Outward success can mask profound inner turmoil.

Alexandra Walker talks to me about her path from mathematical prodigy to trauma-informed coach, revealing along the way how creative expression can be hindered by psychological struggles, but also become a pathway to healing.

From an early age, Alexandra displayed dual talents in mathematics and creative arts. A perceptive art teacher recognized abilities she couldn't see in herself, encouraging her artistic development alongside her academic pursuits. This duality continued at university, where she performed Grieg's Piano Concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra and wrote a musical while completing her mathematics degree.

Despite her accomplishments, Alexandra struggled with insomnia and two types of OCD that stifled her creativity for years. 'When you're dealing with problems, they can just become so all-encompassing,' she explains. Through counselling, Alexandra gradually recognized these mental health challenges stemmed from childhood emotional abuse – a reality her mind had carefully shielded her from acknowledging.

The healing journey took an unexpected turn when Alexandra and her husband relocated to Scotland during the pandemic. What began as a temporary move became permanent as she found space to process her experiences and envision a new path forward. This transformation led to the creation of Damsel Not In Distress, her trauma-informed coaching business helping others 'sing after the storm' of difficult life experiences.

Perhaps most powerfully, Alexandra discovered that songs she'd written sporadically over the years formed a chronicle of her healing journey – from fear to hope, caterpillar to butterfly. These creative expressions now inform her coaching work and upcoming book, embodying her realization that 'we can't just solve everything with logic... I also needed more of the creative side, expressing emotions.'

creativityfound.co.uk

Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips

Download Fire From the Earth from Liminal Coaching here. Reconnect with your creative energy.

Affordably advertise on this podcast by emailing claire@creativityfound.co.uk, or book a call here.

I would love some financial support to help me to keep making this podcast. Visit buymeacoffee.com/creativityfound

Support the show

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

What happens when a satellite engineer's hands stop working, and how can creativity emerge from constraint?

For Florrie de Havilland, a period of debilitating ill health meant reimagining her entire career and discovering unexpected joy in the delicate art of calligraphy and the mechanical precision of letterpress printing.

Having had a successful career in mechanical engineering, including testing satellites for space missions, Florrie's neurological condition – affecting her hands and arms – forced her to eventually reconsider her career path and find a new way to balance her energy.

During a two-year recovery period, Florrie had turned to watercolour painting and calligraphy, finding that these artistic pursuits offered something her illness had taken away: control.

The conversation reveals fascinating parallels between Florrie's engineering background and her current creative practice. The same precision and problem-solving mindset that helped her test rocket thrusters and solar panels now informs her approach to calligraphy and her operation of "Penelope," a 1.25-ton vintage printing press from 1960 that dominates her studio.

Today, Florrie creates bespoke wedding stationery that tells each couple's unique story, and beyond the commercial aspects of her business she finds profound fulfilment in volunteering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, creating materials for children's wish events.

Perhaps most touching is Florrie's description of finding her tribe among fellow letterpress enthusiasts: "When you meet some letterpress friends it's fantastic because they're just as crazy as you are."

Florrie's story reminds us that creativity isn't just about making beautiful things – it's about finding new paths forward when traditional ones become inaccessible, and discovering community in unexpected places.

creativityfound.co.uk

Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips

Download Fire From the Earth from Liminal Coaching here. Reconnect with your creative energy.

Affordably advertise on this podcast by emailing claire@creativityfound.co.uk, or book a call here.

I would love some financial support to help me to keep making this podcast. Visit buymeacoffee.com/creativityfound

Support the show

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout

Escaping the horrors of 9/11 on foot, and coming to terms with the experiences through poetry.

First released in September 2021

What happens when tragedy collides with creativity? Andrea Carter Brown's journey from accountant to acclaimed poet was forever altered by the events of September 11, 2001, when she fled her apartment just one block from the World Trade Center.

Growing up in a home without books or art, Andrea never imagined becoming a writer. "I am the first artist in my family ever," she reveals, crediting her mother for nurturing her love of reading despite not being a reader herself. Though poetry spoke to her unhappy teenage self through Emily Dickinson's words, Andrea followed her natural talent with numbers into bookkeeping, building a successful business career that left little room for creative expression.

The turning point came unexpectedly at a New York poetry reading where "the dam broke" and Andrea began writing poems about her experiences in East Germany. But the most profound chapter in her creative journey began on 9/11 when she witnessed the unthinkable. "I knew I had to flee," she recalls, embarking on a 12-hour odyssey through New York and New Jersey while her husband feared she was dead. The trauma of that day – including respiratory disease from toxic dust exposure – created a profound writer's block that took years to overcome.

Fast forward and Andrea has published a number of poetry collections, including one about her experiences of escaping on 9/11, and the effects of that experience on her and her community in the 20 years in between the event and her publishing the collection, entitled September 12.

In this episode Andrea also reads one of the poems from September 12, that she chose specially for us at Creativity Found.

CreativityFound.co.uk
Instagram: @creativityfoundpodcast
Facebook: @creativityfoundpodcast and Creativity Found group
YouTube @creativityfoundpodcast
Pinterest: @creativityfound

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

Download Fire From the Earth from Liminal Coaching here. Reconnect with your creative energy.

Affordably advertise on this podcast by emailing claire@creativityfound.co.uk, or book a call here.

I would love some financial support to help me to keep making this podcast. Visit buymeacoffee.com/creativityfound

Support the show

Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here

Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout