26: The joy of clay: exploring light and form, and building a business with Amy Frankie Smith
Release Date: 03/21/2025
47: Sonya Wilkins: Clay, Trees and the Art of Listening to What Lifts You
An Art To It
In this episode, I’m joined by ceramic artist Sonya Wilkins, whose vessels are inspired by the natural world - particularly trees, woodland textures, and the quiet power of time spent outdoors. Sonya shares how creativity has been woven through her life since childhood, from early painting lessons with her father to discovering clay at school, and why ceramics became both a practice and a refuge. Sonya also talks candidly about her “two pulls”: a creative identity alongside an entrepreneurial streak, and how her earlier career in people development eventually found its way back...
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46: Art for Everyone with Liz Lidgett
An Art To It
2026 - and series five - kicks off with An Art to It’s first ever transatlantic episode: this week I’m joined by gallerist Liz Lidgett of Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design in Des Moines, Iowa. https://www.lizlidgett.com/ Liz shares how growing up with a free local museum - and a grandmother who bought her art lessons every Christmas - shaped her belief that art should be for everyone. After studying art history and working as an in-house curator for a major corporate collection, she left the corporate world after exactly one year to become a freelance art advisor before opening her own gallery...
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45: Christmas Special: Behind the Gallery Wall with Sharon Harvey and Sara McKee
An Art To It
Ever wanted to eavesdrop of gallery owners in conversation? Now is your chance . In this Christmas Special edition of An Art to It, I’m joined by two fellow gallerists: Sharon Harvey (Sanctuary Gallery, Gloucestershire, and landscape artist) and Sara McKee (Life Full Colour gallery and music venue, North Wales). Together we unwrap what 2025 has really been like for independent galleries: the tough months, the surprising highs, the “Dunkirk Spirit” of a Private View in a rainstorm and flood, and why layering income streams and experiences has become essential. We also answer questions...
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44: Finding Your Artistic Life with Gabriella Buckingham
An Art To It
In this week’s episode, I chat to visual artist Gabriella Buckingham, whose creative path has taken her from illustration, to product design, to online teaching, and finally to the richly expressive painting practice she runs today. Gabriella reflects on her childhood desire to be an artist and how finally reaching her destination “was just what I wanted. So I'm very grateful.” And how her time spent in the business side of a greetings card business left her with invaluable knowledge of trends, sales analysis and creative stamina which she could ultimately apply to her own creative...
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Unframed 5: It’s Makeover Time
An Art To It
In this final episode of my mini-series An Art to It: Unframed, we’re talking about the quiet power of presentation - and why giving your digital presence a bit of a make-over can make such a difference to how your work is seen, understood, and valued. As a gallery owner I get a lot of submissions from artists and makers asking me to consider their work, and naturally I look at their Instagram accounts and websites. Some times I’m excited by what I discover and others… well, let’s just I’m left a bit confused as to what their practice actually is. So this episode explores how your...
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43: A Certain Kind of Crazy: Ten Years as a Maker with Amy Stringer
An Art To It
In this episode of An Art to It, I’m joined by applied artist Amy Stringer, who has just celebrated ten years of running her creative business. Amy’s practice moves between jewellery and ceramics – think structural, architectural, process-led work that blurs the boundaries between wearable pieces and sculptural objects. Starting with body adornment and bold cement forms, she’s now known for both her chain-led silver jewellery and her carved Kurinuki vessels, where jewellery sometimes lives inside the ceramic object. Together, Elaine and Amy talk about what has changed over the...
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Unframed 4: Copycats
An Art To It
It’s one thing when a friend deliberately buys the same coat as you. It’s quite another when your creative work, or something very similar, turns up on someone else’s instagram grid, gallery, grid, or workshop offering. Copying is personal, deeply and annoying and hurtful - but when it could undermine your carefully crafted creative identity and brand, then it’s a real issue. In this episode, we take a look at the slightly thorny subject of copying in creative business: how to spot it, what to do when it happens, and how to protect yourself going forward. From personal experience to...
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42: The Art of Reinvention with Jane Wilson
An Art To It
What happens when the art you’re known for no longer brings you joy? In this episode, mixed media artist Jane Wilson shares her journey from fashion buying to creative commercial success, and how a door closing lead to her finding her true voice as a playful, joy-filled artist. Jane opens up about early experiences of imposter syndrome, the emotional fallout from a tough gallery break-up, and how lockdown gave her space to rediscover creativity on her own terms. We talk about the art of starting over - more than once - and why success looks different at different stages of life and career....
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Unframed 3: Invisible Women: Time to Throw off the Cloak
An Art To It
In episode three of my mini series of mini podcasts, I’m talking about something that comes up again and again - in both quiet conversations and loud frustrations. Invisibility. That creeping feeling of no longer being seen or noticed as we age, especially as women. Whether it's being ignored in a cafe queue, looked through as we walk into a gallery or walked past at a party, there's a moment many of us experience where it feels like the spotlight has quietly moved elsewhere. And if you’re an artist and maker does that make your job of getting your work seen even harder? I believe...
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41: Creative Hands, Bold Moves with Franca Westaway
An Art To It
In this week’s episode of An Art to It, I chat to artist I talk to the multi-talented Franca Westaway - an artist, designer, educator and all-round creative force. Franca’s work spans textiles, ceramics, teaching, painting, mural commissions - and a deep commitment to following her creative instincts wherever they lead. We talked about her early love of fashion and textiles, and how she pivoted from working in the London fashion industry to teaching art and then building her own surface pattern business. She shares how creating bold work helped her resist the “invisibility cloak” that...
info_outlineIn this episode of An Art to It, I’m joined by Amy Frankie Smith, a ceramic artist and designer whose stunning porcelain lighting and fluid watercolour paintings bring together texture, translucency, and an undeniable sense of place.
Amy’s journey into ceramics began with a degree in 3D Craft at the University of Brighton, followed by hands-on experience in architectural ceramics for conservation. But despite an academic and industry-focused path—including a Winston Churchill Fellowship that took her to New York and Chicago—Amy found herself longing for a more personal creative practice.
She shares how she transitioned from working in conservation and project management to setting up her own studio, where she now creates delicate, timeless porcelain pendant lights and paintings inspired by the sea. We talk about:
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The magic of porcelain and how she discovered lighting as her main medium
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- Why her ceramic work and watercolours are deeply connected
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The importance of finding the right spaces—both in galleries and interiors—for her work
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How she balances creativity and business, including commissions, events, and collaborations with interior designers
Amy also discusses how she approaches marketing as a creative—something many artists struggle with—and the importance of connection, networking, and finding the right people to support your business.
Finally, she shares her thoughts on whether there’s an art to running a creative business—her answer might surprise you!
If you’re an artist or maker looking to navigate the balance between creative passion and business, this episode is full of valuable insights.
You can see Amy’s work on her website www.amyfrankiesmith.com and on Instagram at @amyfrankiesmith.
Amy also talked about:
Seagreen Designs www.seagreendesignsco.com
Illustrated Living www.illustratedlivingstives.co.uk
Ethel Loves Me www.ethelloves.me
The Design Trust www.thedesigntrust.co.uk/