Creativity Found: Finding Creativity Later in Life

Making time for art. Jackie Sanders primarily works with abstract, geometric shapes, and bold colors using acrylic paint on panels. She creates visually interesting pieces that can be taken at surface value or can communicate deeper concepts and symbolism, allowing viewers to choose what they want to see in the art. As a child, Jackie was supported and encouraged creatively by her family, who even...

A printmaking class helps me to get over my fear of 2D. When Gerry Coles invited me to one of her printmaking workshops my initial reaction was that there was no way I would go because I would be rubbish. Regular listeners will have heard me saying that that should not be a reason for not trying a new creative activity, so of course I told myself off, and told Gerry I'd love to go. Find out h...

I've caught Maria Ramsey at a reinvention stage, having made the decision to stop teaching music and to explore other avenues that feel more creatively fulfilling. Maria is a multi-talented artist who has explored various creative outlets including visual art, poetry, and floral design. Growing up in a family that valued creativity and the arts, Maria was encouraged to pursue music, taking le...

‘Getting back to being more me’. That’s how Rich Chambers describes just one of the wider benefits he has experienced from taking the decision to ramp up his musical pursuits in midlife. As a teenager, Rich played guitar and wrote music, and was going to be a rock star. He let his school studies slip, barely passing his graduation year, and set out to become the next ‘big thing’.  Unfortunately, h...

Promotion and networking for creative-activity businesses The Creativity Found Collective offers multiple ways for members to connect and to promote what they do, and in this bonus podcast episode I delve into the origins of creativityfound.co.uk and the Collective, both born out of the Creativity Found podcast. I explain how I wanted to create a platform to help people explore their creativity an...

How to ease the symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome and start drawing again, without spilling ink all over the carpet! Guest  Fish Lee tells me about how his local TV weatherman played a key part in his getting to the bottom of a mystery illness that had plagued him physically, emotionally and behaviourally since he was a child, and how that diagnosis helped him to start drawing again, without spillin...

Facing fears and taking risks.  Robert and Linda are classical pianists who have found a unique way to combine their music with comedy, stories, and improvisations. But the shows they devised had never been done before, and were very different to what was expected of concert pianists. So, as classical musicians, Linda and Robert were unsure of how their ideas would be received. The first time they...

Playing piano together (one piano, four hands) was an experimental idea for married couple Linda and Robert, one that taught them a lot about themselves and each other, which you can find out all about in the next, more usual episode of the podcast. In the meantime, enjoy their beautiful playing in this extract from their show called From Mistresses to Manhattan, whether you are listening while th...

Maybe it's not the right time, but never say never. Natalie Smart loved working with textiles as a youngster, from hand knitting to making her own clothes. Unfortunately, Textiles as an A-Level subject was discontinued at her school just as she was about to join the sixth form. Natalie was quite academic, so she had other choices. Faced with the decision of whether or not to take out a loan t...

The science teacher who chose to break free from practicality, utility and patterns in textiles and paint. This week’s podcast guest, Claude Larson, has been sewing for years, while also teaching science classes to middle-school age teenagers in the US. A few years ago, Claude decided to throw out the patterns and instructions in favour of a new era of experimentation.  She stopped making practica...

Overcoming concerns about your singing voice post-menopause.  Suzanne Noble had concerns about the tone of her voice after not having used it for many years. However, as you’ll hear in the show, she needn’t have worried, and with the help of coaching, encouragement and an inquisitive personality, Suzanne now has an ever-evolving musical repertoire. Suzanne Noble began her university studies – in t...

Childhood memories inspire a self-publishing project in retirement. When Jill Phillips was growing up, creative pursuits such as painting and writing were not activities that her working-class community ever thought of doing, they were considered luxury pastimes for the more wealthy Londoners. That was in the mid 1960s. Fast forward to the 2020s and Jill has published a memoir of life on Lamlash S...

