Down to a Fine Art

It’s a big episode for the podcast – and for not one reason, but two! Firstly, Izzy and Anna have finally decided it is time to start taking themselves seriously as podcasters and have bought some microphones, so an era of crisp audio and unexpected sound effects begins. Secondly, this is the 100th episode of Down to a Fine Art! To celebrate, Izzy and Anna decide to ask each other 100 (quickfire – ish) questions, which range from what the best exhibition they have ever seen is to whether they would rather be sticky or itchy for the rest of their life. Artists mentioned in the episode include Josie KO, Katie Paterson, Tania Kovats, Iman Datoo, Rosanna Martin, Bridgette Ashton, Abigail Reynolds and Naomi Frears.

This month, Izzy and Anna are talking about art school - what makes a good one? What makes a bad one? They talk about their own experiences, some alternative forms of art school, how well art fits within typical education structures, and what art school even is. They talk about the film Manifesto by Ane Hjort Guttu, which recently showed at CAST, and also mention Lucy Willow’s Wandering School of Art.

This episode, another Anna joins the podcast! Artist and curator Anna Dermitzaki talks to Izzy and Anna about her experience as a third culture kid who moved to Cornwall for an art job. They explore the relationship between her artwork and curatorial work, how she got into curation using transferable skills from other fields, networking, the pros and cons of being a freelancer, and how to keep making artwork with limited resources. To see more of Anna’s work, visit her Instagram @annadermitzakiart or her website www.annadermitzaki.com (or follow her on LinkedIn!).

It’s a big month for the podcast – Down to a Fine Art is officially five years old! To celebrate, Izzy and Anna reflect on the last five years of arting and podcasting. They talk about how their practices have grown, how their attitude towards art is different, and how the podcast has changed them. As a warning, there is a lot of poor grammar in this episode and also some inevitable (but mild) existential spiralling.

In their latest adventure, Izzy and Anna found themselves on an exciting trip to Plymouth where (once again) they ended up at KARST - this time, for the group show Discord & Harmony that brings together contemporary artists alongside the work of the late, great Beryl Cook. As a fun bonus, they also found time to head over to The Box for their concurrent show Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy, and even got to squeeze in a viewing of a fantastic in-conversation between some of the exhibiting artists at KARST and the curators of Beryl's show at The Box. In this episode they talk all things atmosphere and enjoyment, all things fun curation, and of course, all things Beryl. Thank you so much to Ben Borthwick and the KARST team for making this episode happen! You can check out their Instagram @karstgallery and their website karst.org.uk. Discord & Harmony is on at KARST until 18th April 2026.

This month, Izzy and Anna invite you to book club (with a twist). Izzy brings some content from Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet and Anna reads from Why I Write by George Orwell. Highlights include sea otters, rules for writing, ecosystems, cellular universes, and reasons to make art. As always, Weasel makes an appearance. (A warning and an apology: there are a lot of dog-related mouth sounds in the last 15mins of this episode).

To celebrate the final episode of 2025, Izzy and Anna revisit the resolutions (sorry, intentions) they set for themselves at the beginning of the year – ranging from mindfulness and herb gardening to deleting Instagram, getting a credit card, talking about scary things in therapy, and watching less F1 (and buying some microphones for the podcast…). The episode once more features a recurring slipper-chewing special guest.

Illustrator, storyteller and picture book specialist Emily Luke joins Izzy and Anna on the podcast this month – plus a new (sleepy) special guest. They discuss what led Emily to illustration, how it differs from Fine Art, how to write good stories, the importance of page turns, Emily’s favourite illustrators, and why more adults should read children’s books. Authors/illustrators/books/films mentioned: Hank Goes Honk, Charlie & Lola by Lauren Child, Beatrix Potter, Sara Fanelli, Quentin Blake, Miss Potter, The Day War Came by Nicola Davies and Rebecca Cobb, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser at the V&A, and Emily’s own Morag the Magpie. You can see more of Emily’s work on Instagram @emily_lukeillustration and on her website emilylukeillustration.com.

