Today’s guest is Claudia Bonnie — a painter based in southwest England, whose artwork conjures mythical heroines, saints, goddesses, and epic animal icons. Her paintings live in that delicious space between mysticism and myth, where superstition is sacred, relics can heal, and a painting can work like medicine. With a background in education and therapy, Claudia is endlessly drawn to what’s happening just under the surface — the real, raw stuff of human experience. When she’s not in the studio, she’s also the official hedgehog rescuer in her area, which honestly feels very on brand for someone whose entire life seems like a waking fairytale. In today’s conversation, we get into the fascinating differences between American and British mythology, and ask the very important question: is spotting Bigfoot in the woods really any different from a fairy sighting in the English countryside? You can follow her wild and wonderful world on Instagram at Claudia.Bonnie. If you are in the area, you can see her paintings in person at the Kittoe Contemporary Gallery in London.

In this episode, we touch on the alchemical theme of SUBLIMATION (more on that here), and we discuss some of these images as well.

Our Days Were a Joy and Our Paths Through Flowers (1971-72) by David Inshaw

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archeypes of the Mature Masculine by Douglas Gillette and Robert Johnson

Sasquatch Chronicles Podcast

Claudia’s Instagram

Allison’s website.

Hope you enjoyed! Come back soon!

Allison

Allison’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artandalchemylab.substack.com/subscribe