anjana Olson (28:49)
and these librarians who I still love dearly, they would take me to the back and I would get a donut. And then I'd just go back out and the smell of books, the paper, old books. And my mom, they had had these, they used to have a lot of book sales. I don't know if libraries do that as much anymore. But
Meg Loeks (29:05)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (29:06)
there's this old set of books that is books like Little Woman, Little Women, The Five Little Peppers, Pollyanna.
Anjana Olson (29:13)
Swiss Family Robinson and they all have gray and blue and pink and yellow. It's a very specific like book set that used to be sold. And my mom bought I think all of the ones they had there, so it's like 30 books, and I still have them on my bookshelf. And when I am feeling overwhelmed or whatever by my life, and I want to go back in time, I pick up one of those books because when I open them, I can smell the pa it the smell of the paper is overwhelming.
Meg Loeks (29:39)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (29:40)
And it's a childhood book. It takes me back to being in my room in my closet. Walk in closet and I made it into this little book haven't because I it's when I wanted nobody to bother me and there were blankets and pillows. anyway, that was a really long answer, but it's these old books
Meg Loeks (29:53)
No, I love that.
Anjana Olson (29:54)
of mine.
Meg Loeks (29:55)
I love that. I I still have I have Little House on the Prairie series from when I was a
Anjana Olson (30:00)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (30:01)
little girl. I kept it for my daughter. So she has
Meg Loeks (30:04)
the series. And yeah, I just I really resonate and relate to that. Actually, when my husband and I got married, that was our thing. We would my husband has a history degree and we we
Anjana Olson (30:13)
my gosh, that is amazing. I love it.
Meg Loeks (30:16)
We would we would always we still do we we love old books especially and we used to live near this really old bookstore. But when we got married, I built him a bookshelf that was my wedding gift to him was my dad helped me, but
Anjana Olson (30:28)
I love that.
Meg Loeks (30:30)
so yeah, yeah. So I I just I I love that books mean so much to you. and we share
Anjana Olson (30:37)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (30:38)
a very I'm gonna have to reach out to you here just for some new book ideas because we share
Anjana Olson (30:43)
please and share books with me. I it.
Meg Loeks (30:43)
the same kind of genre. Mm-hmm. I will. Absolutely.
Meg Loeks (30:48)
So where can people find you? Where can people learn more about your your work and and what you have going on?
Anjana Olson (30:55)
Yeah, I am mainly on Instagram. I have a specific self-portrait Instagram that is ANJ Self-Portraits. and then I have my portrait Instagram, which is ANJ Portrait Studio. and I also have a Facebook group called Unveiled, and it's just a self-portrait group. We do monthly prompts.
Anjana Olson (31:12)
It's a way to kind of keep all of us in the community accountable, just to be creating and growing as an artist on our own. And honestly, I just felt a need for community. I just wanted people
Meg Loeks (31:23)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (31:24)
to be able to share creative thoughts, to be able to come to you with challenges, to connect. I love learning, I love education.
Anjana Olson (31:33)
And this was a way to learn alongside other people. So I would love to have people join me there. yeah, and that's about it.
Meg Loeks (31:38)
That's awesome.
Meg Loeks (31:39)
That's awesome. So you have themes then monthly themes, is it? Or is it weekly or okay, monthly.
Anjana Olson (31:44)
Yep, monthly prompts
Anjana Olson (31:45)
and they're they're all different. Some of them are creative, some of them are technical. some of them are like this maze theme is monochromatic. So we're gonna try and create some self-portraits that are just how do you storytell within the tones of one color. and really I think all of
Meg Loeks (32:03)
That's really cool.
Anjana Olson (32:04)
them end up being how I'm feeling.
Anjana Olson (32:05)
I'm feeling monochromatic and I got a new outfit and I'm like, ooh, let's do this. It's pale blue. It's like Wes Anderson blue.
Meg Loeks (32:13)
See, dusty blue is my favorite color. So I I already know I'm
Anjana Olson (32:15)
it's exactly that.
Meg Loeks (32:17)
gonna love this, this portrait you're gonna create because yeah, I just I feel like I hone in on green a lot within my work, but blue is my my absolute favorite. So I can't wait to see this from you.
Anjana Olson (32:30)
Yes. It is dusty blue. That was the exact color. and I of course
Meg Loeks (32:34)
Awesome. Yay.
Anjana Olson (32:35)
I business expense all these outfits because as you should.
Meg Loeks (32:38)
Yeah. Yeah, you should! well, thank you so much for being with me today for this interview. I like I so enjoy talking with you, learning a little bit more about your process, your history, where you pull inspiration. It's been so inspiring. So thank you so much.
Anjana Olson (32:54)
Thank you, Meg. This was a great conversation and I was equally inspired by hearing a little bit of your story.
Meg Loeks (32:59)
Thank you.
Welcome to the Creative Thread Podcast. I'm your host, Meg Loeks, and I am so excited to talk to this artist today. Her name is Anjana Olson. And what I love about her work specifically is her self-portrait work. I mean, her portrait work in general is incredible, but I'm I'm really inspired by her self-portrait work. So we're going to be talking to her today about that.
