What is inspiration? Where does it come from? What do you do when it goes away?
Talking with people from all walks of the creative life, artist and filmmaker Thea Stallwood explores how inspiration makes the intangible become tangible.
Broadcast monthly on Soho Radio
Inspired By… award-winning illustrator Helen Oxenbury who discusses the difficulty of simplicity, capturing an expression and being inspired by the Channel 4 programme The Piano, Trio by William Boyd, the Delos Lion of Venice and people-watching.
Inspired by… writer Emily Itami considers the impact of living across two worlds on her writing, the value of a creative life and her fascination with endings, through the music of Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, the writing of Alan Hollinghurst and the anime film Your Name.
Inspired By… Sophia Jansson, Artistic Director of Moomin Characters and niece of artist Tove Jansson, who discusses the creative processes behind bringing an artistic legacy to new creative realms, and how the music of Vilde Tuv, the writing of Elizabeth Strout, the life of Tove Jansson, the photographs of Elina Brotherus and the series 'Crashing' by Phoebe Waller-Bridge have inspired her.
Inspired By… artist Katie Paterson, who considers how the performances of Kae Tempest, the writing of David Farrier on future fossils, the Ideas pieces of Yoko Ono, the Werner Herzog film of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft and the universality of experience at Godafoss waterfall in Iceland have played into her work.
Inspired By…writer Annabel Abbs who discusses how the poetry of Sylvia Plath, the paintings of Gwen John, the poet Peter Abbs and the enveloping sounds and sights of the natural world feed into her writing.
Inspired by…artist, illustrator, author and printmaker, Chris Wormell and how the music of Mal Waldron, the poetry of Thomas Hardy, the artwork of his father John Linsey and the chimney scene in Mary Poppins have all influenced his work, the connection between hand-made and digital and the collaborative process of illustrating texts.
Inspired By…designer and space architect Xavier de Kestelier, who discusses how the human-centric drawings of Raymond Loewy, the collaboration needed to make the Apollo spacesuits, a small village in the Nepalese mountains and the film Gattaca fed into the making of his 'Habitat for Mars', as displayed in the Design Museum's exhibition Moving to Mars.
Inspired By…writer Tessa Hadley and how the narratives of Joni Mitchell, the poetry of W B Yeats and the paintings of Nicholas Poussin inspire her writing through the distance between empathy and observation, finding success slowly, and mining the narrow, but rich, seam of inspiration.
Inspired By… Patrick McLennan, director of The Ponds film, and how pursuing silence, the location sound recordist Chris Watson, and the landscape of New Zealand has influenced his work.
Inspired By… Harriet Vine MBE, Creative Director of Tatty Devine and how punk group The Raincoats, a film about Depeche Mode fans and Vanessa Bell’s home Charleston, inspire her jewellery designs and collaborations.
Inspired By… architect Christophe Egret and the ways human interaction, consciousness and collaboration affect his process of designing places and spaces.
Inspired By… musician and songwriter Shawn Lee considering how early Detroit funk, Money Mark, and 1968 film Planet of the Apes have influenced his approach to writing and creating music.
Inspired By…Kwame Kwaten, musician, producer and manager, discussing how rhythm, heritage, and experiencing both side of the industry have made their way into his making and producing of music.
Inspired By… florist Olivia Wilson, founder of Wetherly flower studio, who discusses how The Red Balloon, The Kite Museum in Ahmedabad and the poetry of WWE Ross inspires her with colour, form and texture.
Picture Credit: M Bastell
Inspired By…Miranda West, founder and publisher of Do Books, and how collaboration, instinct and the gaps between idea and finished product effects her work.
Inspired by…trumpeter Sam Warner, and how the disparate influences of jazz organ, Harlem, Wim Hof breathing techniques and Artificial Intelligence inspire him in his music writing and performance.
Inspired By…best-selling author Jane Corry, and how Reading Festival, a portrait by Leighton and being a writer-in-residence in prison has shaped her writing.
Inspired By…musician Tom Earwaker, performing as The Uplifter and how zero rehearsals, no safety nets, New York ska band The Slackers and a factory-space in Geneva all influence his work and performances.
Inspired by….designer Mallika Chaudhuri and how Yves Klein, the sea at Barcelona and the Akram Kahn theatre company have all inspired her in collaborations, designs and methods of textile production.
Inspired by...Marina Chapman, whose story of being kidnapped as a child, then abandoned for several years in the Colombian jungle amongst a troop of Capuchin monkey, was told in the best-selling 'The Girl With No Name'. Joined by her daughter Vanessa Forero, we discuss the sounds of nature, Colombian cumbia music and 'Bradford Snakes'.
Inspired By... author Libby Page and how books, reading, podcasts and gold-stars influenced her writing of her best-selling, debut novel The Lido.
Inspired By...Documentary filmmaker Rachel Lob-Levyt and how photography, music and writing have shaped her making process.
Inspired by... Textile designer Georgia Coote and how the influence of poetry, music and flat pack furniture have effected her use of pattern, colour and design style.
Inspired by...Peter Lyons, musician, composer, producer and one half of 'Peter and Kerry' as he considers the influences of literature, film and everyday events on his writing process.
'Inspired by...' Chris Redmond, poet, musician, composer, producer and the creator and host of Tongue Fu. We talk working practices, confronting a blank page, how to play to an audience and inspirations ranging from Alice Oswald, Niwemang, abandoned railway tunnels and Jacob Collier.
Inspired by…architect Nav Ghuman and how growing up across three continents shaped her aesthetic and approach to designing public spaces.