Creative Rebels

Lava La Rue is the definition of a multi-hyphenate, they are a musician, a director, a designer and artist.In this episode we spoke about DIY culture and the idea that if you’re obsessed with what you do, you can build your own thing, even if you have no support. Build something, get people excited, create your own scene.If you enjoyed this episode, call everyone you know and tell them xLava’s new single ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ is OUT NOWLava on Insta : https://www.instagram.com/lavalarue To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

I was sitting at my kitchen table. Beans, my tiny cavapoo, was asleep on my lap. 4.29pm. 1 minute until the podcast is due to start. I go through the usual checks - mic is connected. Camera is on. My hat isn’t crooked. Internet is connected.Suddenly, my screen goes blank and a pop up appears.. “something something updates restart” Beans stirs as loud shutdown music plays. I hate being late. I start to panic. It’s so embarrassing to have a guest left in an online waiting room.It’s 4.33pm. I manage to get back online and luckily, my guest isn’t there yet.I quickly check my emails in case she came and went. Nothing, I’m in the clear.Six minutes later, Marsha logs in.“Sorry I’m late” she says, “I’ve been listening to your podcast so much that I feel like I know you. I was getting ready, thinking ‘it’s only David, he won’t mind’”I didn’t mind at all.This weeks guest is Yes Yes Marsha - she’s a storytelling expert.You won’t want to miss this one.***Marsha’s secret web page for you with EVERYTHING she mentioned - yesyesmarsha.com/creativerebels@yesyesmarsha on all socials too To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

I started a podcast as a hack. I wanted to speak to my heroes. If you email Seth Godin, Debbie Millman or Oliver Jeffers and ask for an hour of their time, the answer will probably be no.A podcast is the cheat code to having a conversation you never imagined you’d have and this week I get to tick another hero off of my list and share it with you.Oliver Jeffers has sold 18million books. But the first thing I asked about was his dip paintings. Because, it’s one of my all time favourite art projects.We spoke about Oliver’s long career as an author, illustrator and artist and navigating between them. This will be an episode I come back to many times. I hope you enjoy it. If you do - tell a stranger on the bus about it.Oliver’s links:Website - oliverjeffers.comInsta - @oliverjeffers To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

Jason Naylor is an artist, a designer and muralist known in New York for his bright colour palette and messages of positivity. He and I are both visual artists, our art carries similar messages of kindness and hope and our career ethos is similar too. This episode covers breaking up from a corporate 9-5, pitching brands and destroying trolls and haters with loveAs always, if you enjoy this episode, take out an ad in your local paper, thx.Jason’s website - https://jasonnaylor.nyc/Jason’s Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jasonnaylor/?hl=enOr just google Jason Naylor To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

Dr Rebecca Marks jokes that we shouldn’t listen to what critics and art historians say, but some of her unique takes in this interview, have been rattling around my brain since our discussion. Rebecca is an art historian, writer, and social media creator which is an interesting and pretty unique Ven diagram. In this episode we discussed some big topics, like the purpose of art and the ‘starving artist’ cliche. If you’re a long-time listener, you’ll know I’m always struggling with the tension of making art for yourself vs making it for an audience. My biggest take away from talking to Rebecca was her opinion that when an artist expresses their individual experience, it becomes an “expression of universal experience” that can resonate with a huge number of people.I hope you enjoy this one :) To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

It’s time to take yourself seriously.It’s time to give those silly little drawings or that silly little writing the respect it truly deserves.No longer will we be delusional. We are going to stop running from the villain and find the truth that is keeping our creative voice small.This week’s guest is the incredible Vanessa Aldrich.Vanessa’s Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@vanessadomslifeVanessa’s substack - https://vanessaaldrich.substack.com/Vanessa’s website - https://www.anotefromself.com/ To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

This week I sit down with Quyen Dinh aka The Parlor WorkshopThe TikTok algo served me up one of Quyen’s incredible creations and I knew I had to try and get some time with this wonderland creator!We spoke about Quyen’s wiggly path to get where she is today. Growing up in a strict Vietnamese family, Quyen’s dad told her that art was selfish and that she needed to get a proper job.It’s something I see with so many creatives, the pressure of not ‘letting down’ your family can be really intense. At the end of it all though, you must follow your curiosity and live your own life. I’ve met countless people who have buried their creativity to please others and they always have huge regrets.In this episode we discuss;* The philosophy of pain and growth* Overcoming fear to create* Sacrificing income for creative freedom* Whether you need to post frequently on social media to be successful* And much more!If you like this episode, take out an ad in your local paper and let everyone know. THX xQuyen’s insta / tiktok - @the_parlor_workshop To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

Creatives can learn so much from comedians.If a painting, a piece of writing or a sculpture goes wrong for us at least it doesn’t go wrong on stage in front of 100 people. All artists are bearing their soul to an audience in one way or another but I believe comedians are the bravest, to do it so publicly.It’s always a pleasure to bring you an episode with the brilliant Liz Miele.In this episode we discuss;* Pay what you want platforms for creatives.* Being demonetized on YouTube and shadowbanned on Insta* Staying true to your craft as a creative and ignoring trends* The ‘fans’ that don’t deserve your workIf you enjoy this episode, please share it. Keep creating <3 To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

I’m excited to let you into the room to hear a discussion I was lucky enough to be a part of recently.I’ve just completed an artist residence at the University of Warwick, called ‘Retreat to Create’ as well as creating a mural and giving a keynote to the students, I hosted the panel talk you’re about to hear! My guests were; Doreen Foster who is the director of the Warwick Arts Centre, Jonothan Neelands the professor of creative education at UoW and Denisha Anderson who is an artist, filmmaker, photographer and documentary producer. We spoke about a big topic - the state of creativity in 2025. To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com

Choosing the creative path isn’t for everyone.In fact, if you do, you’re purposely choosing an incredibly challenging life.But when you realise that everything is made up and you can choose to do whatever you want in life, things get easier.My favourite quote from this week’s guest, Erin Nystrom, is ‘if you don’t know yourself the world will tell you who to be’.I let the world tell me who I should be for the longest time. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and say, ‘I’m an Artist’ ( or writer/sculptor/poet/dressmaker/etc)You’re about to listen to a podcast that will make standing up 1% easier, because it will always be hard but maybe that 1% is what you’ve been waiting for.I hope this episode resonates with you like it did with me.Erin’s substack: To hear more, visit creativerebels.substack.com