Life Will Be What I Make It | Artist Ann Tudor on Grief, Glass Art & Starting Again at the Torch

Ann Tudor has been "at the torch" — turning molten glass into beads, jewelry, and even sculptural pieces (including an aquarium made entirely of glass, no water required). But in this episode of The Motivatarian Exchange, Dionne and Ann go far beyond the craft. Ann shares her path from a 30-year dental career to full-time lampwork glass artist, her more recent pivot into palette knife painting, and her decades as a knitting instructor — now making stitch markers instead of beads. She also talks candidly about her husband, Mark — and about losing him three years ago. She shares the RV trip they'd bought together not long before his passing, and the quote that's carried her through since: "Life will be what I make it, and I can't just stay stuck in my house." Growing up a tomboy just blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ann never took a formal art class — she's entirely self-taught, and only recently returned to showing her work publicly. She now paints intuitive portraits of women she simply calls "ladies," each one carrying its own message, and is a longtime advocate for art journaling as a creative practice anyone can start. In this episode: What it means to be "at the torch" — lampwork glass explained The baby grand piano she and Mark turned into a bookcase Rebuilding a creative life after loss From glass beads to stitch markers: 35 years of knitting Painting intuitive "ladies" and the messages they carry Why art journaling belongs in everyone's creative practice Ann's mantra: "What you think about, you bring about" Connect with Ann Tudor: Website: anntudor.com  Instagram: @anntudorstudio  Facebook: Ann Tudor Studio  YouTube: The Knitting Tudor  Email: [email protected] The Motivatarian Exchange with Dionne Woods — conversations that spark courageous expression, curious exploration, and connected growth.   lampwork glass artist, glass beadmaking, stitch markers, knitting instructor, art journaling, intuitive painting, palette knife painting, creative reinvention, grief and creativity, self-taught artist, Indiana artist, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, women creatives podcast