An Art To It

When creating with flowers is not quite fulfilling you, it's time to pack away the secateurs and pick up the paintbrushes. Brigitte Girling shares her story in Episode 56 of An Art to It. Brigitte is a fine artist based in Suffolk whose vivid, joyful still life paintings celebrate what she calls "the beauty of the everyday." But her route to the easel was anything but straightforward. In this epis...

Having her eyes fixed as firmly on her business goals as on her paint palette, has been the bedrock of Alice Sheridan's creative success. In this episode of An Art to It, artist, mentor and co-host of the long running and much-loved Art Juice podcast, Alice Sheridan, shares her journey. Alice talks about her move from a career in graphic design into painting, how she began taking her art seriously...

A passion for colour, flowers and making all came together for Katie Robbins as she said goodbye to a career in marketing and welcomed a new creative direction as a ceramicist.  In a lively and very open chat Katie - known by many on Instagram with her memorable handle @ceramicmagpie - shares her journey from a career in marketing to becoming a full-time ceramicist, and how creativity was always p...

Ceramicists never really retire, but they are allowed to indulge in a sabbatical. In this episode of An Art to It, I chat to Lucy Burley, whose beautifully distinctive ceramic bottles and vessels have been a much-loved part of my gallery https://thebyregallery.co.uk/ for ten years. In our very lively chat Lucy reflects on her creative path, from a first life in London as a tri-lingual secretary an...

Freedom of choice and taking up all opportunities are just two of the topics I chat about with visual artist Laura Menzies in episode 52 of An Art to It.  From a multidisciplinary arts degree and early love of dance to developing a distinctive painting practice in Cornwall, Laura shares her creative business journey; and reveals how studying, teaching and later completing an MA in Fine Art helped...

Exhibiting - and wearing - a maker's work for a decade is definitely something worth celebrating. This week I'm chatting with Cornish jeweller Lucy Spink, a Byre Gallery regular for ten years since I first discovered her work thanks to two clients who were wearing her jewellery; surely the best kind of introduction. Since then I've got a considerable collection of her work myself - as have many of...

Word play and the serenity of printing are under discussion in this episode of An Art to It, when I'm joined by artist and maker Megan Fatharly.  An exciting talent, Meg has won a deserved reputation  - and fan base - for her witty and distinctive embossed metal work.  In a lively and honest chat we talk about Meg's relationship with place (Scottish beginnings, Cornwall now), her diagnosis of ADHD...

Celebrating 20 years as a beacon of creative excellence in jewellery, I'm delighted to be joined this week by Vicky Sewart, founder of Victoria Sewart Contemporary Jewellery Gallery in Plymouth, Devon.  In a lovely chat with Vicky we talk about what's changed in the jewellery world, and why, with a very clear vision of what she wanted her gallery to be, she "stuck to her guns" through recessions a...

In this episode of An Art to It, I'm joined by ceramic artist Carolyn Tripp for a very enterianting and thoughtful conversation about finding your voice, building confidence, and taking the long view in a creative career.   Carolyn shares her journey from advertising to ceramics, how loss shaped a deeply personal body of work, and why success in the art world often comes slowly - through consisten...

In this episode, I'm joined by ceramic artist Sonya Wilkins, whose vessels are inspired by the natural world  - particularly trees, woodland textures, and the quiet power of time spent outdoors. Sonya shares how creativity has been woven through her life since childhood, from early painting lessons with her father to discovering clay at school, and why ceramics became both a practice and a refuge....

2026 - and series five - kicks off with An Art to It's first ever transatlantic episode: this week I'm joined by gallerist Liz Lidgett of Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design in Des Moines, Iowa. https://www.lizlidgett.com/ Liz shares how growing up with a free local museum - and a grandmother who bought her art lessons every Christmas - shaped her belief that art should be for everyone. After studying ar...

Ever wanted to eavesdrop of gallery owners in conversation? Now is your chance . In this Christmas Special edition of An Art to It, I'm joined by two fellow gallerists: Sharon Harvey (Sanctuary Gallery, Gloucestershire, and landscape artist) and Sara McKee (Life Full Colour gallery and music venue, North Wales). Together we unwrap what 2025 has really been like for independent galleries: the tough...

