In this episode I speak with Katie Vicary about her journey to finding the creative vocation that feels true to her soul’s calling. After doing many different jobs over the years, Katie has recently settled on developing her fine art practice. It was whilst in my Creativity Cafe online course (which has recently become a membership) that Katie realised that art was what was most important to her to pursue. 

We discuss what it feels like to be in transition. Not fully who we once were, but not yet who we are becoming. I give Katie a brief coaching session to help to relate to her creative blocks differently and then release them, through a somatic check in and dialogue. 

Some of the things we speak about are:
 
-How the only constant in life is change.

-How joining the Creativity Cafe led to the unexpected result of Katie deciding to switch course and commit fully to her artistic practice. How being in the cafe helped her to shake off unhelpful ideas about what it meant to be an artist and make work that was looser and more heartfelt and authentic. She speaks about how doing this with others on a similar journey to her, felt  helpful and supportive.
 
-We discuss the retelling of the story ‘the red shoes’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes; a story of choosing  a life that is too tame, being starved of what truly nourishes us and how the choosing comfort and conformity over the authentic needs of our soul, can have a stifling effect on our creativity.

-How through the process of working through the grief of losing a loved one, the things that are important for our lives come into sharper focus; time for reassessing.

-During the brief coaching session that I take Katie through at the end, she identifies some of her creative blocks and works somatically to release them.

-At the end of the episode Katie takes us through the Parsemage technique. You can see visual instructions and artwork made using this technique HERE

Links

Katie’s online portfolio.

Katie's Instagram 

The smell of rain on dust. Grief and praise.Martin Prechtel.

The women who run with the wolves. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. The red shoes story.

The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. 

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


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Today I’m speaking with writer, poet and performer Sophie Leone, about her journey from being a police officer for 15 years to the seismic shift in her work and what she does today.

We speak about the intense initiation she went through directly after the birth of her second child which led to her haemorrhaging and ‘bleeding out’; and the transcendent experiences that she had whilst recovering. This led to a complete shift in how she lived and ultimately to the ‘birth’ her first book, ‘the book of revelations’. During the episode Sophie reads to us from the this book, poems and monologues that follow the themes we are discussing; starting with ‘eulogy to my warrant card’, followed by 'freefall' and finally a poem called ‘for you.’ 

Sophie speaks about her journey of learning to honour and make time for rest and how this is now an integral part of her daily routine. Her mantra for every day is ‘write, speak, rest.’ At the end of the session, she guides us to prepare for a special gift that she has recorded, to help us all have some deep rest. A yoga nidra meditation. You will find the link to this below. 

Some of the things we speak about:

-Listening to the inner voice that might be trying to steer us in a more aligned direction for our lives.

-How Sophie wrote to and from that voice and how this connected her to something magical, something ‘other’

-How slowing down and getting off the hamster wheel of constant moving and doing and consciously choosing to rest, is a radical act.

-How yoga nidra and the art of rest was a doorway for Sophie to see and feel the world anew, even in the busy and challenging time of new motherhood. 

-How our lives and our bodies always call out to us when change is needed. 

-The creative void and the disappointment, disillusionment and shame that can come with the feeling that our creative work isn’t being fully recognised or welcomed out in the world. 

Links

Sophie's Yoga Nidra Meditation gift.
 
Her Website:
Her Instagram
The Untethered soul by Michael A Singer
The Artist’s Way  by Julia Cameron

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


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Today's conversation with Andrea Mclean is poetic and rooted in the idea of art and creativity being a heartfelt journey.

Some of the things covered in this episode are:
 
-How linear time disappears when we are making creative work. Does it even exist?!
-How a creative life can be full of ease, alongside the doubts and the necessary sense of the void.
-Ways into creating a sustainable creative practice that nourishes us.
-Her  advice to those that feel blocked in their creative practice or are unsure where to start.
-The different kinds of vision and how nature can gift us vision when we are alert to its magic and messages.
-The connection between Andrea’s and my work; creating a space that others can inhabit, through both what is said and also what is left unsaid and our use of time and nature in the work.
-Andrea talks us through the creation of and stories behind her painting ‘Tree map  with a  copper moon.’ (linked below)
-Her discovery of William Blake’s creation of Golgonooza (a spiritual city floating above London)  as a young student in London and how it helped her to orient herself to the busy city.

-Andrea read’s from Blake’s ‘Jerusalem’ which describes Golgonooza.

-At the end of the episode she takes us through the creative practice of creating an image that can serve as a compass, clock and cosmos. For this you will need paper, scissors and some materials to draw with. To see  a written description of the exercise and some of Andrea’s example images, click HERE
Or on the link below
https://bitly.ws/35EfS

-Link to the painting discussed ‘Tree map with a copper moon’
To find out more about Andrea’s work and links for things mentioned, see below. Website:
Instagram:
Poem: Auguries of Innocence by William Blake
Link to her Mappa Mundi, in the British Library
Link to Andrea’s work with Blakean societies
More info on William Blake’s Jerusalem, which Andrea read’s to us  from: 

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


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In this episode, I’m speaking with Sam Marshall. 
Sam shares with us her daily routine in the studio, the process of writing and publishing her book, dealing with criticism and the journey of acceptance that comes with this; reframing success in relation to a creative practice. - hint… it’s not about money… and many other gems. At the end of the episode, she shares  some simple drawing exercises that you can do. For this you will need any drawing implement such as a pen or pencil and a surface to draw on, that’s it! 

Some of the things covered in this episode are:

- How the books we read and the things we enjoy doing hold the keys to the creative work we want to make.

- We spoke a lot about drawing: Taking away the fear of drawing. How it is just making marks on a surface. You don’t have to be special to draw. Anyone can do it.

- Sam’s advice to those who may not have drawn since they were a child but would like to start.

- Drawing despite the inner critic voice. Feeling into the fear that comes up and doing it anyway.

- Drawing as a mindful activity to slow down the busy mind and as a source of comfort and solace.

- How drawing everyday, even if only for 5 minutes fosters confidence.

- How Sam and I met many years ago as students of the Royal Drawing School in London and what we learned there. 

- How sharing her life on instagram led to having a large community of people who love and follow her work and a book deal with Bloomsbury publishing.

The process of creating a book and putting it out into the world and dealing with criticism.  

Books and sources mentioned.

- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

- Magic Lesson Podcast by Elizabeth Gilbert

- Playing big by Tara Mohr

- Control Alt Delete by Emma Gannon

- The success myth by Emma Gannon

- The Royal Drawing School.

Find Sam at:
- https://www.sammarshallart.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/sammarshallart/

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


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Some of the things covered in this episode:

- A creative practice as a way of navigating life, particularly when it’s challenging.  

- The vulnerability of putting creative work out into the world and dealing with criticism.   

- Leandra coming out as a poet on this podcast! She reads some of her powerful poems out loud for us.  

- Lessons in boundaries from the blackthorn tree.   

- Where we might hand our power over and how we can take it back. 

- Our creative life force energy and how this begins in the body. 

- At the end Leandra takes us through a beautiful meditation to help us to access our inner wisdom.  

- To find out more about Leandra’s work: visit www.flyingcloud.life. 

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


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In this solo intro episode I introduce myself and the work that I do.

Things I cover:

- How I worked through my own ancestral trauma and how that affected my own creative work.

- The themes in my paintings and drawings.

- What I will be speaking about with my guests in episodes to come. 

- How I work with others to help them to alchemise their own stories and find the courage to make the creative work that is calling to them.

- How you can do this too!

- At the end of the episode there is a guided meditation which you can follow along with, to begin to find the answers within yourself to questions you may have about the creative work that is calling you.

- A bit about my creativity cafe membership for creatives which launches in October 2023. 

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


Subscribe and leave a review on itunes
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Welcome to Art and Story, a podcast where we have conversations about creativity and healing. I'm Perienne Christian an artist and art mentor. Join me for solo shows and as well as conversations with guests, discussing their creative journeys and the life lessons that have helped them accept and say yes to the work their soul is calling them to.

Support the show

To view Perienne's artwork and find out about the Creativity Cafe membership; an online space with community, accountability and art sessions for creatives, see the links below.

Perienne's Website

The Creativity Cafe

Instagram

If you are enjoying the podcast you can
support the show or message Perienne here.


Subscribe and leave a review on itunes
Subscribe and leave a review on spotify