Creativity Found: Finding Creativity Later in Life

My players are my plot twists. You never know what you're going to get until you play it – it's chaos, but it's the good kind of chaos.

From childhood radio plays recorded on a tape recorder to navigating a whirlwind of survival day jobs, Hem Brewster has worn almost every hat imaginable. In this episode, Hem joins Claire to discuss how she brought her life full circle by stepping into full-time creative production at Blighthouse Studio, an Icelandic audio production hub dedicated to creating escapist fiction podcasts, audio dramas and actual play shows.

Hem shares how she uses real-world Icelandic settings to ground dark audio fiction, how continuous creation serves as a vital anchor for her mental health, and what it takes to trade 16-hour corporate workdays for full-time storytelling. From the emotional finish line of a ten-year Dungeons and Dragons campaign to launching Varúd, a 48-episode winter zombie apocalypse series set across Iceland, Hem demonstrates that pursuing your creative passion is worth every leap of faith.

In this episode we explore:

• From Caregiving to MRI Coil Engineering: Hem discusses taking care of her parents and working in nursing roles, before pivoting to a five-year mechanical engineering apprenticeship designing gradient coils for MRI machines while teaching herself sound editing on the side.
• Belugas, Electricians and the Icelandic Pivot: The wild journey of moving to Iceland, managing operations at the Beluga Whale Sanctuary and pulling electrical wires with her electrician husband to buy time for podcasting.
• The Craft of Actual Play and ‘My Players Are My Plot Twists’: How role-playing games use dice rolls to generate spontaneous drama, and why a game master must always be ready for when players ‘invent a skylight’ instead of taking the door.
• Mental Health and ‘GM Blues’: How storytelling keeps depression at bay and the emotional release of completing a 10-year podcasting campaign. 

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Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

‘I realized I was playing what I thought was expected of me, rather than playing music because I loved it.’

Irish traditional folk musician Tara Connaghan shares how inheriting her late sister’s fiddle sparked her musical path, how a blunt wake-up call from her teacher cured her ‘lazy practicing’ habits, and how a semester abroad in Finland reminded her never to let her repertoire slip.

We explore the social rules and unspoken courtesies of traditional Irish music sessions, the fear of embarrassment that holds adult learners back and how a profound conversation with traditional music elder Danny Meehan inspired Tara to stop playing for approval and start enjoying her own music. 

Tara also introduces her project and podcast, In Tune with Tradition, created to help adult learners navigate session etiquette, overcome performance anxiety and find community in group music-making.

• The 60-Second Practice: Trying to fake practice during 60-second car rides and how her teacher’s tough love sparked a fierce, lifelong dedication to mastering tunes.
• University Repertoire Shock and The Finnish Pub Session: Feeling like ‘the weakest link’ during her early days at university, going on a 20-year quest to learn every tune, and how a St Patrick’s Day gig in Finland taught Tara that unused tunes quickly evaporate.
• From Construction Company to Creative Calling: Parachuting in to manage her late father’s essential electrical services construction firm for ten years before stepping away to preserve her sanity and return to music.
• Danny Meehan’s Wisdom and Playing Your Own Music: How a gentle observation from an 80-year-old traditional fiddle legend helped Tara realize she was playing to meet external expectations rather than for pure joy.
• Demystifying Session Etiquette and In Tune with Tradition: Why adult learners are risk-averse to embarrassment, and how Tara’s podcast and framework help musicians understand the unspoken customs, courtesies and teamwork of session playing.

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Support the show

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Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

'Actors are emotional athletes. Taking on all this emotion and processing it in a safe container is like an emotional shower for the soul.'

Actress and American Sign Language interpreter Sharon Pierre-Louis (Django Unchained, Switched at Birth) joins Claire to discuss her journey through the performing arts, from church plays in her Haitian-American upbringing to Hollywood sets and Deaf theater. 

Sharon shares how a sixth-grade crush initially led her to the stage, how learning ASL to communicate with her brother opened new career pathways, and how she navigated systemic barriers as a Black actress in university and Los Angeles.

We explore the therapeutic power of acting as an emotional release, the challenges of balancing motherhood, self-tapes, and industry strikes, and what happened when Sharon realized her 'joy reservoir' was running on empty. 

