An Art To It

In this episode of An Art to It, I'm joined by ceramic artist Carolyn Tripp for a very enterianting and thoughtful conversation about finding your voice, building confidence, and taking the long view in a creative career.
 
Carolyn shares her journey from advertising to ceramics, how loss shaped a deeply personal body of work, and why success in the art world often comes slowly - through consistency, clarity, and community rather than quick wins.
 
In this episode we talk about:
Finding your true creative voice later in life
How personal experience can become universal in your work
Why Carolyn describes her work as a "visual diary" of things she notices
The value of getting help with words, storytelling, and communication
Imposter syndrome - even when showing your work at a prestigious event like Collect
How previous careers can quietly support a creative business
Selling work through galleries and how collectors engage with ceramics
Why evolution in your work needs to be careful and considered
What success looks like when you play the long game
 
 
Carolyn also shared businesses that she loves for their brands and their authenticity: her local bakers @august.bakery_ and skincare specialist @drsambunting
 
You can find Carolyn's work at https://www.carolyntceramics.co.uk/ and on instagram she's @carolyntceramics
 
Carolyn is showing her work with the Cynthia Corbett Gallery https://www.thecynthiacorbettgallery.com/ at the Craft's Council https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/ international event, Collect at London's Somerset House https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ from 26th Feb
 
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In this episode, I'm joined by ceramic artist Sonya Wilkins, whose vessels are inspired by the natural world  - particularly trees, woodland textures, and the quiet power of time spent outdoors. Sonya shares how creativity has been woven through her life since childhood, from early painting lessons with her father to discovering clay at school, and why ceramics became both a practice and a refuge.
Sonya also talks candidly about her "two pulls": a creative identity alongside an entrepreneurial streak, and how her earlier career in people development eventually found its way back into her work. A turning-point moment brought her full circle to teaching ceramics, and reignited her own studio practice.
We chat about the tension many artists face between commercial demand and soul-led making, how Sonya uses variety (and a range of price points) to support both creativity and sustainability, and why she sees Instagram as a visual portfolio rather than a creative prison. We also touch on other subjects close to Sonya's heart: Reiki, wellbeing, and Ikigai, and how she believes that all of these frameworks can help artists build a business that doesn't flatten their joy.
We chat about:
How Sonya's father taught her observation - and why that shaped everything

Fossil hunting, earth materials, and the "magic" of what's hidden inside rock

Why clay became a companion, and why Sonya always needs to go 3D

A "pre-art" career, and the confidence rebuild that brought her back to making

The commercial temptation: growth vs. conveyor-belt creativity

Trees as muse, symbol, and subject 

Her MA at Bath Spa University https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/

Client stories, significant trees, and creating vessels that hold memory


You can see Sonya's work at https://ceramicsinspiredbynature.com/ and on instagram @sonyawilkinsceramics

2026 - and series five - kicks off with An Art to It's first ever transatlantic episode: this week I'm joined by gallerist Liz Lidgett of Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design in Des Moines, Iowa. https://www.lizlidgett.com/
Liz shares how growing up with a free local museum - and a grandmother who bought her art lessons every Christmas - shaped her belief that art should be for everyone. After studying art history and working as an in-house curator for a major corporate collection, she left the corporate world after exactly one year to become a freelance art advisor before opening her own gallery in 2019… just months before the pandemic.
In our lively chat we talk about how being based in the midwest - rather than LA or New York City - gave Liz the space to experiment with selling art, and how Instagram and lockdown turned a her local gallery into a global business.  and why Liz treats her gallery as her biggest artwork – built on joy, ethics, and a strict "no jerks" rule.
Inspired by her belief that art really IS for everyone, 2026 sees the launch of Liz's book, Art for Everyone where she demystifies buying, hanging and living with art for people who "love art but don't know where to start." It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon. 
In this episode, we chat about:
Why being in the "overlooked" Midwest gave Liz freedom to play, make mistakes and experiment

Moving from art history and corporate curation into art advising - and what she learned from seeing behind the scenes of galleries.

How her Midwest gallery now ships to all 50 US states and 11+ countries, and why location matters less when your voice and eye are strong

The values at the heart of her business: accessibility, kindness, paying artists on time, "no jerks", and approachable (never snooty) language

Building a community for artists: annual surveys, honest questions, and a legendary 5-year party that brought 35–40 artists together in person

The emotional and as Liz says, "slightly woo-woo" side of gallery work: believing that each artwork has a person it's "meant" for – and her job is to connect them

What galleries can still offer artists in an age of direct sales and social media

Treating the gallery itself as her biggest artwork, and why joy is non-negotiable in how she runs her business.

@lizlidgettgallery @lizlidgett 
@elaine_dye_ @thebyregallery

Ever wanted to eavesdrop of gallery owners in conversation? Now is your chance . In this Christmas Special edition of An Art to It, I'm joined by two fellow gallerists: Sharon Harvey (Sanctuary Gallery, Gloucestershire, and landscape artist) and Sara McKee (Life Full Colour gallery and music venue, North Wales).
Together we unwrap what 2025 has really been like for independent galleries: the tough months, the surprising highs, the "Dunkirk Spirit" of a Private View in a rainstorm and flood, and why layering income streams and experiences has become essential.
We also answer questions posed by artists and makers on:
How galleries choose new artists

Whether being a "Northern" artist limits your gallery chances

Following up when a gallery goes quiet

The reality of pricing for galleries vs. art fairs

Whether galleries worry about "missing the next Van Gogh"…

It's a cosy, honest, very real conversation about art, money, risk, resilience - and why your relationship with a gallery matters as much as your work.
You can visit each of our galleries here: https://thebyregallery.co.uk/ 
https://www.thesanctuarygallery.com/
https://www.lifefullcolour.com/
And find out more about me https://elainedye.com/
An Art to It will be back in mid January 2026

In this week's episode, I chat to visual artist Gabriella Buckingham, whose creative path has taken her from illustration, to product design, to online teaching, and finally to the richly expressive painting practice she runs today.
Gabriella reflects on her childhood desire to be an artist and how finally reaching her destination "was just what I wanted. So I'm very grateful." And how her time spent in the business side of a greetings card business left her with invaluable knowledge of trends, sales analysis and creative stamina which she could ultimately apply to her own creative business. 
"I really feel that to run art as a business, you've got to be an optimist. You've got to be able to pick yourself up when you fail."
We discuss:
• Our shared Lithuanian heritage - and the mystery at the centre of Gabriella's family history
• Growing up obsessed with the paintings in her family home - as well as colour and ballet
Why she realised graphic design wasn't for her as she cared far more about the painting than the type.

The  commercial years that gave her strong business foundations

Life as a kitchen-table business owner on Not On The High Street, https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/ and the moment she realised success was costing her more than it gave back

Creating and teaching her own online painting course, and why seven-month "live experiences" are as intense as they sound

Entering work for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition - and the electric moment she learned she'd been selected

Brand inspiration, colour psychology, and why she thinks she's a "Spring business with an Autumn edge" inspired by Fiona Humberstone @thebrand_stylist https://www.thebrand-stylist.com/

Brands she loves: Boden https://www.boden.com/, Toast https://www.toa.st/, and Kemi Telford https://kemitelford.com/

Success, according to Gabriella: "the life I have now… just with a little more space, more painting, and more galleries."

 
You can enjoy Gabriella's work at - https://www.gabriellabuckingham.com/ and on instagram @gabriellabuckingham