In this week's episode, I chat to visual artist Gabriella Buckingham, whose creative path has taken her from illustration, to product design, to online teaching, and finally to the richly expressive painting practice she runs today. Gabriella reflects on her childhood desire to be an artist and how finally reaching her destination "was just what I wanted. So I'm very grateful." And how her time sp...

In this final episode of my mini-series An Art to It: Unframed, we're talking about the quiet power of presentation - and why giving your digital presence a bit of a make-over can make such a difference to how your work is seen, understood, and valued. As a gallery owner I get a lot of submissions from artists and makers asking me to consider their work, and naturally I look at their Instagram acc...

In this episode of An Art to It,  I'm joined by applied artist Amy Stringer, who has just celebrated ten years of running her creative business. Amy's practice moves between jewellery and ceramics – think structural, architectural, process-led work that blurs the boundaries between wearable pieces and sculptural objects. Starting with body adornment and bold cement forms, she's now known for both...

It's one thing when a friend deliberately buys the same coat as you. It's quite another when your creative work, or something very similar, turns up on someone else's instagram grid, gallery, grid, or workshop offering. Copying is personal, deeply and annoying and hurtful - but when it could undermine your carefully crafted creative identity and brand, then it's a real issue. In this episode, we t...

What happens when the art you're known for no longer brings you joy? In this episode, mixed media artist Jane Wilson shares her journey from fashion buying to creative commercial success, and how a door closing lead to her finding her true voice as a playful, joy-filled artist. Jane opens up about early experiences of imposter syndrome, the emotional fallout from a tough gallery break-up, and how...

In episode three of my mini series of mini podcasts, I'm talking about something that comes up again and again - in both quiet conversations and loud frustrations. Invisibility. That creeping feeling of no longer being seen or noticed as we age, especially as women. Whether it's being ignored in a cafe queue, looked through as we walk into a gallery or walked past at a party, there's a moment many...

In this week's episode of An Art to It, I chat to artist I talk to the multi-talented Franca Westaway - an artist, designer, educator and all-round creative force. Franca's work spans textiles, ceramics, teaching, painting, mural commissions - and a deep commitment to following her creative instincts wherever they lead. We talked about her early love of fashion and textiles, and how she pivoted fr...

We've all done it, a quick scroll turns into a spiral. Someone else is making more, selling more, getting that gallery show or grant… and suddenly, your own progress feels like it doesn't count. In this episode of Unframed, I'm taking a look into the spiky topic of comparison: - When it can actually help your creative practice - When it starts to undermine your confidence - And how to set your own...

Artist and mentor Lisa Henshall joins me from her Norfolk studio to talk about the creative spiral that underpins her practice. From a wild and free Cornish childhood to painting at the kitchen table with three small children, Lisa shares how she's built a full-time art career rooted in self-trust, sharing, and expansion. We talk about the business of being an artist, what real gallery support loo...

In this first episode of An Art to It: Unframed, I'm taking a look at something that comes up again and again - in my coaching, my course, and in conversations with artists and makers: imposter syndrome. You know that voice. The one that says you haven't studied enough. Or sold enough. Or been doing this long enough to really call yourself an artist. I hear it all the time - especially from women...

In this episode of An Art to It, I chat to artist Susan Kinley, whose striking glasswork blends a fine art sensibility with applied material techniques. We talk about her journey from fine art textiles at Goldsmiths in London https://www.gold.ac.uk/  and mixed media work at the Royal College of Art, https://www.rca.ac.uk/ to her layered, landscape-inspired glass practice rooted in Cornwall. Sue sh...

This week, I'm joined by ceramicist Liz O'Dwyer in an entertaining - and very honest - chat about building a creative practice from the ground up.   We talk about Liz's early love for making, her years in both art education and Forest School, and how she reconnected with clay later in life, thanks to encouragement from her family, eventually finding her material in porcelain and her voice in form,...

Artist, Gallery Owner, Creative Force This week, I'm joined by Sharon Harvey: a painter, gallery owner, and passionate creative, to explore what it really takes to run a commercial gallery while maintaining an active artistic practice. Sharon shares her winding journey from a successful corporate career into the art world, what led her to study fine art in her 40s, and how a chance conversation ch...