Meg Loeks (00:24)
What I find so inspiring about it is her use of storytelling and symbolism. It has a slightly surreal feel to it that I'm also really drawn to. And I also love how she explores identity through her self-portrait work. So, first and foremost, and thank you so much for being here today. It's an honor to have you.
Anjana Olson (00:48)
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited.
Meg Loeks (00:51)
So for someone discovering your work for the very first time, how would you describe what you create, specifically again, your your self-portrait work?
Anjana Olson (01:01)
Yeah, my self-portrait work is very, very emotionally driven. So when I describe it, I think a lot about layers, deeper colors. I would genuinely say that it sometimes feels like it's both color-filled but also desaturated. my I I'm very drawn to color harmonies and what color can do for your images.
Anjana Olson (01:22)
And at this point, I think the cohesive nature is more the post-processing than the actual colors that are involved in that self-portraiture. but all driven by emotion.
Meg Loeks (01:32)
I you I I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe one of your greatest inspirations is Wes Anderson. Is that correct?
Anjana Olson (01:40)
Yes, I adore Wes Anderson. which is something I feel that we share. I love his color schemes. I love that he's weird. I
Meg Loeks (01:49)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (01:49)
love that there's outside of the box and nothing about it is expected. And that's something that I'm very drawn to.
Meg Loeks (01:56)
Yeah. It I think his work, well, the the color palettes, the color cohesiveness is just so incredible. His use of like creative
Anjana Olson (02:03)
Mm.
Meg Loeks (02:04)
compositions and symmetry as well. But yeah, it it does have a sort of like odd feel to it, a little bit off, which I am so
Anjana Olson (02:13)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (02:14)
drawn to. And not it's nostalgic. I don't know. It just the the tones, right? They they're just
Anjana Olson (02:17)
It is. Yep.
Meg Loeks (02:20)
very nostalgic. So it's it's very
Meg Loeks (02:22)
captivating and and I can see that within your work, which is one of the things I love about it. You're very welcome. Yeah. So
Anjana Olson (02:28)
that's the best compliment you can give me. Thank you so much.
Meg Loeks (02:33)
what did creativity look like for you when you were a child, when you were growing up?
Anjana Olson (02:38)
Creativity was an interesting aspect of my childhood, only because I don't think it was something that I was drawn to at a young age. I was very much science-minded. I was very, I think my goals were I'm going to be like my dad. I'm gonna be a biochemist, I'm gonna be a scientist, I'm going to be a doctor. I had strong inclinations in that direction. And when I got to
Anjana Olson (03:00)
High school, I had a photography teacher, an art teacher. And I took the class, I think, just because it was an elective. And again, never I love to read, I should say. My mom's a librarian.
Meg Loeks (03:10)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (03:11)
so I grew up imaginative. Like books were my world. Books, I would enter every single book, and it felt like I was a character in that book. So that's where my imagination was.
Anjana Olson (03:22)
But this art teacher, I took a few photography courses with him and then also was drawing with him. And at one point he said, You do know you're an artist, right? And that was a big identity shift for me to even fathom that, like,
Anjana Olson (03:35)
What? Like is that actually a side of me? so I started exploring that much, I would say later in life, I know it was just high school, but later from a standpoint of I don't think I was born thinking I'm going to be an artist. my mother did always say you're going to be a storyteller. She wanted me to be a, or not wanted me, I think I I was inclined towards children's storytelling, an author or journalism or something like that.
Meg Loeks (03:58)
I love that. You know, it's it's so funny like looking back on our childhood and and at our past, there's always like those those people that say something to you that have such a big influence on your life later on. You know, like I have
Anjana Olson (04:12)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (04:13)
a professor that said something to me that really just I don't know, it really shifted my thought process and the way I think and
Meg Loeks (04:20)
The way I I think it really shaped who I am today just from something he said to me. So I I love
Anjana Olson (04:26)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (04:27)
that you shared that. I have to ask you because I
Anjana Olson (04:29)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (04:30)
love I love to read. So what's your favorite like genre? Do you have a favorite genre?
Anjana Olson (04:34)
my gosh. I don't know if I have a favorite genre. Historical fiction. I love anything.
Meg Loeks (04:39)
That's mine too.
Anjana Olson (04:40)
Yes, anything that puts me in a world that I don't know. I just I love I love the Midnight Library. I love the invisible
Meg Loeks (04:47)
Okay.
Anjana Olson (04:48)
life of Addie LaRue.
Meg Loeks (04:49)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (04:50)
slightly fantastical, but still lessons and realism in there, I think is my favorite
Meg Loeks (04:54)
Right.
Anjana Olson (04:55)
type of book.
Meg Loeks (04:56)
Right. Growing up, you know, I if I had a a really good book that I couldn't put down, I would not go to bed. I would read through the night. I remember there was we were on a family vacation and and one one night my dad came into my room was like three or four in the morning and I was still reading and he's just like, You're crazy. I was like, I can't put it down. So yeah. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (05:15)
I love those moments. And as we're adults,
Anjana Olson (05:19)
I feel like that those magical moments are so much harder to find. At least, like I if I read till 3 a.m., my next day is done for. But I remember that so much. What was your favorite book? Or what is your favorite book? That's a big question.
Meg Loeks (05:33)
So it is a
Meg Loeks (05:35)
big question, but I I would say like the series that has had one of the biggest impacts on me that I think about often is The Kite Runner and the all the the books that he wrote. Khalid, I
Anjana Olson (05:48)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (05:49)
can't I don't remember his last name, but he wro I it's been a long time since I've read those, but
Anjana Olson (05:52)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (05:53)
The Kite Kite Runner was one, Thousand Splendid Sons was the other.
Meg Loeks (05:57)
those are all historical fiction and I think about
Anjana Olson (05:59)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (06:00)
those books often. I also really love the nightingale. I I don't know a person that hasn't loved that book. It's so good. So yeah.
Anjana Olson (06:04)
that was so good. Yeah. Yeah. It is so good.
Meg Loeks (06:10)
yeah. so okay, growing up, you know, it it's very interesting learning about your background because you're I feel like you're one of those genius people that's both left and right-brained. I have friends like that where they're they're
Meg Loeks (06:23)
It blows my mind. I don't know how they do it because I am not. I am like what I just write brained only, cannot do both. so you didn't really, at that time when you were really younger, you didn't know that was gonna be this was gonna be your path, right? So
Anjana Olson (06:35)
Right. Yep.
Meg Loeks (06:37)
once you got into photography, was there a moment where you kind of like felt this is my boy voice, this feels like me, I found my style.
Anjana Olson (06:46)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (06:47)
Yeah. that took me a little longer to get. I actually my degree in college, I decided to c to kind of split and I did fine art charcoal illustration and nutritional science. And then I ended up with a minor in microbiology and Spanish. And I genuinely think this was because I was so confused. I didn't know which direction I wanted to go. And I just thought, let's just do it all and see what happens.
Meg Loeks (07:11)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (07:12)
And after college, I actually had an internship at Kraft, like the mac and cheese place, as
Meg Loeks (07:18)
Really? Okay.
Anjana Olson (07:19)
a microbiologist. And it was I remember just being there for six months and realizing like I don't think I can live in this lab. one, because I had to wear a lab coat and I love fashion. So I was like, no, thank you. and two, it just didn't feel like the right fit. So I remember so clearly they offered me a job.
Anjana Olson (07:35)
Out of the internship, and I said, No, thank you. I think I want to be a photographer. And it was such that would be my pivotal moment because I was turning down stability. and I remember this was my parents were supportive, but this was really hard, I think, because they were watching, you know, their daughter say no to a very stable job with a great income in you know, East Coast, like it.
Anjana Olson (07:58)
And then I'm just saying, no, thank you. I'm gonna throw this all in the wind and try something else. but I felt so sure about that decision. I I don't think I'm my personality isn't very fickle. It's pretty, I get worried about a lot of things. and first this this decision was not hard for me. so
Meg Loeks (08:14)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (08:14)
I think that would be the moment where I just made that decision. It was like, okay, here we go.
Meg Loeks (08:19)
Yeah. Yeah, I I'm with you on that. I I was working at a corporate job, my degree is in advertising, and the company got bought out and I was like, this is my my out. I was pregnant.
Anjana Olson (08:33)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (08:34)
I was like, you know, I'm just gonna have this baby and focus on photography, which I was already doing on the side and really loved, you
Anjana Olson (08:42)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (08:42)
know. I'm glad that you had that support too. I think that's so important.
Meg Loeks (08:45)
even if, you know, the sometimes it's like it's hard to understand, you know, when you go to college and and you have this degree you're focusing on and and everything, and it's hard to know what you want to do and all of that. at that age, like to have it all figured out is just crazy. Nobody does really. I don't know a single person that does. So yeah.
Anjana Olson (08:58)
Yeah. No. No. And I
Anjana Olson (09:04)
look at, you know, I I look at my boys, my oldest is is twelve now, and I think to myself,
Anjana Olson (09:10)
Man, I still don't feel like an adult. When I don't know when you feel like an adult, but I don't.
Meg Loeks (09:14)
No.
Anjana Olson (09:15)
And I think about going to college at the age of like 17, 18, and having to make this decision on what am I gonna do in life? And it sounds preposterous. I just I
Meg Loeks (09:25)
Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Anjana Olson (09:27)
don't understand. And that and then it makes me understand, of course you did. Of course, children are wandering around these college campuses just like, I'm gonna try this and this.
Meg Loeks (09:35)
Yeah, yeah.
Anjana Olson (09:36)
Because how do you know?
Meg Loeks (09:37)
Right. Well, and I think that, you know, everybody that I've interviewed, they have different backgrounds, different degrees. A lot of them have degrees that have nothing to do with
Anjana Olson (09:47)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (09:48)
I say that, I say have nothing to do with what they're doing now as an artist, but really I think we are pulling a lot of of our past and our
Anjana Olson (09:58)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (09:59)
our degree and in some form, in some way into our current work.
Anjana Olson (10:03)
I agree completely.
Meg Loeks (10:03)
So yeah.
Anjana Olson (10:05)
I mean, I see your work and I do see strong like advertising in there, you know, and the way it's and I I love that part of it because I see your work and it there's so many storytelling elements within every part of that piece that I'm looking at. I can look at one of your images three different times and see something different. And
Meg Loeks (10:25)
ch thank you.
Anjana Olson (10:26)
That's that feels advertising too. You know, you watch a movie, you watch a commercial, you watch something,
Meg Loeks (10:30)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (10:31)
and every time you're like, my gosh, did you see that little detail that you're I it's amazing. I love that. I love that that background in you pulls out in your in your portrait work.
Meg Loeks (10:40)
Thank you. I appreciate that. So we we are connected in in that we both really enjoy self-portraiture. I'm so inspired
Anjana Olson (10:48)
Yes. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (10:50)
by what you do. And I have to ask, what drew you to self-portraiture in general? Like what's your reason why?
Anjana Olson (10:57)
Yeah. my my biggest reason was emotion, as I mentioned before, but and I'm gonna give a little bit of a a trigger warning to anyone listening because this is birth trauma related, but I'm gonna give kind of gloss over just so that you understand the impetus for it. but I had my third child and I had a uterine rupture. And
Anjana Olson (11:15)
It was, it was it was both traumatic but also healing in an odd way. there were just so many emotions involved in this, in that whole experience. And I had a lot of people say, you know, do therapy, do this. I had no words. I could not put into words what I was feeling. And also there were times where I was like, I'm not sure if it's okay for me to feel this feeling.
Anjana Olson (11:36)
And that was really my my beginning into self-portiture because it felt like when I was in the studio, I wasn't whoever was I was in my home.
Anjana Olson (11:47)
Some of the pain I was feeling, some of the guilt, some of the just all the emotions, it felt like I could enter the studio and disconnect slightly so that I could put a voice to those emotions through the camera. So it started out being much more, this is a necessary step in my emotional health.
Anjana Olson (12:06)
And maybe that's why now I really I'm working more on, okay, how do you enter into a creative space without deep, deep emotion?
Meg Loeks (12:15)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (12:16)
because that's my trigger for it.
Meg Loeks (12:17)
Right. I think it I I've always said like just being with my camera in in general is sort of like therapy. It it it doesn't solve things, but it it does help you work through things, maybe. So whatever yeah. Yeah,
Anjana Olson (12:31)
I agree completely.
Meg Loeks (12:33)
whatever you're feeling. it's sort of like for me, you know, everybody has different forms of self-care. And for me it's being with my camera, it's maybe going for a walk.
Meg Loeks (12:42)
Sitting on the porch, just I I'm a porch sitter. I will sit out on the porch with nothing
Anjana Olson (12:42)
Yes. Yep.
Meg Loeks (12:47)
and just maybe a coffee or a glass of wine and watch my chickens and my kids. And like that is my therapy. So
Anjana Olson (12:52)
That's that's
Anjana Olson (12:53)
actually amazing in a world where I think everyone needs something in their hand at all times. This
Meg Loeks (12:59)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (13:00)
is this conversation right now is going to be my inspiration to be a porch sitter. I'm gonna try it.
Meg Loeks (13:04)
You know,
Meg Loeks (13:05)
you know, I I don't know. I the older I get, the more I do it. Because I I think I used to be like I could never sit down. You know, I could never, I
Anjana Olson (13:14)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:14)
was like always going, going, going. And the older I get, the more I'm finding like the need to just be like, just gotta have a little bit of quiet here where I'm doing nothing.
Anjana Olson (13:22)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:23)
Maybe because I'm getting more overstimulated as I get older, like with
Anjana Olson (13:25)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (13:26)
the chaos of everything, you know, but
Anjana Olson (13:28)
Yeah, I definitely am.
Meg Loeks (13:31)
yeah, yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:31)
So I question for you on your self-portrait work, do you see it
Anjana Olson (13:35)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (13:35)
as more narrative or emotional or symbolic, or is it kind of like a combination of all of those things?
Anjana Olson (13:43)
I would say it's a combination at this point because I'm I'm it I'm attempting to become much more versatile with the way I approach my self-portraits. I I feel like it started from this mad dash for for some sort of normalcy or some sort of communication. And
Anjana Olson (14:01)
Then it then it kind of evolved into, I'm really enjoying exploring storytelling. especially as a multifaceted human, I think mothers uniquely have so many identities. and I I realize that my emotion is also heavily linked to my children's emotion, but at the same time,
Meg Loeks (14:19)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (14:20)
I am the compass in the house. So my emotion.
Anjana Olson (14:23)
kind of dictates their emotions. So it's this odd connection. and things people always mention, the mental load, all these things that I feel like there's just a hat being changed every every hour. You know, you're somebody different. And my self-portiture kind of kind of evolved to communication of, okay, this is this is the person I'm feeling today. This is this is the hat I'm putting on.
