Creative Catch-up

James (the writer) and Steph (the artist) chat about how their projects have gone a bit pear-shaped over the past couple of months, and troubleshoot the heck out of them.

Steph explores the challenges of creating work that is more personal in nature, while James deals with disruptions, feeling the overwhelm, and finding the joy in writing.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) chats with James (the writer) about her trip to Amsterdam. (Just the arty farty bits, though).

Over three days, Steph visited the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Moco (Modern Contemporary) Museum to find inspiration for her Skin Maps. It's fair to say she came back more full of beans than a vegan burrito.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

James (the writer) and Jay Sykes (the audio producer) nerd out about Out on the Wire, a graphic novel about podcasting and narrative journalism by Jessica Abel.

While Steph is away in Amsterdam, James and Jay explore what makes a great story, preserving voice, and structuring stories or podcasts.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) and James (the writer) chat about 'on-ramping' - the stuff we do to get our best selves from bed to desk in the morning.

James loves positive habit-stacking, while Steph is all about managing her work space. They also explore what to do when the wheels get wobbly, and set you an on-ramping challenge.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) and James (the writer) nerd out about the wonderful Michael Rosen and his ideas about play.

James chats about some of the ways he incorporates storytelling games into his writing workshops, while Steph explores the sense of wonder in her artistic practice.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) and James (the writer) catch up on where they're at with their skin maps and Another Sunderland.

After a productive month, Steph chats about the danger of shiny new banana skins. James explores how he fell back in love with his work in progress by reconnecting with his original inspiration.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

James (the writer) chats with Steph (the artist) about novellas-in-flash.

Using My Very End of the Universe as a jumping off point, James explores this fresh approach to long-form storytelling using an assemblage of micro-fiction, and how he is using this to write Another Sunderland.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) and James (the writer) catch up on each other's current works in progress.

James explores the aftermath of the Plymouth shooting and his own emotional health, while Steph chats about how she developed her laundry triptych into skin maps.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

Steph (the artist) chats with James (the writer) about her recent visit to the Paula Rego exhibition at Tate Britain.

Paula Rego's work has become hugely influential for Steph. In this episode Steph explores some of her favourite pieces, and the impact they've had on her own creative practice.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.

James (the writer) and Steph (the artist) chat about their current works in progress.

Steph explains what her skin maps are all about, while James explores the idea of an urban fantasy set in Another Sunderland, and what an undercover operation involving incels might be like.

Season 1 of Creative Catch-up was produced as part of a Sunderland Culture Creative Development Fellowship.