This episode, Izzy and Anna each select a single work of art they have made recently to talk about. Anna’s piece, as we fret at the edge of a toxic puddle ii, prompts discussions around rocks (as always), body parts (particularly teeth), machinery, mining, framing, and capitalism. Izzy’s piece, Have you spoken about that?, sparks a conversation around the unpredictability of wild creatures, the emotional connotations of horizontal and vertical lines, the uncanny, learning through observation, and the relationship between research and making. They also coin a new slogan for the podcast. Exhibitions/books mentioned: Ahmet Doğu İpek at Tate St Ives, The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Tsing.

After lots of guest and exhibition episodes, Izzy and Anna finally bring the attention back to them. They reflect on how they are feeling about art at the moment, discussing everything from subtle mindset shifts to going back to the roots of engaging with creativity. Books mentioned: Stolen Focus by Johann Hari and People Like Us by Hashi Mohamed.

It’s episode 90 (!!) and to celebrate, Izzy and Anna are joined by artist and facilitator Rachael Coward. With an upcoming solo show on the near horizon, Rachael talks them through her practice, her inspirations, her processes, the importance of play, responding to a site vs finding sites for a work,  and much much more (including becoming Izzy’s temporary art therapist for the episode). Rachael’s work can be found at @rachaelcoward on Instagram and rachaelcoward.co.uk on her website. Very excitingly, Rachael’s work can also be seen in person at her solo show Something Lost / Something Found, on display at The Heseltine Gallery in Truro from 6 September - 5 October 2025.

This year is bringing lots of firsts for the podcast – last month was the first ever podcast exhibition, and this month is the first ever podcast road trip! Izzy and Anna travelled up to Plymouth to see Alastair and Fleur Mackie’s show ‘Projected Outcomes’ at KARST. They discuss the many finely-tuned layers of both the artworks and the curation, delving into thesubtle effectiveness of the white cube, silent films, the tension in a mile of fishing line, sub-fossilisation, the edge of the land, and what happens when you curate images as sculptures. Thank you so much to Ben Borthwick and theKARST team for making this episode happen! You can check out their Instagram @karstgallery and their website karst.org.uk. (For anyone wanting to skip the audio description spoilers, jump to 19.06!)

It’s exhibition time! In an exciting first for the podcast, Izzy and Anna have put together a show of guests’ work. In this live episode, they reflect on the process of curating the exhibition and its similarities to the journey of the podcast over the last four years, as well as answering some questions from the artists. Although the exhibition is over, you can see photos of it on the podcast Instagram: @downtoafineart.podcast.

This week, Izzy and Anna talk to documentarian George Steedman Jones. A man of many talents, George is a filmmaker, photographer, and (fellow!) podcaster with a particular interest in documentary ethics, authenticity, and community. You can see his work on Instagram at @georgebrynmor and on his website: georgesteedmanjones.com. His podcast, Coffee with Conservationists, is available on Spotify.

Izzy and Anna take a tour of Tate St Ives’ current exhibition, ‘Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds’. They give a brief overview of Colquhoun’s life and the exhibition itself before discussing their favourite and least favourite pieces, and how Colquhoun’s work relates to their own practices. This episode is sadly not sponsored by Tate (although perhaps that is for the best…). The exhibition is on until 5th May 2025 – you can read more about it here: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/ithell-colquhoun-between-worlds.

This month, Izzy and Anna head over to Wharfside Art Hub in Penzance and are joined by curator and photographer Fran Rowse for another live episode. Set amongst the exhibition, Cornish Maids, they talk to Fran about how she curated it, the history of the project, Fran’s background, and the women and girls that make up this incredible community. You can see Fran’s work on Instagram at @franrowse_ or online at www.franrowse.com. To see more of Cornish Maids, check out @cornishmaids_ on Instagram. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Izzy and Anna are back for yet another art therapy session. What begins as a very chaotic episode soon turns surprisingly coherent - they talk about building sustainable habits, the chicken and egg of applications, taking the pressure off making work, finding ways to keep the mystery, and collage. Artists mentioned are Liv Gravil (former Down to a Fine Art guest!) and Mire Lee. The collages Anna mentions are on her Instagram (@anna.harris.art), posted on 2nd February 2025. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

In this episode, Izzy and Anna talk about structure (not the scaffolding kind). How do they structure their days/weeks/months/brains? How do they balance routine and spontaneity? How do they choose what to prioritise in their lives? Tune in to find out. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

It’s a new year, which can only mean one thing - it’s time for some new intentions. Join Izzy and Anna as they reflect on the year gone by and look towards the year to come. You can expect therapy content, words of wisdom, gentle parenting, and an unexpected Kermit face. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

It’s time for another art therapy session. Izzy has some issues, Anna has some solutions. They talk. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This week Izzy and Anna are joined by an award-winning (!) guest, artist and writer Indi Wills. Join them to learn more about Indi’s practice, which explores queering, landscape, fictioning, monsters, and radical abjection, and delve into the pros and cons of working collaboratively, making art accessible (both in gallery spaces and online), vampire theory, the plague, archives, and how to get people to touch artwork. To see the works mentioned in the episode, check out Indi’s Instagram, @inderz_does_art. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Join Izzy and Anna’s exclusive book club as they discuss Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. Themes include indigenous wisdom, storytelling, motherhood, scientific knowledge, mindfulness, and learning from nature. In summary, they thought it was great. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This episode is for all the freelancers and casual workers out there - WE SEE YOU TRYING TO PUT BOUNDARIES IN PLACE AND WE LOVE YOU FOR IT!! Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This week, Izzy and Anna take the dive back into their old journals and notebooks, discussing the ways they find note-taking most beneficial and keeping their eyes open for any old overlooked ideas that still have potential to them now. To be expected from this episode: human-centric perspectives, mindmaps, Radical Ecology, scallop discos, a long overdue shout out to Rachel Sussman, and the age old question - would aliens understand indicators?! Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Are you a creative? Do you feel supported by the people in your life? Do you encourage others in their creative endeavours? This episode, Izzy and Anna spend some time discussing the different ways of supporting artists, as well as reflecting on their own creative needs and whether they think they do a good job of uplifting others. In the words of Anna, ‘unusually for us, this episode has been full of wisdom’. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

It’s episode 75 and to celebrate, Izzy and Anna chat to artist Emma Digerud-White. The three of them discuss the importance of knowing what makes you feel good, the barriers to making art, Emma’s recent solo show, sketchbook usage, inner landscapes, the female gaze, motherhood, anger, and post-show slumps. Emma’s art can be seen on Instagram @emmadigerudwhite and online at www.emmadigerudwhite.com. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Following on from their previous episode ‘Booktalk’ where they spoke about their reading habits, this episode Izzy and Anna discuss what they’ve read in the past year. Their top recommendations are: ‘Babel’ by R.F. Kuang, ‘House in the Cerulean Sea’ by T.J. Klune, ‘Islands of Abandonment’ by Cal Flyn, ‘Still Life with Bones’ by Alexa Hagerty, ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy, ‘Landmarks’ by Robert Macfarlane, ‘Funny Weather’ by Olivia Laing, and ‘To the Lighthouse’ by Virginia Woolf. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This week Izzy and Anna talk to three guests at once! Artists and stone carvers Elle Brown, Emily Roberts, and Sue Rogers discuss their show ‘The Green Cube’ at Potager Garden. They reflect on the benefits of exhibiting outdoors, share their stone carving tips, and consider ideas for the future of ‘The Green Cube’. All artists can be found on Instagram: Elle at @elliebrownartist, Emily at @erobertsarts, and Sue @suerogersstudio. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

Join Izzy and Anna as they go into a bit more detail about their jobs and explore their creative identities alongside. They chat about the organisations they work for, question what aspects of their employment they enjoy, and think about how their practices fit into their wider sense of self. Disclaimer: eclipse juice may have impacted this episode. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

Today, Izzy and Anna chat about workshops. What makes a good one? What is their purpose? How do you design a workshop? Join them as they consider the answers to these questions by revisiting their past favourites. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

This episode Izzy and Anna celebrate the podcast’s third anniversary with visits from the ghosts of podcast past, present, and future (i.e. they talk about the podcast over the years and think about where it’s going). They’re also doing a call-out for guests so get in contact (@downtoafineart.podcast on Instagram) if you’d like to be involved. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

