74: Reclaiming the Artist You Were at Age Five
Remember when you confidently grabbed those crayons, finger paints, or pipe cleaners without a moment's hesitation? When you proudly displayed your artwork and never once worried if it was "good enough"?
In "Reclaiming the Artist You Were at Age Five," I chat with the inspiring mother-daughter duo behind Caroline Tatham Art, who teach from their stunning historic garden in the UK.
They share how studies show nearly all five-year-olds confidently raise their hands when asked if they're good at art, but by age ten, that number drops dramatically to just 20%. What happens to that creative confidence, and how can we get it back?
Whether you've been told you "aren't creative" or simply feel stuck in your creative practice, this conversation offers practical wisdom for reconnecting with your innate artistic abilities.
You'll learn their three essential tips for unlocking creativity, discover how to find inspiration in nature (even without a garden), and understand the power of community in your creative journey.
Don't miss this heartfelt discussion about trusting your inner child, embracing guided play, and finding that "fizzy feeling" of creative excitement again.
Your five-year-old self would want you to listen!
Mentioned in this episode:
Free gift: Watercolour Techniques Video Tutorial
Where to find Caroline & Emma: Website, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook
Join the free Facebook group to post your work and receive encouragement, gain access to weekly art prompt sheets and take part in challenges for a chance to WIN, like the upcoming Chelsea Challenge this May, celebrating the start of The Chelsea Flower Show: Creative Space Facebook group
Drone video of their 9-acre historic English garden, designed by Caroline
Key Takeaways:
[00:01:54] Caroline and Emma introduce their historic 9-acre garden that inspires their art and teaching
[00:03:54] Top three tips for expressing creativity: believe in yourself, trust your inner child, and practice regularly
[00:06:54] Their approach to teaching watercolor through guided play and creative exploration
[00:09:45] How to find inspiration in nature even without access to a large garden
[00:13:19] The importance of community in your creative journey and their weekly inspirational resources
Unlocking Your Creative Spirit: Lessons from Caroline and Emma Tatham
In our latest HobbyScool Podcast episode, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Caroline and Emma Tatham, the inspiring mother-daughter duo behind Caroline Tatham Art. Their story isn't just about creating beautiful watercolor paintings—it's about rediscovering the creative spark we all possess but might have forgotten along the way. Set against the backdrop of their breathtaking 9-acre historic garden in the UK, our conversation explored the journey of creativity, finding inspiration in nature, and the joy of guiding others to discover their artistic abilities.
The Tathams' approach to teaching art resonated deeply with me because it aligns perfectly with what we believe at HobbyScool: everyone has creativity within them—sometimes it just needs a little encouragement to flourish. Whether you're convinced you "can't draw a straight line" or you're looking to deepen your creative practice, I think you'll find something valuable in the wisdom Caroline and Emma shared.
The History and Inspiration Behind Caroline Tatham Art
Caroline and Emma's creative journey is inextricably linked to the extraordinary place they call home. Their studio sits on a 9-acre historic garden surrounding a house built in 1695 on the foundations of a medieval monastery. This isn't just a pretty backdrop—it's the living, breathing heart of their creative practice.
"Every time we go into the garden, we feel that sense of history all wrapped up in beautiful nature. And there's just this incredible energy here," Caroline shared during our conversation. As a garden designer, Caroline has spent 15 years transforming this space from nothing into a diverse landscape featuring a pond, orchard, vegetable garden, and a hundred-foot polytunnel where they grow plants. This connection to the natural world provides endless inspiration for their artwork and teaching.
What struck me most was how their environment has shaped not just what they create, but how they approach creativity itself—with patience, attention to natural rhythms, and an appreciation for growth processes. Their garden isn't just a subject for painting; it's a metaphor for the creative journey itself.
Three Essential Tips for Reconnecting with Your Creativity
One of my favorite moments in our conversation was when Caroline shared her top three tips for anyone who believes they aren't creative. These insights are simple yet profound:
Believe in yourself. As Caroline put it, "Everyone is creative. You just need to tap into it." This might sound basic, but it's the foundation everything else builds upon. So many of us have internalized the message that we're "not the creative type" that we need to actively work to unlearn this limiting belief.
Trust your inner child. Caroline beautifully described how we all have "that child that's excited about having a fist full of pipe cleaners and a shoebox" within us. She explained how studies show that nearly all five-year-olds confidently raise their hands when asked if they're good at art, but by age ten, that number plummets to about 20%. Reconnecting with that childlike enthusiasm—what Caroline calls "the fizzy feeling"—is key to unlocking your creativity.
Practice regularly. Like any skill, creativity flourishes with consistent attention. "Regular practice is wonderful," Caroline emphasized, noting that communities like our Hobby School Learning Summits are valuable because they encourage people to connect, support each other, and "keep having a go."
These tips resonate so deeply with me because they address both the mindset and practical aspects of developing creativity. It's not enough to just believe you can be creative—you need to actively engage with the process, while simultaneously not being too hard on yourself when things don't turn out perfectly.
The Power of Guided Play in Learning Art
The Tathams' approach to teaching watercolor is refreshingly different from the rigid, technical focus many of us might have experienced in traditional art education. Instead, they emphasize what they call "guided play" and creative exploration.
"We do a lot of crazy fun experiments and exercises that build up to a final artwork and put in place a really strong foundation," Caroline explained. Their four-week online courses progressively build confidence through playful experimentation with color palettes, drawing techniques, and various approaches before students create their final artwork.
This methodology is deliberately designed to address the fear many beginning artists feel—that paralyzing worry about "messing up" that can prevent us from even starting. By breaking the process down into playful steps, Caroline and Emma help their students build confidence gradually so they can "sit back, relax, and actually enjoy the process of painting."
I love this approach because it recognizes that technical skill is important, but not at the expense of joy and self-expression. Too often, creativity gets stifled by perfectionism and self-criticism. The Tathams' method offers a path that builds skills while preserving the pleasure that drew us to create in the first place.
Finding Inspiration in Nature—No Matter Where You Are
Not all of us have access to a stunning 9-acre historic garden, but Caroline emphasized that inspiration from nature is available to everyone. "You don't need a nine-acre garden to get inspired by nature," she assured us. Her top recommendation is simply to "make the effort to get out there" whether that means looking out your window, visiting a park, or spending time in any available green space.
Caroline shared how, in her previous career working a stressful job in London, she became disconnected from natural rhythms—spring would arrive and she'd barely notice. "I was like a battery hen, and now I've become a free-range chicken," she colorfully described her transition to a more nature-connected life.
This point particularly resonated with me because it's easy to believe we need grand, Instagram-worthy natural settings to feel inspired. The truth is that creativity can be sparked by the simplest natural elements—a houseplant, the changing light throughout the day, or birds visiting a feeder outside your window. It's less about what you observe and more about the quality of your attention.
Building Community Around Creativity
Perhaps what impressed me most about Caroline and Emma's work is their commitment to fostering community among creative people. Their Facebook group "Creative Space" serves as a gathering place where students can share their artwork, receive encouragement, and feel supported on their creative journey.
Caroline creates weekly inspiration sheets featuring plants from their garden, complete with color palettes, textures, and shapes to inspire group members. "It's like me sharing a page from my sketchbook every week with our community," she explained. Members often create work inspired by these sheets and share their results, creating a wonderful cycle of inspiration and encouragement.
This community aspect addresses what I believe is one of the biggest challenges for hobbyists and creative people—the feeling of isolation. Creating alongside others, even virtually, can provide accountability, feedback, and the motivational boost that comes from shared enthusiasm. As Caroline advised in her final tips: "Try and find people that you can share your creative journey with so you don't feel alone, you feel supported, and people that can reinforce you and encourage you."
Listening to Caroline and Emma share their passion for unlocking creativity in themselves and others was truly inspiring. Their holistic approach—combining nature, playful exploration, skill-building, and community—offers a roadmap for anyone looking to reconnect with their creative spirit.
If you're intrigued by their approach, I encourage you to check out their free video on essential watercolor techniques by joining their mailing list. And don't forget to sign up for our own HobbyScool Online Learning Summit waitlist so you'll be the first to know when our next free event launches!
What steps will you take today to reconnect with your creativity? Remember Caroline's powerful words: "If you are a human being, you are creative. You just need to learn how to access it."
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Transcript:
[00:00:00]
Welcome to the HobbyScool Podcast. Whether you're a seasoned hobbyist, or just getting started, HobbyScool is the perfect place to learn something new. My name is Dr. Destini Copp and I'm your host of the podcast. But before we jump into our episode for today. The only thing I ask is if you enjoyed the episode, please share with a friend and give us an honest review on your favorite podcast platform.
This helps us get out the content to more people. I also wanna invite you to get on our wait list for our next HobbyScool Online Learning Summit. These are free to attend, and you can find the link to join at hobbyscool.com, which is also in our podcast Show notes now. Sit back. Relax and enjoy the episode.
My [00:01:00] special guest today is Caroline and Emma, and I am super excited for you to hear our conversation. Caroline and Emma, can you tell the good audience.
more about you, how you help people kind of ignite their creativity. But I want to go into all the details about your studio that you have and all the history about it, because I really think it sets the stage for what we're gonna talk about today. Thanks, destiny. Yeah, thank you for having us on here.
We're delighted to share, information about ourselves and our setting. We live in a historic garden. It's nine acres, all very different. We've got a pond and an orchard full of blossom at the moment.
I'm also a garden designer, so I've created the garden from nothing. now 15 years later. We enjoy it, we photograph
[00:02:00] it, and it inspires my painting and the painting of my students for the past two years we've been running courses in art and also online digitally. for 15 years I've been teaching people garden design and we specialize in taking absolute novices and really.
Encouraging them, reinforcing them, inspiring them, that everybody is creative. I have a lot of students coming and they're convinced because an art teacher told them 50 years ago that they're not creative, and so they're very nervous around creativity I'm so blessed. Because I have the sheer joy of unlocking that creativity in people and reinforcing the idea that if you've got a human soul, then you are creative.
part of my soul is in our garden here. Our house was built in 1695 on the foundations of a medieval monastery. every time we go into the garden, we feel that sense of history all wrapped up in beautiful nature. And there's just this
[00:03:00] incredible energy here. So I feel like I'd want to go and take one of your, art classes live.
I just experience it all. That is amazing. And I love the background, and I know the people who are listening to the podcast episode, they couldn't see what I saw in your background and where you actually do your art classes But let's dig into this a little bit more. I'd love.
To know, you've had, tons of experience here, and you mentioned that a lot of people come to you and, you know, somebody told 'em 50 years ago that, that they weren't creative. But what are your top three tips on helping people that may think they're not creative to express their own creativity?
That's such a great question and I think number one is believe in yourself and that is very easy to say and probably is a bit frustrating to someone who doesn't believe in themselves, but genuinely, I have learned after years and decades of teaching.
[00:04:00] That everyone is creative. You just need to tap into it.
you need to really believe in yourself. Now, how do you do that? Because, so easy to say that. I think the number one route to that is trust your inner child. And without getting a bit sort of, bit of a, I'm a bit of an old hippie if.
I think we all have within us that child that's excited about having a fist full of pipe cleaners and a shoebox and you have that feeling that you can do anything and create anything and you know that little kid is still there. so you wanna tap into that. there's all kinds of studies have been done and if you go into a kid's.
classroom and say, to a little group of five year olds who loves art, who's good at art, every single hand shoots up But by the time the kids are seven or eight, probably a third of them are not sure, and by the time they're 10, there's probably only 20% of them.
And by the time they're. Teenagers as maybe one soy
[00:05:00] person like me in the corner who who still says they like art. modern life has a way of knocking it out of us or convincing us that it's not important. what I love most about teaching it is such a joy is. To reassure people and connect them back.
So if you are doubting, if you are thinking, how do I believe in my creativity? You believed in it when you were a kid. get back into that feeling, I describe it as the fizzy feeling that you had when you are a child and you got excited about making so play. Blur, do not overanalyze initially.
Just get into the excitement of creating. And then my third tip would be regular practice. And I think that's why summits like yours, destiny are so fantastic because it encourages people to connect, it encourages people to support each other, and have a go and keep having a go.
regular practice is, is wonderful if possible. I love that tip. It just kind of taken us
[00:06:00] back to our childhood and just remembering that we can do anything. We can try anything and even if it doesn't work, that's okay. Emma and Caroline, I would love to delve into this a little bit more.
I've gone to your website. I've looked at all of the wonderful art projects that you have, and I think I told you before we started recording, they're so beautiful. You know, some of 'em I could see up on my wall, maybe in a print or even wallpaper. Mm-hmm. But can you tell us a little bit about what kind of projects.
Are you working on? What do you teach in your, virtual classes, in your physical classes and what you might just do for yourself? Yeah. I'll take the lead on this one if I may. Absolutely. Thank you. so yeah, at the moment, we're always doing, courses as you mentioned. we do online courses and we do in-person courses.
online courses are free for anyone to join all around the world. we love having international students always very exciting. we do lots of
[00:07:00] watercolor courses. teaching anyone, anyone who's new to creativity, new to watercolor, or just people who have experience with watercolor, but just want to, you know, dive in deeper and like mom said, maybe practice more.
Because what you said was great and I absolutely support that. Thank you. I would just add to that with the online courses I've taught at St. Martin's and studied the Royal College of Art and all the kind of fancy schmancy English art schools. And one thing those. Colleges are grateful, is creative exploration is getting your sketchbook out, playing guided play and creative development.
So we do a lot of crazy fun experiments and, exercises that build up to a final artwork and put in place a really strong foundation, which is. Establish a color palette, practice the drawing that you're going to do, but not in a stifled, stodgy way. In a fun, doodly, playful way.
So that when you come at the
[00:08:00] end of the week, 'cause most of our online courses are four weeks, by the end of each week, you come to create a final artwork. You are feeling much more confident and it's that confidence we talked about earlier. You've built up that confidence and it's not so daunting.
And that way you can sit back, relax, and actually enjoy the process of painting without that awful feeling that, oh, I might mess it up. And it's, you feel a bit over precious about it. So I think that's something we're good at. Unlocking people's, creativity, which is already there, but some people aren't quite, sure about accessing it.
And you mentioned earlier that you created these gardens from scratch, and do you get a lot of your inspiration for your artwork from those gardens? 100%, absolutely. I'm out there every day, so I'm still a very hands-on gardener. up until very recently I was looking after all nine acres myself, including propagating the plants.
We've got a hundred foot polytunnel. we've got a working vegetable garden we eat out of every day. Super
[00:09:00] delicious. what was great was Emma was homeschooled in the sort of end of her education lockdown. Just after lockdown. And we used the garden even then, didn't we?
Yeah. So we would. grow things together and that was the beginning of us realizing we enjoyed working together in the garden. Yeah. And once I got more into the art making, that way that we'd worked together, homeschooling just carried on into the business.
Yeah. And it's evolved really naturally. Exactly. Which is wonderful. Yeah, A hundred percent agree. I'd love to expand upon that a little bit more. So let's say, you know, of course I would love to go see your gardens on your nine acres, but let's say that we don't have access to that.
maybe we're in the states, but we wanna take inspiration from our own backyard or community. What would you suggest we do? Oh, that is such a great question. And I would just say as a, introduction to that, if people are interested in seeing our garden, we've got videos on the websites or
[00:10:00] certainly images on the website, and we share loads on social media, and I'm always showing off about the garden, so you'll be sick of seeing it
Also really good, point you don't need a nine acre garden to get inspired by nature. my top tip would be to make the effort to get out there. even if you don't, have a garden. You can look out of your window or go to a public space.
I used to work in a very stressful job in London before I, got into this line of work. I used to get up early in the morning, get on a bus, get into Central London, and spring would've happened about six months before I even noticed, well, maybe not six months, but months before I realized, I was so out of tune with the natural rhythm of nature.
And one of the brilliant things about having a garden or looking out of your window, is that you'll become in tune with the rhythm of nature. And that is a wonderful source of creativity. I often say to my students that when I worked in my big pressure job, I was like a battery hen, and now I've become a
[00:11:00] free range chicken because I'm out there and I'm aware of nature and it's just good for the soul, and it's definitely good for creativity.