Sharon also introduces Pepli, a digital platform she created as a 'LinkedIn for creatives' to help artists collaborate, book work, and build genuine community without chasing social media algorithms.

Bridging Worlds with ASL: Discovering her deaf brother as a child, learning American Sign Language, and later combining her passions on camera in Switched at Birth and on stage with Deaf West Theater.

Breaking Casting Barriers: How Sharon proactively sought out auditions at FAMU (a historically Black university) while at Florida State to ensure she was never limited by industry stereotypes.

The 'Emotional Athlete' and  The Joy Reservoir: Why acting acts as an emotional shower for processing complex feelings, and how stepping away during motherhood inspired Sharon to replenish her creative energy.

Pepli: A Digital Haven for Artists: The story behind Sharon's new app designed for performers, visual artists, and arts organizations to collaborate, find auditions, and share their artistic process without bottomless feeds or algorithm pressure.

Find Pepli in the App or Play Store, or find out more at pepliapp.com.

Pepli on Instagram.

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Join Pepli, the all-in-one app for creatives to monetize, build community and grow.

Support the show

Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

A conservative New York mortgage banker turns his hand to performing cabaret solos and tap-dancing in Manhattan's Times Square. 

In this episode, Norman Calvo shares how a devastating childhood choir audition silenced his voice for decades, and how an unexpected encounter with an opera singer client in his 60s allowed him to find his voice once more.

We explore the power of starting from scratch as an adult, the vulnerability of freezing during your first public solo, and how embracing a creative outlet can completely redefine your social life and personal identity. 

Norman also offers advice for anyone afraid of putting themselves out there, emphasizing that when it comes to finding joy in retirement, you truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Choir Audition Scar: Norman shares the devastating childhood experience of being rejected from his seventh-grade choir, which sidelined his artistic confidence for decades.

The Hand-Written Mortgage Magic: How a face-to-face meeting with opera singer clients in his 60s sparked a late-in-life journey into singing lessons at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Falling on Your Face to Learn: Norman recounts freezing on stage during his first-ever solo and explains why making mistakes is the ultimate way to grow as an adult.

Tuxedos, Top Hats, and Tap Dancing: From a conservative Wall Street uniform to performing 'Putting on the Ritz' with a cane, Norman describes the pure fun of adding physical performance and tap lessons to his creative toolkit.

The Holistic Banker: How performing cabaret completely transformed Norman's social life, broadened his conversations, and led to a heartwarming joint talent show with his granddaughter.

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Join Pepli, the all-in-one app for creatives to monetize, build community and grow.

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Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

Engineering a life of colour.

Justine Guillermou transitioned from a rigid career in space engineering to the vibrant world of professional interior design. 

In this episode Justine shares how her childhood experiences of home renovation in France planted the seeds for her future, despite being pushed towards more traditional academic paths. 

We explore the therapeutic benefits of colour, Justine’s experience as a contestant on a Channel 4 interior design show, and how embracing a creative outlet helped her manage the challenges of living with endometriosis. 

Justine also provides insight into her signature Rainbow Shaker style, and offers advice for those who believe they lack a creative spark, emphasizing the importance of the process over the final outcome.

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Join Pepli, the all-in-one app for creatives to monetize, build community and grow.

Support the show

Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

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Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

At the intersection of medicine and masterpieces.

Lora Arbrador is a nurse and artist who uses the ancient technique of egg tempera to explore profound human experiences. 

In this episode Lora shares her childhood memories of art lessons in New York, her experience of the counterculture movement in Berkeley during the 1960s, and how her career in nursing – specifically during the height of the AIDS crisis – became the catalyst for her most significant works. 

Lora and I discuss the meticulous nature of egg tempera, the emotional weight of painting stories of loss and immigration, and Lora's decision to document her life and art in her memoir, Art and Love. Lora also reveals her unique 'adoption' approach to finding homes for her large-scale paintings and explains why she chooses to embrace a slow, deliberate creative process in her 70s.

Connect with Lora here

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Medicine and Mysteries with Tammy Euliano

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Support the show

Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

Turning a lifelong dream into a published reality.

Marketing-consultant-turned-thriller-writer Michael Wendroff shares his fascinating journey of being raised within a literary family – surrounded by manuscripts and legendary authors like Robert Ludlum – before carving out his own successful career in marketing. 

He discusses how the pandemic finally provided the opportunity to overcome a lifetime of procrastination and pen his debut novel, What Goes Around. 

Michael offers invaluable insight into the traditional publishing process, the essential role of literary agents, and the importance of perseverance when receiving editorial feedback. 

We explore the 'self-actualising' power of fulfilling a lifelong creative dream and the positive impact it has on mental and physical wellbeing, while Michael also provides practical advice for aspiring writers, from exercising the 'writing muscle' daily to the necessity of self-promotion in the modern publishing landscape.

Connect with Michael here.

Buy books by Creativity Found guests here.

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Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

"I know what it feels like to be the bird in the cage that doesn't sing. I know that feeling and I don't want to go back to that again."

Sheila Kazan, creator of the podcast Small Talk with Sheila chats with me about navigating the expectations of her Iranian immigrant parents – who envisioned her becoming a lawyer – and her own desire for creative expression. 

From discovering the power of acting in a sixth-grade English class to dropping out of law school and working in the heart of Hollywood, Sheila discusses the 'messiness' of a creative life. 

Now balancing a career in tech with her passion for storytelling, she explains why we should give ourselves the same grace we afford our favourite rom-com characters and why perfectionism is the greatest barrier to artistic fulfilment.

The Law School Dropout: Sheila recounts the 'messy and dark' moment she realized she was living someone else's life and her bold move to Arizona to discover who she actually was.

Creativity in Corporate Spaces: How Sheila carves out room for her expressive self while working for tech giants like Meta and Slack.

The 'Bird in the Cage' Warning: A powerful discussion on the emotional price of suppressing your creative side and why 'just doing it' is the only cure for perfectionism.

Ambition vs. Burnout: Practical advice on managing the 'pendulum swing' of a multi-passionate life and recognizing when you’re steering towards a crash.

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Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

'I was unaware that it wasn't normal to fall asleep when you're sat still.'

This episode was first released in April 2023.

Ruth Chipperfield, a goldsmith and jewellery designer, had always experienced excessive tiredness, but didn’t think anything more of it until a chat with a friend at uni revealed to her that not everyone struggled to stay awake at their desk in the same way she did. 

With the advice of her great uncle in Australia – where the condition was more recognised – Ruth was diagnosed with narcolepsy, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain’s ability to regulate the sleep-wake cycle: when wanting to sleep a sufferer can wake up every second, and when awake they will want to sleep.
At its worst for Ruth this meant collapsing up to 30 times a day, and needing constant care from her husband and mum. 

Ruth took time out from studying chemistry at university to apply for funding for the medication she needed to improve her life – with the help of her mother – and then to get used to it and the fundamental physiological and emotional effects that had on her. 

During those three years Ruth was able to visit antique fairs – always accompanied, for obvious reasons – where she was inspired to take her childhood love of junk modelling to new heights, and taught herself to work with precious metals and gems, as well as how to solder, make moulds, cast metal, and more, to create her own jewellery designs. 

Ruth was determined to return to uni, and completed her chemistry degree and Masters, which she is rightly very proud of, even though she had already decided that jewellery designing was the field she wanted to pursue.

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Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips
Artworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.uk
Photo: Ella Pallet

Join Pepli, the all-in-one app for creatives to monetize, build community and grow.

Support the show

Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

The transformative power of words and music.

Singer-songwriter Dennis Welch shares his journey from a Texas childhood filled with libraries and country music to a creative renaissance that has earned him multiple Grammy ballot considerations in his 60s and 70s. 

We discuss the pivotal teachers who changed his life path, the moment he almost walked away from music forever, and how dinner with friends in a Mexican restaurant reignited his passion for recording. 

Dennis offers heartfelt advice on why adult creators should ignore cultural expectations regarding age, the benefits of creative pursuits for mental wellbeing, and the importance of perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

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Rich Chambers keeps rocking

Join Pepli, the all-in-one app for creatives to monetize, build community and grow.

Support the show

Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout