From the archives: Why art matters with Roberta Wagner

Show Notes

Takeaways from this episode:

• Making art is a way of paying attention to life.
  Roberta sees her practice not as separate from daily living, but as a reflection of it – a space where intuition, joy, and discipline meet. What might your art be telling you about the season you’re in?
• Play is a practice – and a compass.
  When the process becomes too outcome-focused, Roberta reminds herself to return to play. For her, this might mean tearing up a piece and beginning again, just to see where freedom lives.
• Asking the right questions transforms the creative journey.
  Rather than “Is it good?” Roberta urges us to ask: “Do I love it? Does it move me?” These questions bring us closer to our own voice.
• Art invites us to stay with discomfort.
  Frustration, uncertainty, and even “ugly” stages are part of creative growth. Roberta saves those pieces, revisiting them with new eyes months later – often discovering something she couldn’t see before.
  
  
• What we feel is often what others feel too.
  Whether through asemic writing or layered textiles, Roberta’s work holds emotional resonance. As she says, “We feel the layers, even if we don’t see them.”

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