So…rocks. Let’s talk about them. (Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa)

This episode comes to you two months late (oops) and is all about ego in art. Inspired by a chat in Gabrielle Teaney’s episode, Izzy and Anna have some burning questions. Is ego/confidence helpful, or even essential, to being an artist? Is making something you know you can make well egotistical? Is ego tied to commercial success? Are ‘successful’ artists actually as riddled with imposter syndrome as the rest of us? Is ego even bad?! Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

It’s the first episode of 2024 and to mark the occasion Izzy and Anna interview Liv Gravil – painter, printmaker, and poet. Returning to Daisy Laing Gallery, they discuss the themes of Liv’s solo show ‘The Upworld’ including caves, mining, other-worldly spaces, anxious landscapes, the atomic priesthood, and the transitory space between the up and the down. The film referenced is ‘Into Eternity’ by Michael Madsen and the artists mentioned are Trevor Paglen, Suzanne Treister, Lawren Harris, and Charlotte Prodger. To see images of ‘The Upworld’ and to read the accompanying text, visit Liv’s website livgravil.cargo.site. You can also see more of their work on Instagram @livgravil, and Daisy Laing can be found at @daisylainggallery. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Happy (nearly) new year’s! To celebrate the imminent arrival of 2024, Izzy and Anna settle down for their annual episode of new year’s reflection and resolution assessment. They look back at the resolutions they set at the beginning of 2023 and see how many of them they’ve forgotten (spoiler: most of them) and decide what they would like to set as resolutions, or perhaps intentions, for the year ahead. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

In a further exciting turn of events, this week Izzy and Anna do their third ever live episode! They return to Daisy Laing Gallery in Penzance, this time to interview artist Max Whetter about his solo show ‘Made of sugar are ee?’. Sitting amongst Max’s work, they learn about his creative process, his mentoring with artist Andrew Litten, and the inspiration behind his wonderful titles (e.g. ‘The loud bugger with the beard’). They also invent the art-craft-trade spectrum and give a brief shoutout to the hilarity that is Dulux paint names. Max’s work can be seen on Instagram @maxwhetter and Daisy Laing can be found @daisylainggallery. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

In another exciting turn of events, this week Izzy and Anna do their second ever live episode! Joined by stone carver Elle Brown at Daisy Laing Gallery in Penzance, they discuss Elle’s inaugural solo show ‘Forme Féminine’. They explore a wide range of topics including the physical impact of stone carving, symposiums, the ethics around touching sculptures, Elle’s creative process, and the historical context of being a woman sculpting female forms. Elle’s work can be seen on Instagram @ellebrownartist and on her website ellebrown.art, and Daisy Laing Gallery can be found on Instagram @daisylainggallery. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This week Izzy and Anna introduce a new segment of the podcast: the leopard seal segment (this is not permanent nor, in fact, that relevant to the episode). Moving swiftly on, they then spend the rest of the episode talking about their journals. How do they use them? Are they online or in-person? Are they a place for full sentences, drawing, or chaotic word circling that won’t ever make sense to them again? They apologise for how many page turning sounds there are in this episode. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

It’s another guest episode and this time Izzy and Anna are joined by Gabrielle Teaney – a multi-talented artist with a rich background. Over the years Gabrielle has studied photography, portraiture, painting, and art history, as well as working as a doula and running art classes and nature workshops. They discuss Gabrielle’s recent solo show, the impact of different environments on her paintings, turning the unfamiliar into the familiar, and when you should butter a cat’s foot. Gabrielle’s work can be seen on her Instagram @gabrielle.teaney and her website www.gabrielleteaney.com, and her workshops can be found on Instagram @artworkshopcornwall and at www.natureartplay.uk. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

In a first for the podcast, Izzy and Anna experience a technical glitch – that glitch being they lose half of their recording (RIP). But at least the remaining half is packed full of lichen-y goodness. Anna talks about her recent research into lichen, Izzy eats some chocolate fingers, and then they discuss how to bring scientific research into artistic practice. The artworks Anna mentions are 'Kinnomic Botany' and 'Making a Name' by Iman Datoo. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

It’s episode 60 – time to talk about books! Izzy and Anna compare their reading habits whilst talking about the great fiction/nonfiction divide, the benefits of book clubs, and how to start reading more. This episode is sadly not sponsored by Goodreads but could be sponsored by Steve Blease (who they discover might be the gateway drug to Robert Macfarlane). Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa.

