Episode 200: It’s a Friday Feature Artist retrospective!

In this special 200th episode, the Take Two team steps back to reflect on the voices, insights and patterns woven through years of artist interviews. Drawing from a rich archive of conversations across textile and fibre practices, they explore the inner critic, the messy middle, and the search for authentic voice – offering a rare, collective portrait of what it truly means to live a creative life.

Show Notes

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The inner critic is not something to eliminate – it’s something to understand. As many artists reveal, self-doubt often sits alongside care and investment. Learning to work with that voice, rather than against it, becomes part of sustaining a creative practice.

• Progress rarely feels linear. The “messy middle” – where work feels unresolved or even unworkable – is not a detour but a necessary phase. As one artist reflects, “there’s that ugly phase… [and then] you suddenly realise it’s now telling me what it wants to be.”

• Mistakes are not interruptions to the process – they are the process. When artists allow accidents to “feed the work,” they open up unexpected directions that precision alone could never reach.

• Authentic voice isn’t something you find overnight. It emerges gradually through attention, repetition and honesty. Being “true to who you are” is less about certainty and more about returning, again and again, to what feels real.

• Creative practice is sustained through connection. Beyond technique or output, artists need community – people who understand the work, challenge it, and support the long, often invisible process of making.

Join the conversation

What inspired you this episode? Share your biggest insight or favourite moment on social media, and tag @TakeTwoArtCourses. 

Learn more about the artists from this episode, follow them on Instagram:

1.  What do artists struggle with most?
Kate Stehr - @katesteher
Clarissa Callesen - @clarissacallesen
Luke Haynes - @entropies
Ava Roth - @avarothart 

Navigating the messy middle and embracing mistakes.
Patricia Kelly - @patriciakelly_artist 
Barbara Franc - @barbara.franc
Sara Impey - @sara.impey
Robert Lee Davis - @robertleedavisart
Toni Hartill - @tonihartillart

Finding an authentic voice and avoiding conformity.
Kazuya Nohara - @kaz.nohara
Abby Monroe - @an.artists.home
Julian Jamaal Jones - @julianjones.studios
Fleur Woods - @fleurwoodsart
Swapna Bandorini - @swapna_namboodiri 

2. What do artists need most right now?

Community, connection, and mentorship.
Cas Holmes - @casholmestextiles 
Claire Benn - @herquietmaterials
Lissy Cole and Rudi Robinson - @lissyandrudi

Dedicated space and the permission to play.
Shelly Goldsmith - @shellytippingoldsmith
Dana Falcini - @danafalciniart 
Tracey Deep - @floralsculptures

Self-Belief, trust, and authentic expression
Nicole Nehrig - @nicolenehrig
Anna Carll - @annacarllart 
Kerri Hollingsworth - @kerrihollingsworth_artistry
Fluer Schell - @fleurschell