Jade Miller on Creativity, Comparison & Turning Life’s Lemons into Art

Episode Introduction

What if the thing you’ve struggled with your whole life is actually the source of your creativity?
In this warm Noise of Life episode, Steve sits down with Jade Miller — artist, author and creative guide — to explore neurodivergence, comparison, overwhelm and how creativity helps us regulate and reconnect.

From a late autism diagnosis to chronic illness to raising teens while rebuilding her identity, Jade shares how she turned breakdowns into breakthroughs. She shows how simple acts — journaling, scribbling, painting, gardening, cooking — can calm the nervous system, rebuild confidence and help us feel more like ourselves.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overstimulated or unsure where to begin, this conversation is a gentle reminder that you are more creative than you think.

About Our Guest

Jade Miller is a New Zealand–born artist, writer and creative mentor. Her upcoming book blends memoir with practical tools that help people use creativity for clarity, resilience and emotional healing. She shares daily art and reflection at Lemonade with Jade.

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonade_with_jade/

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Episode Highlights

00:00 – Late autism diagnosis; understanding her “spicy brain.”00:28 – Introducing Jade: artist, author, creative thinker.00:50 – Creativity as emotional processing.01:13 – Why “good” in art is subjective.01:23 – What “noise” means to Jade.02:12 – Overstimulation, data overload, neurodivergence.03:14 – Rural NZ childhood and early imagination.04:12 – Art as comfort and escape.05:18 – Journaling as emotional release.06:04 – Colour, movement and visual journaling.06:36 – How school teaches comparison.08:05 – The clay elephant story.09:35 – Self-doubt and rebuilding worth.10:38 – “We’re all valuable in different ways.”11:04 – Creativity that dies because we don’t try.12:02 – Writing her book: answering the call.12:53 – Chronic pain and Chiari malformation.13:52 – Pouring thousands of raw words onto the page.14:20 – Working with editor Liane Hughes.15:12 – Shaping emotion into meaning.15:53 – Her lemon → lemonade framework: self, relationships, context.16:48 – Awareness as the first step.17:14 – Boundaries, relationships and forgiveness.18:19 – Understanding systems and conditioning.19:03 – Returning to what you can control.20:34 – Daily choices that reduce noise.20:56 – Thinking like an artist in life and work.21:29 – Five artist traits: awareness, social fluency, communication, creative intelligence, resilience.23:42 – Why artists are resilient.24:01 – “Everyone is an artist.”25:17 – Cooking, gardening, sketching as creative expression.26:04 – The myth of “I’m not creative.”26:50 – Five-minute rule for starting.27:56 – Choosing creativity over screen time.29:21 – Half-finished Cézanne sketch and the beauty of imperfection.30:38 – A day in the life: teens, wellness, art.31:30 – Showing up even when it’s messy.32:56 – Daily practice dissolves comparison.33:21 – Art as meditation.34:40 – Flow through movement and gardening.36:11 – Ideas arriving when we step out of our heads.36:28 – Tools for overwhelm.37:52 – What recovery after dysregulation really looks like.38:42 – Listening to what you actually need.39:40 – Lemons as growth.41:05 – Feel emotions; don’t stay stuck.41:20 – Creativity as processing.41:28 – Life-as-art metaphor: chaos + calm.42:47 – The role of contrast.43:04 – Noise she’s living with: autism.44:18 – Noise she’s letting go: past judgement.45:04 – Lemon she’s grateful for: clarity from diagnosis.46:17 – Thinking like an artist: curiosity + openness.46:31 – How to connect with Jade.