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My aim with the Creativity Found podcast is to inspire and encourage creativity in any body of any age, and let people know that they can try something new at any stage in their lives – and not to worry that they might make a mess of it!
I talk with my guests about their childhood experiences of the arts, how they came to the artistic practices they now love, and the barriers to creativity that they experienced between the two.
I launched the Creativity Found directory as a place where listeners can go to take the next step, and find a class to try, a book to read, or products to buy to guide them further in finding their new creative passion.

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Claire Waite Brown

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The Creativity Found podcast questions common misconceptions about what it means to be creative, and encourages anyone, of any age, to take notice of and indulge their own creativity I’m Claire, host of the Creativity Found podcast, in which I chat with people who have found or re-found their creativity as adults. I am releasing my 100th episode on National Creativity Day, 30th May, and wanted to tell you about some of the common themes I hear from my guests regarding why they put the creative activities they used to love doing on hold, and the improvements they have seen in their wellbeing since starting or returning to creative activities in adulthood – this is a story that is relevant year-round of course, and I have plenty more episodes lined up for 2024 into 2025. Creativity is something you’re born with Martin Whiskin and Anna Stoecklein were under the impression that because they couldn’t draw they weren’t creative. • Anna started to realize that creativity is far more wide reaching when she watched a Netflix television show, before starting her own podcast, The Story of Woman, for which she has interviewed Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair.&nbsp; • Martin Whiskin had played in bands for many years but didn’t recognize his creativity until he began working as a voiceover artist after being made redundant from his data management role.&nbsp; Limiting beliefs from childhood • At secondary school Joanne Robinson’s love of drawing was quashed when a teacher told her she was no good. While in the armed forces and recovering from a broken back, Joanne joined a class to ‘learn to paint for people who think they can’t’ and soon discovered that drawing could be taught. Her new-found creativity brought her joy and, after much practice Joanne began to sell her art and started an art course for grown-ups so that others could experience that joy too. • Bianca Giarola’s experience of societal pressures in Italy led her to believe that there were more important things that needed doing than drawing. She was ‘rescued’ from a highly stressful and pressurized role in marketing by her father, and in order to calm her anxieties she turned to drawing flowers. Like Joanne, Bianca believes that you can learn to draw, as she demonstrates in her 2024 book The Kew Book of Drawing Flowers. Trauma • Leanne Tibiatowski had supressed a childhood trauma, which rose to the surface with a vengeance as a grown-up when she was given a hysterectomy without her consent. She found a local surf therapy group in her home town of San Diego that changed her life. When the ocean closed (literally!) during the pandemic she found solace in painting surfboards instead of surfing on them. • Ex-prison officers Ella and Harriet wrote and toured a play about their experiences ‘on the landings’ and about the guilt they felt in leaving the service, the process of which helped them in their trauma recovery and transition back to ‘normal’ life. • Lou Hamilton lived close to Lockerbie at the time of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, and it wasn’t until many years later that she realized the trauma of her experience was still inside of her and needed resolving. She picked up a pencil and started drawing again. Ill health • Peter White (heart attack/pottery),&nbsp; • Mary Broddle (Ehlers-Danlos/embroidery),&nbsp; • Rebecca Norris (endometriosis/pottery)&nbsp; • and Helen Hill (MS/crochet) all started their journey of arty-crafty discovery because of their illnesses, and all have told me about the many benefits they have experienced from tapping into their creativity.&nbsp; These are just a few of the themes that repeatedly come up when I speak with guests for this podcast. If you believe these stories, or my own of finding creativity for myself through podcasting, would be of interest to an audience you can reach, I’d be very happy to chat more.<blockquote>. . . some of the common themes I hear from my guests regarding why they put the creative activities they used to love doing on hold, and the improvements they have seen in their wellbeing since starting or returning to creative activities in adulthood.</blockquote>

