Brittany Josie is a poet and author of  Weatherveins: powers for every season. She writes openly about her mental health and the challenges of living with trauma. She expresses those big emotions in her writing. Her concise way of directly approaching taboo topics creates poetry with power. Brittany shares her pain without hesitation. Brittany shares the inspiration of the outdoors, poetry, and wisdom with us.

Mert Jones, from North Carolina, was twenty-two when she picked up a manual camera for the first time as part of an introduction to photography class at Central Piedmont Community College. Mert talks about alternative photography methods, particularly experimenting with wet cyanotypes and mental wellness.

Margaret shares how art helped during a critical time in their life, handling mental illness symptoms and focus, creating a calm that continues to provide solace today. Margaret also shares how butterflies play a special role in each of their creations.

Loulou is a documentary filmmaker and poet from France. We discussed how living in England has brought them growth as a poet. Loulou recently released a book of poetry called Pink Goo and shares how the poetry came together.

Julie shares the evolution of her art from creating as a child to how illness brought her back to pursue art seriously. Julie, whose art graced the first cover of The Shallot, has created a popular adult coloring book, Cats Being Dicks.

Devon talks about everything from Climax, NC to her abstract art to their vivid color and texture. Devon shares the process behind their pieces and their marvelous sense of humor. 

Yas is a self-taught artist based in southeast London who also splits time in Spain. Yas is proud of her Spanish heritage. She works with ink, clay, and charcoal, using her lived experience as a key theme within the art. Yas shares why cobalt blue is a feature in many of her creations.

Anam Tariq is a poet, writer, and book reviewer from India. Anam shares her path to poetry and one of her poems from her recently published book of poetry, A Leaf upon a Book.

Sergey (no pronouns) is an artist living through the devastation of the war in Ukraine. Due to extremely challenging conditions, a normal interview was not possible. Sergey shares through a recording the difficulties mentally and physically of living and creating your art while living in a war zone.