Well, I would have to say, it sounds like to me, you had your absolute dream job there and I wanted to ask you something. You also have your gardening school, so you have your art school, but you also have a gardening school. Is that correct? You are absolutely right.
Yes. And in fact, the gardening school's very established. we've been running that now for 15 years. we have people coming from the states, especially to do our course, come to live in the UK for a year. it's quite a narrow niche. to teach. we have an international reputation and I'm very proud to say that two years ago, we had a student on Main Avenue at the Chelsea Flower Show, which is a huge achievement.
That's been a wonderful way for me to really develop getting creativity out of people because lots of people who come into garden design are career changes and they've had, you know, we've had the, UK
[00:12:00] representative of the large had drawn Collider, who is a nuclear physicist, who decided she really wanted to be a garden designer she was a beautiful, creative soul, but sort of maybe lacked that confidence.
And one thing I'm really proud of is how we connect people. life has a way of convincing you that you are not creative. And it's a big question. Often comes up for it for me with interviews and I'm interviewing people for the gardening school and they say, oh, but I'm, I'm worried, I'm not creative.
And so I'm always saying, don't you worry about that. If you are a human being, you are creative. You just need to learn how to access it. if you trust me, it's gonna be a really fun journey together. I absolutely love that part of my job. you've inspired me to look at your Instagram account and everything.
'cause I wanna see pictures of the garden school and all of your gardens and everything that you have there. Before we wrap it up Caroline and Emma. Can you give the audience some last minute tips in terms of creativity?
[00:13:00] Yes. I think my last minute tips are, believe in yourself.
trust your inner child, play, have fun with it. Do it regularly and try and find people that you can share your creative journey with so you don't feel alone, you feel supported, and people that can reinforce you and encourage you and enjoy what you are creating.
I love the community aspect that you mentioned there. And you have a Facebook group too, for people, right? Yes, thank you for mentioning that. We absolutely do. it's called creative space and we're always in there. people are posting their beautiful artworks.
I'm always saying, oh, mom, we've got another artwork. Can I have a comment from you on it? She's like, yes, yay. so yeah, if anyone has any creative work at all that they'd, like to share. Please feel free to post in our Facebook group and get some comments from Mom if that interests you.
'cause we publish a sheet every week
[00:14:00] with, color, shape, and texture ideas. I started doing that. I've already mentioned that regular practice is a good thing and that it doesn't matter how experienced you are, that remains true. to encourage myself. I produce a sheet every week where I take a plant from the garden.
Sometimes it's a view of the garden, but it's always from the garden. I put together a palette of color textures and shapes that I see in that plant or vision from the garden, to help. Inspire other people and it certainly inspires me. in a way it's like me sharing a page from my sketchbook every week, with our community people often create work themselves inspired by some aspect of that sheet, and then they can share it in the Facebook group I can comment on it and encourage them and start that wonderful reinforcement we were talking about.
So we will make sure that we have the link to that Facebook group, your website, your Instagram account, so that people can check it out. Thank you so much. But [00:15:00] definitely tell us a little bit more about the free gift that you have for everybody. 'cause I don't want them to leave without grabbing it.
Aw, thank you so much. if you want to sign up to our mailing list, you can grab a free video, of mom sharing her essential watercolor techniques. this is great for any beginners or people who want to dive back into watercolor or learn a bit more, because this is really the basics, the fundamentals of all watercolor paintings.
So if you are interested in that, that video can definitely be a real help. Thank you so much, and I'll make sure that link is for everybody in the show notes so you can go to the show notes and sign up and get that watercolor essential technique video. And Emma and Caroline, thank you so much for joining me.
I absolutely loved learning more about your business and your home and the estate and everything that you have. I must say, I am completely jealous. I was thinking, oh, I'd love to go see
[00:16:00] it in person. It's been such a joy to get to know you a bit better.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for listening today. Don't forget to sign up for the wait list, so you'll be the first to know when our next free HobbyScool Online Learning summit launches. The link is in the show notes for this episode, or you can go to hobby school.com and that's HobbyScool, with School Without an H in it.
Talk soon.