In this week’s episode, Izzy and Anna are joined by professional art person and creative cheerleader Meg Fatharly. Join them for a whistlestop tour covering Meg’s artistic beginnings, the pressures of full-time artistry, teaching as practice, the importance of quitting, and anchor words. There’s also a pep talk for all the artists out there. To see Meg’s work, check out her Instagram @printcessmeg. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Despite a chaotic start, Izzy and Anna manage to pull off a pretty coherent and insightful episode talking about the concept of comfort zones. They discuss the benefits and drawbacks of leaving your comfort zone, the desire for familiarity, being pressured into your uncomfort zone, and how to healthily push yourself. We also learn that Izzy acts as the bowling rails of this podcast. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Now that they’re a year on from finishing university, Izzy and Anna decide it’s a good time to reflect on the similarities and differences between graduate life and student life. They give a rundown of their current jobs and discuss whether their chaotic schedules as Fine Art students prepared them well for their current working lives. There’s a cheeky plug for the Tate Collective Producers and, as usual, a healthy sprinkling of graduate panic throughout. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

(CW: brief discussions of OCD) This week, Izzy and Anna start a book club! Well, sort of. Unlike a conventional book club, they’re bringing different books to the table and unpacking some of their favourite quotes. Izzy’s reading from ‘Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet’ by Anna Tsing, Nils Bubandt, Heather Swanson, and Elaine Gan, and Anna has chosen ‘Entangled Life’ by Merlin Sheldrake. If you’re interested in mushrooms, the Anthropocene, or being a hill then this is the episode for you. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

In this episode Izzy and Anna are joined by Sophia Heath-Rochna – part 1 architectural assistant and Kevin McCloud’s biggest fan. In pursuit of finding out what it means to be an architect, they discuss a typical day in the role, the highs and lows of LinkedIn, socially conscious architecture and B Corps, as well as providing some advice for incoming architecture students and spending a ridiculously long amount of time deciding whether a flip-flop is a shoe. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

It’s time to get reflective as this week Izzy and Anna look back on their recent group show, ‘The Unsteady Now’. They re-live the rollercoaster of preparing, curating, and hanging the exhibition, as well as assessing if they’ve got better at private view-ing since their degree show (spoiler alert: they have). A big shoutout to all other members of the Cultivator Graduate Start-Up Programme 2022 (and Field Notes) – after all, the real treasure is the friends made along the way. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

In an exciting turn of events, this week’s episode was recorded at Tate St Ives! As part of the gallery’s U Studio festival, Izzy and Anna had the opportunity to bring Down to a Fine Art to a live audience for the very first time. Join them as they discuss the trials and tribulations of being an emerging artist in Cornwall and take questions from the crowd. Thank you to the Tate Collective Producers and Tate St Ives for making this happen :) Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

It’s the podcast’s two year anniversary! As working adults, Izzy and Anna have decided not to get drunk this year, but instead to reminisce about their very first episode. Join them to see how their answers differ and if they’ve changed: how have their practices developed? Do they still have the same artistic insecurities? Are they better equipped when it comes to ‘art knowledge’? There’s also a tense segment on notebook usage that threatens the future of their friendship. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

This week, Izzy and Anna visit the studio of the wonderful artist and lecturer Lucy Willow. In a slightly different episode format, they have an unfiltered discussion over some cups of tea and unpick the similarities in their practices. They discover a shared love of fossils, collections, and ceramics; the importance of having a comfortable studio; the benefits of a good deadline; the odd experience of having someone else curate your work; and that Bagpuss is an anti-Capitalist hero. What’s not to love?! Lucy’s work can be found on Instagram @artist_lucy_willow and @d.u.s.t_art. Music: Ketsa, Still Room On The Night Train available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa