Leaving The Nest, 16x26 media and archival pigment on paper © Peggy Washburn

Can you tell us a bit about your project "Precisely Now"? What are some of the influences or inspirations for your work?

The passage, loss, and seemingly random allocation of time is an ongoing theme in much of my work. This was amplified in the pre-vaccine autumn of 2020, when COVID entered our family. My husband I and both fell ill, spending four weeks in isolation. As minutes stretched into hours I cross-examined my life, attempting to answer an endless stream of unanswerable questions. Post recovery the questions still linger. The series was underway before this occurred, but the experience itself seemed to magnify thoughts I’d previously held pertaining to time. The event greatly impacted any following work, as well to help clarify what I’d already begun.

Your fashion photography reminds me of Sarah Moon. Your work has ethereal, elegant, and almost abstract painterly qualities. Can you tell us how you make your fashion photos? Is there anything different from shooting still lifes?

That’s quite a compliment - thank you! I don’t shoot as much fashion as I used to, but when I did Sarah Moon and Paolo Roversi were great inspirations. I think because they approached fashion as an art project more than a commercial assignment. It can be a challenge to remain true to one’s self while shooting for someone else, but I try to keep that idea in the back of my mind when doing so. And yes, I would say fashion is absolutely different from shooting still lifes. Inanimate objects stay put after you arrange them, while shooting live subjects invariably involve collaboration.

Balance, 18x24 mixed media on wood © Peggy Washburn

You use photo-based mixed media to examine ideas pertaining to balance, order, disorder and time. I'm curious, what is the process you go through to get to the final images?

As a child I pasted found objects and photographs into books. It helped me create visual order while at the same time relaying any aspects of disorder I was experiencing. Combining images serves my compulsion to arrange random events into a narrative. I love the idea of mixing past with present and creating an imagined world inside of an existing one. I frequently start with a drawing or painting, sometimes a photograph. I then add varying combinations of india ink, graphite, pigment and wax. The process is nonlinear. The work sort of takes on a life of its own and in the end rarely resembles my original intent.

What is photography to you?

My first camera was a 1973 Polaroid Land Camera. I was ten years old and began by shooting at night. Unable to make the rotating, disposable flash cube sync with my shutter, the images were blurry. I remember thinking, if I could just hold still I’d take better pictures. I began shooting again in the early nineties to improve the quality of images I was incorporating into collage work and became enchanted with the darkroom. I loved the meticulous routine and rules, which could later with respect, be broken. For me, photography is a means to express myself, with a language I might not otherwise find words for.

Describe your creative process in one word.

Impulsive

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

I would teach a class on mastering art of patience. If I were able to teach such a class, it would mean that I’d mastered the practice myself. Admittedly however, I could use a bit of work.

Ballet Wear, 20x24 archival pigment on paper © Peggy Washburn

What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?

My husband and I are film fanatics and watch several movies a week, which means my answer today could differ from tomorrow. I recently watched Antlers and found it visually masterful. I love almost everything Guillermo Del Toro has a hand in making.

A while ago I read Killing Commendatore, by Haruki Murakami. I like to read before bed and found myself going to bed earlier each night. I absolutely loved it.

What is the most played song in your music library?

Letter From My Ego, by Isak Gaines

How do you take your coffee?

With a drop of milk and loads of honey.

To view more of Peggy Washburn’s work, visit her website.