The Healthy Artist

This week on the podcast Henry and Martha spoke about 3 artists each who inspire them. A historical artist and two contemporary artists (one expected and one less unexpected). Exploring art with others is often an enlightening experience, which they certainly felt. 

This episode really works best with visuals. Therefore, we have uploaded it as a YouTube video as well as a substack post with the artworks that are discussed. Both linked below!!

Explore the visuals through our substack post.

Watch episode on Youtube

You can explore all of The Healthy Artist offerings here. 

What happens when you treat your creative space as a sacred shrine? This week, Martha sits down with mystic artist Critallina Fischetti to talk about her journey from Chelsea Art College to an old Victorian town hall in the Cotswolds.

We dive into how Cristallina uses ancient practices to ground herself before she even touches a canvas. We discuss her indigenous Colombian roots, viewing colour as a "code," and how a 2020 lockdown in Mexico led her to ditch traditional canvas for raw bedsheets, ropes, and homemade botanical dyes.

Cristallina also shares how she quietens the fearful voice of the ego in the studio, how her background in jazz dance helps her navigate the "creative headache," and the unexpected language she uses when speaking psychically to her paintings. If you're looking to bring more intuition and presence into your life and work, this episode is for you.

Follow Cristallina's journey on instagram or check out her website.

Read What Does It Mean to Leave Your Ego at the Studio Door? over on our substack- where you can find out how to support us too. 

What is a studio for? Is it a physical room, or an active state of mind you carry with you?

In this episode, Henry and Martha talk about the history, rituals, and vulnerable realities of the modern creative workspace. They trace the pendulum from the collaborative factory workshops of the Renaissance to Courbet's bustling public square, straight to the myth of the lone genius in a Parisian garret.

But the real heart of the conversation is a very modern tension: how do you maintain the quiet, monastic privacy needed to figure out what you're making, while surviving the pressure of digital performance?

Sign up to our colour theory class here.

Join us over on substack here.

Check out all of The Healthy Artist happenings over on thehealthyartist.com

Martha sits down with abstract painter and educator Henry Ward to discuss the raw reality of a lifetime studio practice. Henry shares insights from his 35-year journey, defining "refinement" as stripping away artistic baggage rather than chasing a slick, polished finish. Together, they explore the "Monday night genius, Tuesday morning crisis," the necessity of getting a painting into trouble, and why material compromise can actually be an artist's greatest catalyst for innovation. Henry also reflects on his parallel career in education, offering a refreshing and optimistic look at the daily compulsion to make art.

To view our Substack post on refinement please do so here. 
To view what The Healthy Artist is up to, please check out our website. 

Permindar Kaur built real momentum early- a spot in the 1995 British Art Show, shows across Japan, Australia, the US and Europe. Then, after her second child, she stepped away from the studio for a decade. In this episode she talks about what that break really felt like, why she always knew she'd come back, and what it took to rebuild a practice on her own terms rather than anyone else's timeline.

This week over on Substack we wrote some notes on persistence. Read here.

To check out more about the artists please follow her on instagram or visit her website.

For all healthy artist offering please visit our website thehealthyartist.com

In today's episode Dan and Martha talk about art and burnout and the question underneath it: have you lost your appetite for the thing that got you into this in the first place? 

Sometimes it shows up as burnout. Sometimes as a lack of confidence, or falling out of the habit of making while still yearning for a more exciting relationship to your work. These are some of the blocks we spend a lot of time working through with people in our mentorship, because showing up for your practice is a form of self-respect, even when you need someone alongside you to find that rhythm again.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Our six-month mentorship → thehealthyartist.com
• Companion post, "Notes on Artist Burnout, Passion as Exploitation, and The Art of Calm Ambition" → Link to Substack post
• The article that inspired this episode, by Harriet Lloyd-Smith → link to article

This week, I’m joined by North East-based trans and disabled artist Kitt (aka Lady Kitty) to talk about how art can be genuinely useful. We chat about growing up unschooled, how mess and collaboration connect us, and bypassing traditional galleries to make interactive art you can actually lie down on. We also dive into Kitt's drag alter ego ‘Hot Art Dad’ and how to use the "Wanker Tipping Point" to push past polite paralysis and demand the baseline support and access you deserve.

Links & Mentions:

• Mentoring with Kitt: Find out more
• Supporting Kitt's transition
• Our Substack: Read our longer-form piece expanding on today's chat (Hot Art Dads, The Wanker Tipping Point, and Mess-Making as Social Glue) over at Substack
• The Healthy Artist: Our new offerings are kicking off in September! Head to thehealthyartist.com for all the details.

Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time x

Ever stood in front of a gallery text and felt your eyes glaze over? You're not alone, and it's not you.

This week, Dan's back, and we're unpacking "art speak" (aka International Art English): where it came from, why almost nobody enjoys writing it, who it ends up excluding, and what to do instead.

Want help finding your own way to write about your work?

 Our six-month, one-to-one Healthy Artist mentorship gives you dedicated time to deepen your practice and build momentum in the studio. On session 5 you have a 1.5 hour 1:1 with Dan about articulating and writing about your work in a way that feels authentic to you. If this sounds good to you, you can check out all of our offerings over on thehealthyartist.com

To read our Substack reflection on this episode please do so here. 

In this episode, we sit down with art critic and author Hettie Judah to discuss her brilliant new book, How to Enter the Art World. If you have ever felt completely frozen by the sheer volume of things you think you "should" be doing to build a creative career, this conversation is a massive breath of fresh air.

The Healthy Artist Website
How to Enter the Art World (Without Freezing) substack post.
Buy How To Enter The Art World from Hoxton Mini Press- They plant a tree every time someone buys the book from their site!

In this episode, we sit down with artist Khadija Ceclile Niang to explore how her practice bridges the gap between structured planning and pure intuition. Born in Norway to Senegalese parents, Khadija shares how discovering the rich connection between her family’s fishing heritage and the history of African surfing completely transformed her relationship with paint.

We also dive deep into a topic we are unpacking on Substack this week: Creative Variety. Khadijah discusses breaking free from the "monastic studio myth," learning to embrace multiple creative outlets like knitting, cooking, and DJing, and why having zero-pressure hobbies is actually the secret weapon to sustaining a deep artistic practice.

The Healthy Artist Substack Article
Khadija's substack
The Healthy Artist Website (with all offerings)