#49 - Sarah Lewis: Following the Signals in a Creative Life

Creative ideas can arrive as whispers through life experience.Sarah Lewis is a London-based filmmaker, artist and designer whose work moves across documentary, moving image, installation, craft, handbags, curation, teaching and embodied creative practice.In this Natural Genius conversation, Sarah speaks with Samantha Bell about intuition, place, making with her hands, sexuality, shaving her head, ageing, listening with the body, discernment, her documentary "CUTS / NO IFS OR BUTS" and having a deeply experimental and creative life. They also speak about Bouffant, Sarah's evolving new art project, with an encouraging invitation for women everywhere to submit anonymous bouffant photos as part of a shared, playful and intimate archive at: https://bouffant.me/This episode explores:• Creative ideas as felt signals and small whispers• What handcraft, filmmaking and design each bring to Sarah's practice• Bouffant, female sexuality and anonymous shared experience• Shaving her head, identity, femininity and being seen differently• Ageing, aliveness, shadow work, discernment and creative freedom• Listening, attunement and discernment in conversation and creative work• CUTS / NO IFS OR BUTS and the cultural life of a long documentary projectGuest bio:Sarah Lewis is an international independent filmmaker, artist and designer based in London. Her work spans documentary film, artists' moving image, installation, curation, teaching, community projects and design. She completed an MA in Artists' Film & Moving Image with Distinction at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her feature documentary "CUTS / NO IFS OR BUTS" premiered at BFI London Film Festival and was later selected for Locarno Film Festival Pro's First Look on UK Cinema, where it won the Jannuzzi Smith Award and Le Film Français Award. Her wider practice includes Bouffant, Felt Culture, National Gallery of Victoria artist films, The Staring Girl, Crowded House, The Boy Who Wouldn't Die and collaborative work across Australia and the UK.Guest links:• Sarah Lewis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlewisfilm/• Sarah Lewis Studio: https://sarahlewis.studio/ and https://www.instagram.com/sarahlewis.studio/• Sarah's "CUTS / NO IFS OR BUTS" documentary: https://sarahlewis.studio/no-ifs-or-buts-previously-cuts-the-movie/ and https://www.instagram.com/noifsorbuts_movie/• Bouffant: https://bouffant.me/Chapters:01:03 London, place and creative belonging09:13 Creative whispers, handcraft and life experience14:57 Bouffant and female sexuality20:11 Shaving her head and being seen differently41:25 Shadow work, ageing and aliveness52:13 Listening, discernment and CUTS / NO IFS OR BUTSExplore further:Women are invited to submit anonymous bouffant photos through Sarah's Bouffant project: https://bouffant.me/Explore your natural genius: https://naturalgenius.com.auLearn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.auSubscribe to hear future episodes.About Natural Genius:Natural Genius is a podcast and listening platform hosted by Samantha Bell. It explores the many ways people find, trust and express their natural genius through work, life, creativity, leadership, relationships and the signals that call them forward.Credits:Hosted by Samantha Bell in Violet Town and London, 27 March 2026.Produced at the Violet Town and Kiama offices, 27 March - 21 May 2026.Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au