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The Creative Couch with Sam Marshall

Sam Marshall

The Creative Couch is a podcast about creativity, doubt, and finding your own way of making work. Hosted by artist and coach Sam Marshall, it’s a place to talk honestly about making work, staying connected to creativity, and building confidence over time.

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  • 22 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 41 min
  • English

Episodes 22

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  • April 7 · 37 min

    Episode 8: Copyright, Creative Travel and Going Viral

    In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Liz, Ziva and Lucy – exploring ownership and boundaries online, creativity through travel, and what happens when success starts to feel like a trap. Liz has been sharing her embroidery and stitch work online and has recently discovered her images being shared on Pinterest without permission or credit. While part of her feels flattered that her work is resonating, she’s also uncomfortable with how it’s being used. How do you navigate the tension between visibility and ownership, and decide whether to ignore it, address it, or take action? Ziva is a landscape architect who discovered ceramics through an unstructured journey in Japan. Now she’s questioning whether future creative trips should be planned with intention or left open to unfold naturally. How do you balance structure and spontaneity, and create the right conditions for creativity to emerge while travelling? Lucy is a mixed media artist whose account grew rapidly after one piece of work went viral. What once felt like a small, connected community now feels overwhelming, and the work that brought her success no longer feels aligned with her practice. How do you move on from the thing that “worked”, especially when it might mean losing followers, engagement, or a sense of security? In this episode, I explore: • The tension between being seen and having control over your work online • When to set boundaries and how to respond when your work is shared without permission • Why creativity doesn’t come from a lack of planning, but from attention and openness • How to balance structure and spontaneity when travelling creatively • What happens when success becomes pressure, and how to recognise when you’ve outgrown it • Letting go of numbers, expectations, and audiences that no longer align with your practice Each dilemma is explored with both emotional insight and practical steps you can try in your own creative life. If you have a creative dilemma you’d like me to explore, please email me at: thecreativecouchpod@gmail.com

    • Transcript
  • April 2 · 34 min

    Episode 7: Too Many Ideas, Letting Go of Old Work and Finding Time to Draw

    In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Lucille, Siobhan and Sam. exploring creative paralysis, letting go of old work, and how to build a meaningful practice in very limited time. Lucille has a rich and varied creative life, working across drawing, printmaking, basket weaving and decorative painting. But instead of feeling energised by her ideas, she often feels paralysed by them. She finds herself starting work and abandoning it when it doesn’t match what she imagined, and questioning the point of making anything if it isn’t going to be sold or gifted. How do you move forward when creativity starts to feel tied to purpose, pressure and past experiences? Siobhan’s dilemma is about what happens after the work is made. After decades of keeping sketchbooks, studies and prints, she now feels surrounded by accumulated work and unsure what to keep, what to let go of, and whether photographing everything is the answer. How do you balance memory, sentimentality and space without becoming overwhelmed by your own archive? Sam is balancing a creative practice alongside work and raising two young children, often drawing in short windows of time. While she’s consistent, she feels stuck with repetitive subject matter and struggles to move her sketchbook work into something more developed. How do you find engaging subject matter, move beyond safe motifs, and build depth when time and energy are limited? In this episode, I explore: • Why creativity can become tied to outcome, and how to reclaim making for its own sake • How past experiences and judgement can shape the way we approach our work • Letting go of old artwork without losing your sense of creative identity • How to keep a meaningful archive without becoming overwhelmed • Finding more engaging subject matter within tight time constraints • Simple ways to move from sketchbook work into more developed ideas Each dilemma is explored with both emotional insight and practical steps you can try in your own creative life. If you have a creative dilemma you’d like me to explore, please email me at: thecreativecouchpod@gmail.com

    • Transcript
Showing 21–22 of 22 episodes