Show Notes
From corporate suits to studio silks, Roberta Wagner’s journey spans pottery, watercolour, and textile collage. Her art is a meditation on life itself. In this reflective conversation, Roberta explores the emotional truth of making, the beauty of asking the right questions, and how creativity becomes a parallel path to living.
Does it make your heart sing? Am I happy with it? Do I love making it? That has to be part of it. In my mind, you have to love making it.
- Roberta Wagner
Takeaways from this episode
- Making art is a way of paying attention to life.
Roberta sees her practice not as separate from daily living, but as a reflection of it – a space where intuition, joy, and discipline meet. What might your art be telling you about the season you’re in? - Play is a practice – and a compass.
When the process becomes too outcome-focused, Roberta reminds herself to return to play. For her, this might mean tearing up a piece and beginning again, just to see where freedom lives. - Asking the right questions transforms the creative journey.
Rather than “Is it good?” Roberta urges us to ask: “Do I love it? Does it move me?” These questions bring us closer to our own voice. - Art invites us to stay with discomfort.
Frustration, uncertainty, and even “ugly” stages are part of creative growth. Roberta saves those pieces, revisiting them with new eyes months later – often discovering something she couldn’t see before. - What we feel is often what others feel too.
Whether through asemic writing or layered textiles, Roberta’s work holds emotional resonance. As she says, “We feel the layers, even if we don’t see them.”
Explore the artwork from this episode below
During the live interview, we shared some images of Roberta’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made these images available for you below.
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