How crafting can alleviate MS symptoms. To keep her hands busy and her mind calm, Helen Hill crochets blankets for orphaned baby rhinos, among other things. Her passions also help her to manage her MS symptoms, to sit still where usually her symptoms force her to be constantly active, to calm her restless legs, and generally to escape the everyday. Helen was good at her studies, at school and as a...

The inventor of the revolutionary Chalk Paint believes that everyone is creative. Annie Sloan had a dreamy, independent young life, which continued into her business career, since without a dream and an independent attitude, Annie's world-renowned Chalk Paint may never had been made.  Annie was 41 years old when she invented and manufactured Chalk Paint, while also painting for clients and wr...

Helping you find your unique writing voice. Just because you’ve got a solid background and experience in something that you are good at and successful in, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it if you no longer enjoy it. For this episode I’m speaking with Rowena Roberts, who became disheartened in her role as a sought-after copywriter so, with some guidance and courage, found a new channel for her...

Dance, books, drama and singing, and why making this podcast is so important to me. For this episode I’m speaking with . . . well, actually, for this episode my friend and fellow podcaster Rabiah Coon is speaking with me. Rabiah’s More Than Work podcast aligns brilliantly with Creativity Found, so please enjoy this episode and head over to More Than Work to find more great listening. In my own Cre...

Sally Ward's experiences as a finalist on Sky TV's Portrait Artist of the Year competition Sally Ward had to decline her well-earned place in Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year competition in 2019, but in 2020 she entered again and to her utter surprise made it all the way to the final. Sally painted Melanie Sykes, Bernadine Evaristo and Eddie Izzard, and was very relieved that she didn’t...

Why being an artist DOESN'T mean you have to do it full time Career-wise, Sally Ward balances her roles as a civil servant and as a portrait artist, and finds fulfilment, enjoyment and challenges in each. She was a prolific artist as a youngster, and was allowed by her secondary school to go to the local sixth-form college to take life-drawing classes at the age of 14. She was very interested...

For this short and sweet bonus episode (while I'm on summer hols) I caught up with Gerry Coles (episode 3) to find out what's new in her world of linocut printmaking. If you found value in this episode and would like to show your appreciation, consider supporting the podcast through the Support the Show link, or by sending a boostagram , for example in the Fountain app . CreativityFound....

In this short and sweet bonus episode (while I'm on summer hols) I caught up with Cass Sabo (episodes 3 and 22) to find out what's new in her world of weaving. If you found value in this episode and would like to show your appreciation, consider supporting the podcast through the Support the Show link, or by sending a boostagram , for example in the Fountain app . CreativityFound.co.uk O...

Ella Orr’s parents came to the UK from Mauritius in the 1960s and, understandably, they wanted Ella to do well academically. But they also wanted her and her sister to have a wider outlook and sent them to dancing and music lessons, which Ella loved, so much so that she choose to do a creative arts degree. But once thoughts turned to earning a living, musical theatre didn’t seem like a lucrative o...

Fiona Myles grew up in a small town in Scotland, always aware that she was different from her siblings because she was adopted. As a teenager, she became increasingly isolated and began to rebel. She moved to London to work as a nanny, but quickly got caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol, ending up homeless and sleeping rough in Victoria Station.  She even had a brush with death when she trie...

Aged 18 Jennifer Baker packed her bags and moved from Florida to New York City to study at the School of Visual Arts, one of the best art schools in the US. It was the 1980s and she says that the school and the experience moulded her as an artist and as a person, but she couldn’t live there forever.  After graduating Jennifer had no clue of how to make art her profession, although she did try. She...

Jo Watson fell into teaching after being told she wasn’t clever enough to study law and that to get into journalism she needed a different degree to the one she had. She loved her first - year placement, and did really well, but at her second school her experience was not so good. She was stifled in her teaching freedom and because of that lost her enthusiasm for the job. When she left that school...

Have you ever wondered how I find my creativity? Probably not, but let's just say that podcasting has been a revelation to me, and gives me loads of creative 'feels'. So when I was invited to the Podcast Show in London to record in a pop-up studio on the Shure stand, I decided I would use the opportunity to discuss the creativity of podcasting, and invited along fellow podcaster, an...