Anjana Olson (14:45)
And now it's transferred more to, my gosh, now that I've mastered some of those things, what about technical challenge? What about creativity? what are elements I can introduce that are just beyond what I would normally do or completely outside the box, but I am growing and learning as an artist.
Meg Loeks (15:01)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (15:02)
I want it to be hard now.
Meg Loeks (15:04)
Yeah, I noticed that. And in your last self-portrait post that you had, it was like a series in the shower. It's so creative. Like you could tell you were really experimenting and thinking outside the box. I mean, you always are, but I I especially noticed that in that series that you were pushing yourself. And I think that's such a a beautiful point. that it does help us grow as an artist. when we're
Meg Loeks (15:27)
With the camera, you know, we're experimenting.
Anjana Olson (15:29)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (15:30)
You have that one-on-one time, you know, it's it's your me time, right? and I I do love that.
Anjana Olson (15:35)
Yeah, absolutely.
Meg Loeks (15:36)
I love that about you. So my my next question kind of that spins off of that is how much of what you do is planned versus discovered while you're actually creating it?
Anjana Olson (15:47)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (15:50)
I would say it's a it's a 2080. I walked into that, I was gonna say I walked into the shower, but that sounds weird. But when I I had always planned to do this session in our bathroom because I just that green, I could not handle it. The
Meg Loeks (16:05)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (16:05)
plan I had completely 100% did not work.
Anjana Olson (16:08)
I had this vision of me being much smaller in the camera. I sold my wide angle lens. We're not getting any smaller in that. Like there was no way space-wise for me to create the the shot that I wanted. and I had envisioned it from up above, but I
Anjana Olson (16:23)
the thought of me trying to figure out how to suspend my camera because my boom stand wasn't working in there, all these things. so my plans are usually loose in that this is this is what I'm envisioning. And then as I take test shot after test shot, I realize that, okay, these are my limitations. How am I gonna pivot on that?
Anjana Olson (16:40)
And I've noticed that when I do have a solid plan, I'm so much more emotionally disappointed when it doesn't work. I lose the ability to be as creative as I want to be because I'm so stuck in this idea of no, this is what I want this to look like. so that's something I'm trying to let go of quite a bit, to just let that creativity flow. And every time I let it flow, it's a it's I don't know where I'm ending up, but it's exactly what I wanted.
Meg Loeks (17:04)
That's such a such a beautiful point. It's so true. And I I tell people all the time, like I fail constantly. I set up and it doesn't turn out the way I want it. But
Anjana Olson (17:11)
all the time. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:15)
you learn I know it's cliche, corny, whatever, but you do learn a lot from it, you know? And and
Anjana Olson (17:21)
You do.
Meg Loeks (17:22)
and you need to pivot. That's part of
Anjana Olson (17:23)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:24)
like this whole process as an artist is okay, this didn't work out the way I had envisioned.
Meg Loeks (17:29)
Let's try something different. Let's be curious and experiment. I think that's a big part of of growing as an artist is curiosity, right? Like what happens if I move the light here or I move my camera here
Anjana Olson (17:37)
Yes. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (17:40)
or I change this lens or I change the settings? What's what's gonna happen? What's that gonna look like?
Anjana Olson (17:44)
Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned curiosity also because that's kind of been my my pivot for the last two years. just because I feel like in general the world is has become less curious. And
Meg Loeks (17:56)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (17:56)
it's been really fun to enter into relationships and to conversations with people and with other artists and even within the studio and just enter with the mindset of
Anjana Olson (18:05)
I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to be curious today and what does that look like?
Meg Loeks (18:09)
Right. Right. Are there themes that you find yourself returning to within your work?
Anjana Olson (18:15)
That's a great question. And it's a hard one for me to recognize. I think when I see when I see my work as a body, I do see themes of the link between color and emotion. I do see themes with understanding that, I felt this way and I chose this. And I can see my themes getting stronger as I evolve into an artist.
Anjana Olson (18:36)
But I have a hard time see the only link I can see between it all is that link to emotion. And as you were kind of saying before, I think what's happening within that theme also is every time you spend time with yourself in this self-portrait, you know, world, I think you find more parts of your identity that you didn't know existed. or that you maybe knew but you'd never faced. And
Anjana Olson (19:00)
I think as my work kind of progresses in that direction, I see more and more parts of my theme, almost like a puzzle piece, kind of coming together. so I hope to in the future be able to look at my work and think, this is my this is my story, this is my overall theme. But I I have a hard time seeing it from where I am.
Meg Loeks (19:19)
I I definitely see just you mentioned this already, but I I do see such strong emotion within your work. you know, diving into also like identity. I mean, that's kind of how why you started the self-portrait work in some in some form, right? You know, the sh the
Anjana Olson (19:34)
Yeah. Yep.
Meg Loeks (19:36)
story, the birth story you shared, which thank you for sharing that. And and I I I think one of the powerful things about it is that
Meg Loeks (19:44)
it's relatable to so many women, especially like where the they feel connected and and share like a common thread with
Anjana Olson (19:53)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (19:53)
with you and and with all of us when when we share such vulnerable work, you know, they're like, well, I'm not alone here. Like I've been through something
Anjana Olson (20:01)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:02)
similar. So yeah. gosh. I
Anjana Olson (20:03)
Yeah. I hope so.
Meg Loeks (20:06)
yeah, definitely. It and your work is so versatile too. That's the thing.
Meg Loeks (20:10)
I I always have I I struggle with people that say, you know, stick to one genre or stick to like a certain vibe because I'm all
Anjana Olson (20:19)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:19)
over the place. I'm like, I'm like it depends on my mood. I'm one time I'm like, one day
Anjana Olson (20:23)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (20:24)
I'm like, I wanna do something colorful like Wes Anderson and quirky
Anjana Olson (20:27)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (20:28)
and weird. And then another day I'm like, let's lean into the surreal and do something a little bit whimsy and kind of dark. I don't know.
Anjana Olson (20:35)
Yeah.
Anjana Olson (20:36)
What I love about about your work also is that you're you're so right. I I see fantastical, I see magical, I also see very real portrayals of motherhood. I see you share emotion, but in a way that
Anjana Olson (20:50)
Not, I mean, I don't even know if relatable is the right word, but it makes it it may it allows women to actually feel that and understand that it's okay to feel that, but also it's a little funny. You know,
Meg Loeks (20:59)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (20:59)
like there's a there's a realism to it where it's like both joyful and yep, also it's hard. Also, it's all these things.
Meg Loeks (21:05)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Anjana Olson (21:07)
but the color harmony within all of your images makes gives it that same. I mean, Norman Rockwell, it's very
Anjana Olson (21:14)
I see all of these themes in your work where I'm like, and those spoke to me from a motherhood standpoint for sure.
Meg Loeks (21:21)
Thank you.
Anjana Olson (21:22)
I don't know how many times I've shared with my husband, like, this is how I feel. Just look at Meg's work, just look at this image. And but it doesn't feel heavy or hard in that image. It just feels real. And I appreciate that a lot.
Meg Loeks (21:33)
Thank you. Thank
Meg Loeks (21:34)
you. Yeah, I think it's good to, you know, lean into our emotions. And I tend to be a little bit sarcastic and I do like to lend in
Anjana Olson (21:41)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:41)
or l lean into like the humor sometimes, especially I mean, parent
Anjana Olson (21:44)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:45)
being a parent, I mean, kids are funny and unpredictable. And
Anjana Olson (21:48)
Yeah. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (21:50)
you know, so I do like to lean into that. are there any projects that you are working on
Meg Loeks (21:56)
right now that feel especially meaningful to you.
Anjana Olson (21:59)
Yeah. right now my main project for for my own self-portra to lean heavy into body identity. I've had such a journey with just you know, post this third child of mine and my body not being what I thought it would be, and having to work so hard to become strong and to do this, but also acknowledge that
Anjana Olson (22:23)
We are who we are, and that's okay. And so I do have projects in mind for okay, how do I bring this to life? with a lot of of emphasis on art history. I love art history. I love the storytelling in these old, old works of art. I hope that the next five years takes me to Europe so I can just explore art.
Meg Loeks (22:41)
I hope so too, for
Meg Loeks (22:42)
you. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (22:43)
Yeah, yeah, it just but that is something that's kind of in my brain and I would love to go the direction of fine art gallery work with my self-portraits, being fully aware that I'm not ready, I'm my body of work is not ready for that yet, but it's it's in my brain for a cohesive work of or body of work that focuses on body identity and what that looks like.
Meg Loeks (23:05)
To disagree with you though. I think that you are very much ready. I will be like the first person to walk into that gallery when you have one. We're gonna say, we're not gonna say if, we're gonna say when you have one
Anjana Olson (23:14)
my gosh. Thank you so much. When?
Meg Loeks (23:18)
because you will. We're gonna manifest that that's gonna happen. and I'm so excited for you because you your your work, like I said, it is so emotional and and beautiful and just.
Meg Loeks (23:28)
diverse and creative and surreal and all of those things. And so I'm really looking forward to seeing all the things that you create. which leads me to my next, my next final couple things here. What advice?
Anjana Olson (23:39)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (23:40)
This is a big one, what advice would you give artists who are, yeah,
Anjana Olson (23:44)
You drink a coffee.
Meg Loeks (23:45)
of course, who are trying to find their voice
Meg Loeks (23:48)
they're you know, maybe struggling with their identity, what advice would you give
Anjana Olson (23:51)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (23:52)
to them?
Anjana Olson (23:53)
I think my my biggest thing this just in general is just do it. And I don't mean do it as in do it perfectly, do it the way you want it to be in the end. Everything is such a journey. And we kind of touched on this, but every time you mess up, it takes you one step closer.
Anjana Olson (24:12)
To both identity as well as growth as an artist. And I think it's necessary. I think it's 100% necessary to approach a challenge from the standpoint of I will not succeed on this first try. But what does success mean? Because every time you take one step further, you have succeeded. And I just I look back at
Anjana Olson (24:32)
my work, my self-portrait work from two or three years ago. And my work is both vastly different and so similar. But my growth is evident to myself. And that is one
Meg Loeks (24:43)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (24:44)
it's confidence. It is understanding that you are capable of doing something. but do it wrong. Do it horribly. Just
Anjana Olson (24:52)
Do it so that the next time you do it just a little bit I don't even want to say better. I just think you learn something to do it differently and to try, you know, to learn yourself better. I don't know if that was a real sentence.
Meg Loeks (25:04)
Hey, it it make perfect sense to me. And it's it's so true that whenever I'm feeling like just not great about my work, maybe I have imposter syndrome, maybe I'm in a rut. That happens
Anjana Olson (25:18)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:19)
multiple times a year. Look back at my old work, look back at your old work. It's so important because you're gonna see
Anjana Olson (25:20)
One hundred percent. Yes.
Meg Loeks (25:24)
how far you've come, you know?
Anjana Olson (25:26)
Now.
Meg Loeks (25:26)
I there was when I first started out, I have these photos that I thought were like, I'm like, that's it. I never have to take another photo again. This is the best photo I've ever taken
Anjana Olson (25:32)
Yes. Yep.
Meg Loeks (25:34)
in my entire life. And I'll never forget, there was one of my second son, Woody, and he was I stuffed him in a a like a basket, but he was too big for the basket. He was kind of like falling out. And I was shooting in backlight. I think honestly it might have been for the first time. So I was really excited. but
Anjana Olson (25:49)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:50)
didn't really know how to shoot in backlight very well and
Meg Loeks (25:52)
It was very muddy. It all the things kind of technically that
Anjana Olson (25:55)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (25:55)
were not great about you know, there was issues about it. But at that time I was like, Wow, this is so good. And I look back and I'm like, Wow, this was not really that good. But you know what? I'm so glad I have this image of my son. Look at him, he's so cute, he was so little. And I could you know, I s could see the growth, you know.
Anjana Olson (26:07)
Yeah. Yes. Yep. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (26:14)
And I think everything is so scary until you do it. You know,
Meg Loeks (26:17)
yeah.
Anjana Olson (26:18)
like if you've never used lights, using a light is scary. If you normally use one light, using two lights is scary. using five lights sounds ridiculous, but then you use five lights and you're like, whoa, that was
Anjana Olson (26:29)
That was really fun. And then you think about gels and you're like, well, that sounds horrible. What how did people even know how to do this? And then you do it and you're like, okay, I didn't love that. How do I move this? And all of a sudden you realize you know how to use all of these tools.
Meg Loeks (26:41)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (26:42)
And it just feels, honestly, it feels very confidence building. It feels very
Meg Loeks (26:46)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (26:46)
like, look at me, look at what I am capable of learning.
Anjana Olson (26:50)
And I want everyone to feel that. You are everyone, you are so capable of learning. Everyone can learn. It doesn't matter how long it takes, everyone can do it.
Meg Loeks (26:57)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, when I started with off-camera flash, I was so intimidated and it it felt very overwhelming. But I just
Anjana Olson (27:05)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:06)
started practicing and not creating
Anjana Olson (27:08)
No.
Meg Loeks (27:09)
like the best work. But, you know, I just started experimenting and I I love it so much. Like I I love setting up my strobes and seeing what's gonna happen and what this is gonna look like, you know?
Anjana Olson (27:18)
Me too. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:21)
And I I still sometimes
Meg Loeks (27:22)
struggle. I s I shouldn't say sometimes. I struggle often still, you know, setting up lighting. Sometimes it takes me hours, but I'm doing it and I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying the process,
Anjana Olson (27:27)
For sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:32)
you know.
Anjana Olson (27:32)
And there are times where you think I know everything because we're human and you just you get to this weird place. There's both imposter syndrome and then there's the other side where there are days where I'm like, I am so amazing. And I walk in the studio and I set up a light sis like I set up the lights in a way I've set them up a million times. And it doesn't work.
Meg Loeks (27:50)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (27:51)
Yeah. You get humbled.
Anjana Olson (27:51)
It's not what I anticip yes.
Anjana Olson (27:53)
And then I'm like, okay, well, thank you. I
Meg Loeks (27:55)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (27:56)
don't know everything and right now this is my mistake to learn something new. This there's always
Meg Loeks (28:00)
Yeah. Yeah.
Anjana Olson (28:02)
something to learn.
Meg Loeks (28:02)
Yep. I I so agree. So one of the last questions I ask every every artist that I interview on the Creative Thread is this question. What's one very specific thing that makes you feel nostalgic?
Anjana Olson (28:19)
My gosh.
Anjana Olson (28:21)
That is a really interesting question. And I also have
Meg Loeks (28:23)
Just a fun little
Anjana Olson (28:24)
never been asked this question in my life.
Meg Loeks (28:27)
Something fun
Meg Loeks (28:28)
and just for people to get to know more about you.
Anjana Olson (28:31)
Yeah, I think the one thing that makes me feel the most nostalgic is my books. and not not all my books. I have this set of books that my my mom was a librarian for 25 years. And so I would go sit in the library from the age of four. Like she would have a six hour shift and I would just sit in a chair and read the whole time.