I'm not creative because I can't draw

I say ‘business’, I won’t be being paid, and a company is not organising it for me, and I’ll be completely on my own, but I’m heading to Florida to the biggest and furthest networking event I’ve ever been to, to promote the podcast I started in lockdown at age 49. PodFest Expo is the ‘world’s premier in-person podcasting event’ according to the organisers, and I have heard lots of great things about it, so this year I decided to attend for myself. I haven’t flown on my own since 1992, and I won’t know anyone when I get there – although I have communicated digitally with a few people – but I am looking forward to seeing how US podcasting events differ to those I have been to in the UK, and to expanding my pool of podcasty people and promoting my own show, Creativity Found. The trip to Florida is the biggest, most exciting, most scary undertaking – financially and personally – for me as an individual and for the podcast, and I hope it will open new doors for the show, and introduce me to new opportunities, although what they might be I have no idea, and really I am just winging it! My name’s Claire and I started the Creativity Found podcast – in which I interview people who have found or re-found their creativity later in life – at the end of 2020, with no experience of audio content production or marketing, and with no idea of how important the show – and all that goes with it – would become for me. Three years later I have interviewed over 90 inspiring guests with myriad stories, and have half of 2024 already mapped out for new recordings. The show is in the top 3% of podcasts worldwide (according to Listen Notes) and won an International Women’s Podcast award in its first year. I am a freelance editor of illustrated non-fiction books by day, a role that was completely dormant in 2021, which gave me the time to really explore podcasting. When book work started to return in 2022, I couldn’t give up on the podcasting – the people I meet, the joy I get from the working process, the people the show helps – so I now juggle both, along with teaching a dance fitness class. If you would like to talk to me about this little mid-life adventure and feature it in some way, I’d love to chat – before, during or after the event. I am leaving on January 23rd and returning on January 29th. In the meantime, if you would like to listen to the show, on your way home or while walking the dog – other multi-tasking activities are available – you can find all episodes here, or on any podcast listening app, just search for Creativity Found. &nbsp;<blockquote>I haven’t flown on my own since 1992, and I won’t know anyone when I get there . . . but I am looking forward to seeing how US podcasting events differ to those I have been to in the UK.</blockquote>

52-year-old on first foreign ‘business’ trip

May 16th is National Drawing Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the art of drawing and encouraging people of all ages to pick up a pencil, pen, brush or stylus and sketch something. It's an opportunity for artists and enthusiasts alike to share their passion for art and inspire others to explore their creativity through drawing. Creativity Found Collective* members Annie Sloan, Jaycee Leddra and Joanne Robinson are firm believers that anyone can learn to draw and paint, and they share their skills and experience with adults wanting to get creative through their workshops, online courses and kits. I asked Annie, Jaycee and Joanne what they would suggest is the FIRST tip they would give to anyone who wants to draw but doesn’t know where to start. • Annie Sloan is a world-renowned furniture painter and inventor of Chalk Paint, who says that when it comes to drawing, thinking is overrated. On a practical note, she advises new artists to try holding their pencil, brush or crayon in different ways, and NOT how you would hold it to write. ‘Try drawing with your left hand and holding your implement at the far end very lightly in order to loosen your grip and encourage a natural flow.’&nbsp; • Jaycee Leddra took part in the second series of Make it at Market and is a champion of affordable art. She suggests getting creative with what you have on hand.&nbsp; ‘Search your home for tools and paints that you can repurpose; there's no need to splurge on expensive supplies right away. Consider using an old knife for acrylics, your fingers for blending, your children's crayons and paints for colour, and even repurposing old canvas prints by painting over them. Embrace resourcefulness and experimentation as you start on your artistic journey.’ • Joanne Robinson is the founder of the Little Art School, which, during the pandemic, created almost 200 free art lessons on their YouTube channel, all of which are still available today. Joanne advises that you start by simply doodling circles and lines. While doing so try to keep your body relaxed and use your whole arm when drawing circles.&nbsp; ‘Then look at shape. Every drawing starts with shapes.’ • As a later-life creative myself – host of the Creativity Found podcast and founder of creativityfound.co.uk – I would like to stress that anyone new to any creative activity should resist the urge to strive for perfection, but thrive in creation. Doing the activity is where you will experience the benefits, so make the most of that time without worrying about how the end product will turn out. If you would like these artists to expand, or have another angle that might interest your audience based around drawing and painting, please get in touch. I’d be very keen to help with any professional advice, either from myself or from any of the amazing creatives I have in the Collective. You can check them out here. *In the Creativity Found Collective membership we support small business owners who teach their craft or art skills to others as a means of growing and diversifying their creative business and, of course, to share the love of their particular art or craft.<blockquote>Helping your audience to start drawing for the joy of it</blockquote>

Anyone can learn to draw

In the run-up to the next season of The Great Pottery Throw Down, I asked members of the Creativity Found Collective, including 2021 Throw Down finalist, Peter White, and Rebecca Norris, a 2023 Throw Down contestant for their top tips for anyone inspired by the TV show to try pottery themselves! Get Inspiration Rebecca says:&nbsp; ‘Collect ideas and inspiration, whether it be screenshots from the internet, taking pictures, or making a scrapbook. You will start to see patterns in the things you are collecting, allowing you to start growing your style. You can then start to experiment without the heavy load of thinking “What should I make?”’ She added:&nbsp; ‘Embrace your inner child, give yourself permission to make whatever you want to make, no matter how “childish” it seems. Art is freedom of expression and that means expressing your inner child too. I am biased, but clay is the best medium to tap into that inner child!’ Be Prepared GPT finalist, Peter says:&nbsp; ‘Preparation is key. Always weigh the clay accurately, especially if you want to make more than one of the same item.’ What To Invest In Debbie Page, a pottery teacher, Korean moon jar maker and member of the Collective, said:&nbsp; ‘Ask family and friends to buy pottery-related stuff for Christmas and birthdays. For example: a voucher for a course, a beginner’s tool set (under £10) an apron (under £20) and a good quality hand cream (under £15).’ Emily Chilvers, who teaches pottery to pensioners at Royal Hospital Chelsea, advised: ‘Don't be precious – if you don't like something you've made, enjoy breaking it up and recycling the clay! (if it hasn't already been fired!).’ With that in mind she added: ‘Enjoy the alchemy of the firing process and how that can transform your pieces – for better or worse! Make sure you keep a log of the glazes and combinations you use in case you want to repeat an effect (or not!). As a later-life creative myself, I would like to stress that anyone new to pottery should resist the urge to strive for perfection, but thrive in creation. Doing the activity is where you will experience the benefits, so make the most of that time without worrying about how the end product will turn out. If you want to have a deeper conversation about this or, if you are working on anything similar, I’d be very keen to help with any professional advice, either from myself or from any of the amazing creatives I have in the Collective. You can check them out <a href="https://www.creativityfound.co.uk/">here</a>. &nbsp;<blockquote>Embrace your inner child, give yourself permission to make whatever you want to make, no matter how “childish” it seems. Art is freedom of expression and that means expressing your inner child too.</blockquote>

Craft Expert Reveals Top Pottery Tips for Beginners Ahead of The Great Pottery Throw Down 2024 Premiere

You’re never too old to learn a new skill; proven by the thousands who have flocked to the Creativity Found website to access information about workshops and online courses, purchase craft products and subscription kits, and listen to an award-winning and inspiring podcast telling the stories of ordinary people who have found their creative passion later in life.&nbsp; Six years ago, Claire Waite Brown was suffering with anxiety and decided to launch Open Stage Arts to focus her attention. Fun drama and singing classes for adults, with no experience, and no commitment to putting on a show, was a way of bringing creativity to life for these individuals.&nbsp; Fast forward to 2020, and the Creativity Found podcast was born out of the pandemic to maintain the momentum of the theatre classes which were obviously put on hold. As Claire explored ways to reopen classes when lockdown eased, the idea of using Creativity Found as an umbrella organisation from which creative experience businesses could build and thrive was born.&nbsp; With visibility and community at its heart, Creativity Found offers each maker their own dedicated page on the website, monthly online meetups, inclusion in the monthly e-newsletter, social media shout-outs, and guesting and advertising opportunities on the podcast.&nbsp; The website now has around 250 hits each day, the podcast is listed in the top 5% of all podcasts, has had over 6,000 downloads (and counting), has won an International Woman’s Podcast Award and is a finalist in the Podcast of the Year category of the Digital Women Awards. In the podcast, Claire speaks to a variety of makers from painters to printmakers, photographers to potters, and many more, who have all found (or re-found) their creativity as adults. Creative tutors turned to digital content during the pandemic and now use Creativity Found to reach students not just in the UK, but globally.&nbsp; Creativity Found is a community for learners and educators, promoting creative experiences for adults online and in person. The art world was one of the worst hit during the pandemic, and there was outrage when the government suggested artists retrain. This is what makes Claire’s platform of utmost importance, not only showcasing the work of creative teachers, but also offering a supportive network for likeminded sole traders and small businesses.&nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>You're never too old to find your creative passion. I love being able to connect adults who want to find a creative outlet with the artists and crafters who can help them tap into their creativity.</blockquote>

An award-winning podcast helping grown-ups find their creativity

My aim with the Creativity Found podcast is to inspire and encourage creativity in any body of any age, and let people know that they can try something new at any stage in their lives – and not to worry that they might make a mess of it! I talk with my guests about their childhood experiences of the arts, how they came to the artistic practices they now love, and the barriers to creativity that they experienced between the two. I launched the Creativity Found directory as a place where…

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