Women’s Work: Erin Khar and Gabrielle Gewirtz
What happens when two strangers in different career fields interview each other about the work they do? Let’s find out.
Erin Khar is a writer and editor in New York City. Gabrielle Gewirtz is a graphic and art director in Colorado.
Gabrielle Interviews Erin
Gabrielle: What type of writing do you do?
Erin: I write mostly personal essays covering topics such as parenting, mental health, addiction and recovery, relationships, and pop culture. I also have a weekly advice column.
G: What type of editing do you do?
E: I edit articles for the site Ravishly.
G: You are also writing a memoir. What journey in your life prompted you to document it now? (I am asking because in your photo on Facebook you look very young…)
E: I am writing a memoir because that’s how I came (back) to writing. I’m not so young! In fact, today is my 43rd birthday. My memoir is about overcoming an addiction (I was a heroin addict from age 13 to 28, hiding it from most everyone in my life), becoming a mother, and getting well in all aspects – physically, mentally, and spiritually.
G: What brought you to New York City from California? Do you want to stay in NYC? If you could live and write from anywhere else, where would that be and why?
E: My husband took a job with a firm here. It was not a difficult decision, as I grew up between NYC and LA. My dad moved here when I was seven. I do want to stay in NYC. I love it here, always have. The only other city I have loved living in is Paris. I had a deep connection to that city from the first time I went there – it felt so familiar, like I had been there before. But, truthfully, I don’t foresee myself ever leaving New York.
G: What is your favorite type of writing to do? If you could write anything and not care whether someone read it or not, what would that be?
E: Memoir. It’s the scariest form of writing for me, but it is what I gravitate to over and over. I do write some fiction, as well… but the memoir writing is much scarier!
G: Are you always submitting articles to different forms of publications or do they seek you out?
E: I mostly submit to publications that are looking for the type of work I do. At Ravishly, where I edit, I write a weekly advice column called “Ask Erin,” as well as other pieces. Sometimes, I get contacted about writing something, which is always flattering.
Erin Interviews Gabrielle
Erin: Do you work freelance or for a publication or agency?
Gabrielle: I run my own boutique agency that my husband and I started in 2008 when we both lost our jobs due to the recession. We decided we wanted to control our financial destiny and our creative one as well. We have a very diverse client base from agencies (PR, marketing and design) to small start-ups. We even have a magician and a carousel of happiness!
E: Do you miss living in NYC?
G: I don’t miss living in NYC – not one bit. It took me 40 years to first leave the city and I have never looked back.
E: What made you decide on Colorado? Did you move for a job or personal reasons?
G: I saw a movie (a really not great chick flick called “Catch and Release”) that took place in Boulder, Colorado and the surrounding area. I thought, “Wow, it would be cool to live in a city where you can see the mountains.” David (my other) and I were already hiking and snowboarding a lot. So, we came out for a summer and house sat in Boulder. We traveled all over the state and hiked everywhere, and knew we wanted to make this home. Because we work from home, we just had to make sure we had steady enough clients to make the transition. We ended up being able to move a year later about 10 miles from our #1 choice. Last year, we bought our house in our sweet spot. We have a view of the continental divide.
E: Who is your greatest creative inspiration? What other creative forms influence your work (such as music, novels, films, painters, etc.)?
G: This is a hard question. I also am a singer/songwriter and a potter/sculptor. Each of these is influenced by the others. All mediums are influenced by nature. I love rhythm, color and harmony, design, patterns and quiet. I am drawn to surrealism -Dali for sure and Middle-Eastern Yemenite drums and rhythms. I also listen to a lot of Peter Gabriel, who uses those types of drums.
When I hike, I see patterns in nature that repeat and repeat in different forms -cell structure of a stem, the rippling on the surface of a lake, the cracks in ice during a thaw. It all jumbles in my head and spews out in everything I do. I don’t know if that really answers the question. I sing when I am making pots. I actually just learned this! My students tell me I sing all the time and I did not realize it. When I write music, I see color. When I am working in design, I focus on harmony.
Erin Khar lives, loves, and writes in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RarelyWrongErin. To learn more about her work, visit erinkhar.com.
Gabrielle Gewirtz, originally from NYC, now resides, works and plays in the mountains of Colorado near Boulder. She runs a boutique design company, Inside Wide, teaches ceramics at a local studio and also performs once in a blue moon. When you can’t find her covered in clay (or computer gear), she is usually off hiking in the mountains.
Photo courtesy of: Zengxiao Lin