Meet Madison Pisarchick | Photographer and Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Madison Pisarchick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madison, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I chose a creative career because there was not another option for me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up in an extremely rural town which had 1,200 people in it. I think one of the best qualities of people who grew up rurally is that we are really good story tellers (truthfully, because their isn’t much more to do). My photography turned into artwork when I channeled my ability to understand someone and tell the tale of who they are through surreal and captivating imagery, I have the honor of photographing individuals which inherently is a vulnerable experience for the subject; they open themselves up to a stranger, they talk to me about who they are and what they like, what makes them, them. I absorb their words and create almost a movie about the individual in my head; what career they’d be doing, their personality, what colors they radiate, etc. I create a world for them where they are the main character, where they would thrive and feel the most themselves. That’s what I wish to deliver to the client when I send them their gallery. I want them to feel so themselves and know that they would be the character I am rooting for in their own movie. I believe my art is a tasteful mix of understanding individuals and creating unique surreal collages that captivate the subject. This process started for me as I began evolving myself. I knew there was more to be told through a generic portrait, I knew I could create something deeper. I started a multi medium process where I edit in Photoshop, print out the image, manipulate it with my hands, then scan it back into Photoshop. This allows me to be as creative as can be, where I can add in physical elements but still make it a digital work. This has allowed me to be the most expressive in my art and allowed me to create more creative works of my subjects.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I was in Denver and my best friends were visiting me for the week, we doing a little Colorado road trip. My closest friends share the same passion for the great outdoors as I do and given we all live in cities, we would take time to get some fresh air. I would first drive south, taking them to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We would camp in tents for a few days, enjoying the gorgeous scenery. I would also take them sand boarding and sand sledding as it’s an experience like nothing else! After a few days in the wilderness we would head back up south, finding a nice campground near Colorado Springs. On day one in Colorado Springs we would visit Garden of the God’s to explore the beautiful red rocks. Then, the following day we would drive to the top of Pike’s Peak. After our scenic drive, we are heading back to Denver to enjoy some hot showers and freshening up. We would sleep in a bed that night, opposed to our sleeping bags. While in Denver we would go thrifting, go to a few local breweries, and maybe even catch a concert at Red Rocks! For the rest of our trip, we are heading up to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some more camping and going on some serious hikes! I would cross my fingers that my friends would be up to hike to Sky Pond, as it’s been on my radar for quite some time! While we are camping my pals and I would be sipping some craft beers, making some creative meals over the fire, and my personal favorite, eating mountain pies.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In 2015 I was deciding where I would attend college. I applied to a school just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. called Robert Morris University and specifically applied to their scholarship program called, ‘The Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Program.’ This scholarship chose approximately twenty freshman women who exuded the ability to lead, change, inspire, and empower. As someone who started their business in high school, I felt this to be fitting for myself as I found great importance proving that women could be influential, trail blazers, and fit into the roles that were traditionally held by men. I choose to attend RMU based off of my acceptance into the scholarship program for the Women’s Leadership and Mentorship program. Going into it, my main goal was to improve my leadership skills because truthfully I didn’t really understand what mentoring was, or could do, for my life. It wasn’t until I had my very first meeting with my mentor, Yasmin Purohit, that I knew mentorship would become such an transitional part of my story. Yasmin’s presence in itself made me feel safe, like I could trust her with anything, and most importantly, that she just looked at me and believed in me. These were feelings that I feel I was deprived of and for someone who essentially was a stranger at the time to just trust in me and my abilities was unfathomable. For the program, I had to meet with Yasmin once a month for two years, documenting our discussions, but, that isn’t what our relationship was. Yasmin opened her door for me whenever I needed it; whether that was once a month, every week, or even everyday. When our two years of obligated meetings ended she still was my mentor and was there for me whenever I needed it. To this day, I have never met someone who saw me like Yasmin did; for any question I ever had, having a resource to help, for any flaw I had, helping me work past it, and for seeing my potential when I didn’t see it myself. I never knew how much mentoring would affect my life but my mentor has helped make me into the confident go-getter I am today. She paved the way to make me a better mentor to others. Yasmin always used to call me her little lotus, because she said, “Lotus’s grow in muddy dirty water, but blossom into beautiful flowers,” This is such an important part of my story that I even have a lotus tattooed on me now to always remind me of what she’s done for me. That being said, I hope Yasmin understands the influence she has had on my personal and professional life. I will never be able to articulate the words to express all of my appreciation but I hope Yasmin knows she was always the one watering the lotus, helping it bloom into what it has become today.

Website: www.madsierraphotography.com

Instagram: @madsierraphotography

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madsierraphotography

Other: tiktok: @madsierraphotography

Image Credits
Myself, Madison Pisarchick, Mad Sierra Photography