Zuzu's Haus of Cats Presents...

Ep#19 - Shame, sex, and saying the unsayable - with author Marianne Power

In the Season 2 finale, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with my dear friend Marianne Power, author of the international bestseller Help Me! and her latest book Love Me!. It was such a joy to dive deep into her incredible journey from journalist to bestselling author. Marianne shared the story behind both her books - from her year-long experiment living by self-help books that became Help Me!, to her courageous exploration of sexuality, relationships, and what it means to live happily as a single woman in Love Me!. What struck me most about our conversation was Marianne's raw honesty about the cost of creating vulnerable art. She didn't shy away from discussing how terrifying it was to write about her most intimate experiences, from her sexual insecurities to her journey through tantra retreats. We talked about the difficulty of accepting praise, the inherited shame around sexuality, and how her Irish Catholic background shaped her relationship with both pleasure and success. Her courage in tackling the subjects that society tells us not to discuss - and doing so with such humour and humanity - is truly remarkable. This conversation was a beautiful reminder of why I love doing this podcast - getting to witness the magic that happens when artists are brave enough to tell their truth, and how that courage ripples out to help others feel less alone in their own struggles. ✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep19-marianne-power [https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep19-marianne-power] 💌 Never miss an episode - sign up here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch] 🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis]. Used with permission.

Ep#18 - Unmasking and finding your true creative voice - with illustrator Gracie Klumpp

In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Gracie Klumpp, an autistic author and illustrator who tells stories with words and pictures. What struck me most about our conversation was how much we had in common - both being late-diagnosed AuDHD artists who've had to navigate the complex journey of unmasking whilst building creative careers. Gracie shared her fascinating path from film student to animator to illustrator, and how she's now circling back to narrative storytelling through graphic novels and comics. Her approach to letting each story dictate its own medium resonated deeply with how I work with concepts and ideas in my own practice. The heart of our conversation centred around the unique challenges of being neurodivergent creatives in a world that wasn't designed for us. Gracie spoke beautifully about the process of archaeological self-discovery - peeling back layers of masking to find who you really are beneath all the "shoulds" and expectations. We discussed how art can be both a tool for processing our experiences and a way to help others feel less alone, particularly when we're brave enough to explore the darker, more difficult aspects of the human experience alongside hope and transformation. I was so inspired by my conversation with Gracie and I know you will be too. ✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep18-gracie-klumpp [https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep18-gracie-klumpp] 💌 Never miss an episode - sign up here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch] 🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis]. Used with permission.

Ep#17 - Painting from a place of wonder - with artist Gabriella Buckingham

In this episode, I sit down with Gabriella Buckingham, a British contemporary painter known for her experimental still life and intuitive landscape work. Gabriella's journey from graphic design student to successful fine artist is anything but conventional - after initially studying graphic design, she made an emotional plea to switch to illustration, launched a greeting card business that swiftly turned into what felt like a “sweatshop operation”, and eventually transitioned to fine art via a supermarket job during COVID! What makes Gabriella truly fascinating is her multifaceted practice that seamlessly weaves together art-making, teaching, and spiritual exploration. She runs online painting courses where she literally “speaks her brain” while demonstrating techniques, and writes weekly esoteric mailings covering astrology, tarot, and energy work. Gabriella's approach to both art and life is refreshingly intuitive. Perhaps most moving is Gabriella's openness about her spiritual connection to her work, including a profound experience with her guardian angel that shaped her business name: From a Place of Wonder. I loved this conversation and I’m sure you will too! ✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep17-gabriella-buckingham [https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep17-gabriella-buckingham] 💌 Never miss an episode - sign up here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch] 🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis]. Used with permission.

Ep#16 - Nostalgia, longing, and landscapes - with artist & curator Victoria J. Fry

In this episode, Victoria J. Fry opens up about her journey from art school graduate to successful multi-passionate creative entrepreneur. Based in New York City, Victoria is not only a talented landscape painter but also the founder of Visionary Art Collective, New Visionary Magazine, and Warnes Contemporary Gallery. She shares candidly about the post-graduation depression that many artists experience when the supportive bubble of art school suddenly disappears, and how it took her nearly a decade to find her artistic confidence again. Victoria's landscapes are infused with a profound sense of longing and nostalgia, rooted in her childhood experience of leaving the English countryside at age seven. Her dreamlike paintings, dominated by blues and greens, capture what she describes as an eternal yearning for something just out of reach - a feeling that resonates with the Welsh concept of "Hiraeth," a homesickness for a place that may not even exist. Through her intuitive painting process, she transforms these deep emotional experiences into work that speaks to universal feelings of displacement and the search for home, both literal and metaphorical. Our conversation also explores the practical realities of balancing multiple creative pursuits with running a business. Victoria shares her strategies for maintaining both her studio practice and her various enterprises, including setting firm boundaries around weekends and evening hours, embracing the cyclical nature of creativity, and allowing herself the freedom to experiment across different mediums. Her advice for aspiring full-time artists is refreshingly practical: develop multiple income streams, transition gradually from full-time employment, and most importantly, allow the journey to unfold organically rather than forcing overnight transformation. ✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep16-victoria-j-fry [https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep16-victoria-j-fry] 💌 Never miss an episode - sign up here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch] 🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis]. Used with permission.

Ep#15 - Deliberately seeking out joy - with artist & illustrator Helen C. Stark

I'm absolutely delighted to share my conversation with Helen C. Stark, the brilliant artist behind The Time Foragers Club on Substack. Helen's journey from postnatal depression to successful artist is both inspiring and deeply moving - she discovered her love of creating again through a local art group that literally kept her alive during her darkest moments. From there, she built an illustration career that included creating the first Edinburgh colouring book, before eventually moving to Yorkshire where she stripped everything back to focus on what truly mattered to her: colour, joy, and the practice of noticing beauty in everyday life. What I find most captivating about Helen's work is how she's created this entire world around the concept of ‘time foraging’ - gathering moments of beauty and meaning from both the past and present. Her weekly visual journals are like love letters to the ordinary magic that surrounds us, from blackberry picking rituals inspired by her childhood in France to creating watercolours from earth pigments collected on beaches where the Brontës once walked. Her recent Ode to Charlotte collection, which sold out incredibly quickly, perfectly demonstrates how she weaves together historical inspiration, personal ritual, and artistic practice into something truly special. Helen's approach to creativity feels revolutionary in its simplicity - she's chosen to look for joy as a deliberate act of resistance against the darkness in the world. Through The Time Foragers Club, she's building a community of people who want to carve out time for creativity and noticing. Her story reminds us that being an artist is a lifelong practice of curiosity, play, and finding beauty in the most unexpected places. ✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep15-helen-c-stark [https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep15-helen-c-stark] 💌 Never miss an episode - sign up here: ⁠⁠⁠https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch⁠⁠⁠ [https://zuzushausofcats.com/keepintouch] 🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis]. Used with permission.