Creativity Found: Finding Creativity Later in Life

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.

You might also like:
Dreaming, Planning and Painting with Annie Sloan
Art You Can Touch with Furrah Syed
Making Creatures Great and Small with Emma Brassfield

Listen to Creativity Found on TrueFans by downloading the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Listen on the desktop version here.
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

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

You might also like:
Medicine and Mysteries with Tammy Euliano
Problem Solving in Science and Art with Claude Larson
Policy Advising and Portrait Painting with Sally Ward
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.

You might also like:
From Nomad to Novelist with Douglas Robbins
Blending Fact and Fiction with Shirley Novack
Medicine and Mysteries with Tammy Euliano

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

"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.
You might also like:
From Serving Fries to Performing Stand-Up with Rabiah Coon
Cakes, Crochet and Connecting in the Metaverse with Shawna Curee
From Law to Literature with Mary Adkins

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

'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.

CreativityFound.co.uk
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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

Listen to Creativity Found on TrueFans by downloading the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Listen on the desktop version here.
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