Anjana Olson (28:49)
and these librarians who I still love dearly, they would take me to the back and I would get a donut. And then I'd just go back out and the smell of books, the paper, old books. And my mom, they had had these, they used to have a lot of book sales. I don't know if libraries do that as much anymore. But
Meg Loeks (29:05)
Mm.
Anjana Olson (29:06)
there's this old set of books that is books like Little Woman, Little Women, The Five Little Peppers, Pollyanna.
Anjana Olson (29:13)
Swiss Family Robinson and they all have gray and blue and pink and yellow. It's a very specific like book set that used to be sold. And my mom bought I think all of the ones they had there, so it's like 30 books, and I still have them on my bookshelf. And when I am feeling overwhelmed or whatever by my life, and I want to go back in time, I pick up one of those books because when I open them, I can smell the pa it the smell of the paper is overwhelming.
Meg Loeks (29:39)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (29:40)
And it's a childhood book. It takes me back to being in my room in my closet. Walk in closet and I made it into this little book haven't because I it's when I wanted nobody to bother me and there were blankets and pillows. anyway, that was a really long answer, but it's these old books
Meg Loeks (29:53)
No, I love that.
Anjana Olson (29:54)
of mine.
Meg Loeks (29:55)
I love that. I I still have I have Little House on the Prairie series from when I was a
Anjana Olson (30:00)
Yes.
Meg Loeks (30:01)
little girl. I kept it for my daughter. So she has
Meg Loeks (30:04)
the series. And yeah, I just I really resonate and relate to that. Actually, when my husband and I got married, that was our thing. We would my husband has a history degree and we we
Anjana Olson (30:13)
my gosh, that is amazing. I love it.
Meg Loeks (30:16)
We would we would always we still do we we love old books especially and we used to live near this really old bookstore. But when we got married, I built him a bookshelf that was my wedding gift to him was my dad helped me, but
Anjana Olson (30:28)
I love that.
Meg Loeks (30:30)
so yeah, yeah. So I I just I I love that books mean so much to you. and we share
Anjana Olson (30:37)
Yeah.
Meg Loeks (30:38)
a very I'm gonna have to reach out to you here just for some new book ideas because we share
Anjana Olson (30:43)
please and share books with me. I it.
Meg Loeks (30:43)
the same kind of genre. Mm-hmm. I will. Absolutely.
Meg Loeks (30:48)
So where can people find you? Where can people learn more about your your work and and what you have going on?
Anjana Olson (30:55)
Yeah, I am mainly on Instagram. I have a specific self-portrait Instagram that is ANJ Self-Portraits. and then I have my portrait Instagram, which is ANJ Portrait Studio. and I also have a Facebook group called Unveiled, and it's just a self-portrait group. We do monthly prompts.
Anjana Olson (31:12)
It's a way to kind of keep all of us in the community accountable, just to be creating and growing as an artist on our own. And honestly, I just felt a need for community. I just wanted people
Meg Loeks (31:23)
Mm-hmm.
Anjana Olson (31:24)
to be able to share creative thoughts, to be able to come to you with challenges, to connect. I love learning, I love education.
Anjana Olson (31:33)
And this was a way to learn alongside other people. So I would love to have people join me there. yeah, and that's about it.
Meg Loeks (31:38)
That's awesome.
Meg Loeks (31:39)
That's awesome. So you have themes then monthly themes, is it? Or is it weekly or okay, monthly.
Anjana Olson (31:44)
Yep, monthly prompts
Anjana Olson (31:45)
and they're they're all different. Some of them are creative, some of them are technical. some of them are like this maze theme is monochromatic. So we're gonna try and create some self-portraits that are just how do you storytell within the tones of one color. and really I think all of
Meg Loeks (32:03)
That's really cool.
Anjana Olson (32:04)
them end up being how I'm feeling.
Anjana Olson (32:05)
I'm feeling monochromatic and I got a new outfit and I'm like, ooh, let's do this. It's pale blue. It's like Wes Anderson blue.
Meg Loeks (32:13)
See, dusty blue is my favorite color. So I I already know I'm
Anjana Olson (32:15)
it's exactly that.
Meg Loeks (32:17)
gonna love this, this portrait you're gonna create because yeah, I just I feel like I hone in on green a lot within my work, but blue is my my absolute favorite. So I can't wait to see this from you.
Anjana Olson (32:30)
Yes. It is dusty blue. That was the exact color. and I of course
Meg Loeks (32:34)
Awesome. Yay.
Anjana Olson (32:35)
I business expense all these outfits because as you should.
Meg Loeks (32:38)
Yeah. Yeah, you should! well, thank you so much for being with me today for this interview. I like I so enjoy talking with you, learning a little bit more about your process, your history, where you pull inspiration. It's been so inspiring. So thank you so much.
Anjana Olson (32:54)
Thank you, Meg. This was a great conversation and I was equally inspired by hearing a little bit of your story.
Meg Loeks (32:59)
Thank you.
