Work with me
Work with me
Dear fellow voyager in this little Life Boat, it is a great joy of mine to travel alongside other artists and writers in support of their creative journey.
It’s a work of careful listening, gentle encouragement and quiet challenge, helping you to deepen the questions you bring to your work.
I work with both visual artists and writers of memoir and narrative non-fiction.
But my special sweet spot is right between words and visuals. I work with visual artists who want to explore the creative and professional potential of writing as part of their practice, and with writers who want to bring more of the visual world into their text.
Together we can
IMMERSE ourselves in your current practice and your hopes for it
DISTILL your aims and test the form your work will take
CHANNEL your creative energies in a clear direction
if you’d like to find out a bit more about my coaching or book in for a quick chat do pop your details in the enquiry form below and I’ll get back to you.
Here’s what some of the lovely people I’ve worked with have to say about the experience…
“It’s been fantastic to have the full attention of someone who was able to pull together such a detailed overview and give such good advice. It's given me lots to think about and I’ve found it has functioned like a call to action. It's been transformative, and I don't say that lightly.”
Hilary Nicoll, Curator, academic and artist
“It's crazy how much progress I've made with all your incredible support and belief in me! I feel like I’ve gone supersonic! I see you as a gatherer of loose threads from seemingly random pieces, finding fascinating and insightful connections, and re-presenting them to me as a coherent narrative. It's teaching me to keep stepping back and re-evaluate my work as a whole. The brainstorming and clarification, the in-depth questions, as well as recommendations for resources to use or artists to research or books to read, have been hugely invaluable.”
Morag Thomson Merriman, Visual artist
Coming soon…an online course for visual artists
“If you are a visual artist or writer and need first-rate creative coaching look no further than Sam. She has the depth of experience, and the skill to support and stimulate your creativity; she can help you reflect constructively on your work, develop an existing project or consider a fresh start. Sam is a scholar within her areas of expertise, and in parallel her practical on-point advice is valuable and thought-provoking for those she works with.”
Mary Waltham, Environmental artist
“It’s been an absolute joy to work with Sam! Her thoughtful feedback and support has given me so much confidence and actionable ideas to help propel my project forward. I highly recommend.“
Cami Flake, Multimedia storyteller
“Working with Sam has been exactly the type of support I needed at this time in my life. I was on the brink of making big life changes but I didn't realize it at the time, and I enjoyed the slow conversations centered around art and writing over the year. Her thoughtful commentary and insight into my writing has been exactly the gentle guidance I needed this year.”
Ghazala Datoo, Physician and essayist
About me….
When you work with me I bring you all my knowledge and experience as…
A visual artist with over 30 years’ experience across a broad range of practices and contexts
A published author with Hachette
Author of a regular weekly Substack newsletter with thousands of subscribers
A PhD in creative writing from the University of St Andrews
Decades of experience teaching at UK Art Schools and Universities
Many years’ experience mentoring mid-career artists and helping memoir and narrative nonfiction authors write their books