Desire Lines

Join Emily in conversation with textile artist and contemporary embroiderer Hanny Newton. Through an intuitive, material-centred approach to historical craft techniques, Hanny creates bespoke hand-stitched pieces using metal and natural threads. Her practice explores how embroidery helps us see ancient techniques in fresh ways. She was a recipient of a 2023 QEST Broderers Company Scholarship, part of her work using straw and grasses to create a sustainable ‘natural gold‘. Hanny was also awarded the inaugural QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award in 2024. https://www.hannynewton.co.uk Instagram @hannynewton http://heritagecrafts.org.uk/skills/redlist/ https://www.qest.org.uk/qest-sanderson-rising-star-craft-award-interview-with-hanny-newton/

This episode evolved in collaboration with Mawddach Residency in Arthog, Wales. Weaving together a conversation with founders Scarlett Rebecca and Jake Spicer, alongside reflections from residents Emily Wilkinson and Hyunah Koh. Produced as part of Emily's own residency (supported by the SWW-DTP), this dialogue explores themes of artist residencies, landscape and creative community stitched together with original field recordings made on the estuary edges. https://www.mawddachresidency.com/ Instagram: @mawddachresidency @jakespicerart @scarlettrebecca @draw_brighton @artbyhyunah_h

This episode was created following a two-day arts and poetry event titled 'Under the Aqueduct' in aid of Afon Dyfrdwy (the River Dee) in Northeast Wales, which was in aid of the Dee Trust and supported by ETA CIC. Join Emily for conversations with Rob Hirst, Suzanne Iuppa and Natasha Borton, with poetry and musical contributions from Vivace Choir, Jenny Wilde Parkes, Sheryl Clowes, Geraint Jones and Ted Eames. Thanks also to Emma Jayne Holmes, who also co-organised our event and brought her wonderful visual art contributions to these conversations. The Walking Interlude preceding this episode titled 'Dyfrydwy Dreaming' is a companion piece to this journey, and a more meditative sound experience layering field recordings and music made with Jenny Wilde-Peake along the River Dee. Subscribe to stay up to date with future episodes, and follow @desirelinespodcast on Instagram to connect.

A sound journey made alongside Afon Dyfrdwy (the River Dee) which flows beneath the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This piece was made on a walk and in collaboration with musician Jenny Wilde-Parkes as part of the Walking Interludes project, an exploration of protected spaces in Wales. Taith sain a wnaed ar hyd Afon Dyfrdwy sy'n llifo o dan Draphont Pontcysyllte. Gwnaed y darn hwn ar daith gerdded ac mewn cydweithrediad â'r cerddor Jenny Wilde-Parkes fel rhan o brosiect Walking Interludes, archwiliad o fannau gwarchodedig yng Nghymru. © Emily Wilkinson & Jenny Wilde-Parkes 2026

In this episode, we continue our conversations with Dr. Tamara Russell. Tamara is a clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, martial artist and mindfulness trainer. She works as an academic and clinician, exploring the use of embodied mindfulness in the work of transformation and self-development. Our second conversation focuses in on neurodivergence and wayfinding, exploring the importance of environment in our quality of attention. We creatively try to navigate the tricky terrain of diagnosis, whilst coming up with some suggestions for valuing neurodivergent experience with more kindness. We reference Abigail Rose Clark's book Returning Home to Our Bodies. Find out more about the book at https://www.abigailroseclarke.com/ FREE GIFT: Find Tamara's Compassionate To Do List online at https://sutra.co/space/qzn05v84 . You can also sign up to Tamara's Dragon Academy courses .

Jo Hazell Watkins is a trauma-informed strength trainer and co-founder of The Soma Space in Oswestry, UK. In a previous career, Jo worked as a textiles designer before significant life events and a period of ill health re-orientated her towards the use of the body for healing. In this episode, Emily and Jo talk about women's strength as a desire line, unpicking narratives around strength and our conditioning as women. We encourage listeners of all genders to tune into this conversation, as the themes are wide -ranging and pertinent to co-creating kinder futures. https://www.instagram.com/jo_somaspace/ https://www.instagram.com/thesoma.space/ https://www.thesoma.space/

Scott Roe (aka Boohai) is the the creator of a pioneering micro-nation, a deep ecologist, musician and visual artist living off-grid in the wild Welsh hills. Music has been part of his life since an early age, and in the past he ran an independent record label and PR company for creative projects. In his ecology work, Scott is founder of a woodland rewilding nature reserve and volunteer program, blending creativity with hands-on environmental action. Tune in for a conversation about creative citizenship, and artful ways to rethink borders and belonging. The music featured in this episode is the track "I Know You Know" by Boohai. www.bronyraur.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/bronyraurcommunity/ Boohai on spotify

In this episode, Emily talks with Gabriela Blandy. Gabriela is an award-winning writer, life coach and shamanic practitioner, and the founder of the Wild Muse nature writing prize, which celebrates writing born from deep encounters with the natural world. Her research and coaching focuses on the idea of ‘safe creativity’, which supports writers and artists to move beyond trauma and conditioning and create from the wild intelligence within. https://gabrielablandy.org Instagram @wildmuseprize https://gabrielablandy.substack.com Follow the podcast on Instagram @desirelinespodcast and subscribe to stay up to date with future episodes.

Hi friends. This is a short interlude from me, Emily Wilkinson, creator and producer of Desire Lines Podcast. You may have noticed that things went a bit quiet afterseries one. Desire Lines is a slow media project, and we’ve been taking a break before bringing you another series of creative conversations. Series one saw some truly magical exchanges take place, andwe have some great guests lined up already for series two. These include writer and Wild Muse Prize creator Gabriela Blandy, Independent Nation builder and musicianScott Roe, and trauma-informed strength coach Jo Hazell Watkins. We’ll also be featuring some walking interludes, recorded outdoors. That’s it for now, We look forward to bringing you moreepisodes of Desire Lines soon. Stay tuned.

Walkspace (walkspace.uk) is a West Midlands-based co-operative of artists, writers, psychogeographers, photographers, creative practitioners and walkers. Walkspace exists to bring together artists and creative practitioners in the region who use walking as part of their practice. We aim to create a community of mutual support and collaboration, working as a co-operative collective to support the creation of new work. In this episode, Emily speaks with fellow Walkspace members Rachel Henaghan and Andy Howlett on the theme of walking as storytelling. Links Full transcript available here: https://share.descript.com/view/lMW6F2jYtMx https://walkspace.uk/ Instagram @walkspacewm https://www.rachelhenaghan.co.uk/ https://andyhowlett.co.uk/ https://emilywilkinson.net/

...kruse is a neurodivergent, autistic creative based in Herefordshire UK, who makes work exploring relationships to landscape, the natural world and to each other. They explore what is unseen, the ephemeral, transient and ever changing. Kruse write about the solitaries, the hermits and wanderers and those who see the world sideways. They also work as a mentor for neurodivergent artists. Episode transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/TkaYUZQAl1w References https://www.krusework.info/ Directionsgreat film (part of Pathwalking residency for Vital Capacities) AuTCRONE Repository: https://autcrone.blogspot.com/ https://www.instagram.com/___kruse/ https://www.lonewomeninflashesofwilderness.com/

Tanya Raabe Webber is a visual artist and self-defined disabled creative. She is a disability arts activist and artistic director for UK charity Sense. In this episode, Tanya and Emily talk access, landscape and sensory practice. Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/yE2XuXazbsb https://www.tanyaraabewebber.com https://www.instagram.com/tanyasartstudios http://www.facebook.com/tanya.raabe

Ruth is a shamanic practitioner and soul guide working with nature, spirits, metaphor, and healing. She is very interested in these changing times we are living in, and evolving trauma-based narratives into positive futures. In this episode, Emily and Ruth talk grounded spiritual practice, land, creativity, gender expression, ancestry and languaging a new earth. Episode transcript available here: https://share.descript.com/view/hBHA96K3yTx Links and references https://www.ruthcato.com Instagram @shamanicpriestess Interlude Music by Jenny Wilde Knight Intro/Outro music by Richard Boxley Staying Alive by Vandana Shiva The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (documentary) The Death of Nature and Earthcare by Carolyn Merchant Weathering by Ruth Allen Val Plumwood, Starhawk, Rachel Carson The Frailty Myth by Colette Dowling Jane Hardwicke Collins Jo Hazell Watkins @jo_somaspace Rosie Knowles (podcast) Metal Britannia (documentary)

In this episode, Emily speaks with Aaron Lelito about interdisciplinary space, multisensory creative practice and cultivating simplicity. Aaron is an editor, writer, and visual artist from Buffalo, New York, US. He founded the art and literature publication Wild Roof Journal in 2020 and serves as Editor in Chief. His poetry chapbook, The Half Turn , was published in 2023, and he released a collaborative notebook/art collection titled If We: Connections Through Creative Process in 2024. His work has also appeared in Stonecoast Review , Barzakh, Eavesdrop Magazine , SPECTRA Poets , Peach Mag , and Santa Fe Review . He is a freelance editor, certified meditation teacher, and English educator. A transcript of this episode is available here. Visit the Wild Rood substack to subscribe and find submission details for upcoming issues. An outline of Aaron's editing services is also available on the Wild Roof Journal website. Website: wildroofjournal.com Substack: wildroofjournal.substack.com IG: @wildroofjournal / @aaronlelito https://aaronlelito.com Walking by Thoreau Looby Macnamara ⁠Silo City project⁠ Films: Wild (2014) and Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Jonathon Stalls (he, his) is a Multidisciplinary Walking Artist with Intrinsic Paths. In 2010, he walked for 242 days across the U.S. and has continued to move alongside a wide variety of people and landscapes ever since. His creative work involves ink drawing, creative writing, the Pedestrian Dignity project, walk leader training with Walk2Connect (a program of America Walks), facilitating mindfulness practices, and more. He is the author of WALK - Slow Down, Wake Up & Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour (North Atlantic Books, Aug 2022). He attended the Living School for Action and Contemplation from 2015-2017 and resides in Poncha Springs, Colorado with his husband, Ben. Find a transcript of this episode online here. Jonathon's website : www.intrinsicpaths.com Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/intrinsicpaths WALK - Slow Down, Wake Up & Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour (North Atlantic Books, 2022) Pedestrian Dignity on Substack: https://substack.com/@pedestriandignity Walk2Connect Program with America Walks: https://americawalks.org/programs/walk2connect/ Instagram : @JonathonStalls @IntrinsicPaths @PedestrianDignity Blue Sky : @JonathonStalls @PedestrianDignity & Tiktok : @IntrinsicPaths LinkedIn : Jonathon Stalls Rural Women Walking and Waiting by Tara Patricia Cookson ( https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.49.d) The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May In Praise of Walking by Shane O'Mara Follow Desire Lines on Instagram @desirelinespodcast Emily Wilkinson on Instagram @emily.f.wilkinson www.emilywilkinson.net

Jamila is a multidisciplinary visual artist based inShropshire, UK. Jamila creates bodies of work which raise questions about her role in the world, as an artist, woman, and more. Jamila's passions lie within narrative and layers. Her practice uses found objects and demonstrates afascination with minutiae of the everyday. As an experienced arts facilitator, Jamila often works in community settings, museums, galleries and arts for health. In this episode, Emily and Jamila talk about creative practice, shifting from the UK midlands to the Welsh-English borderlands, rural/urban contrasts, mobility, belonging in the landscape and more. Links & references Instagram @jamila_artist https://www.jamilawalkervisualartist.co.uk https://switchmidlands.com Journeys poetry & art booklet (for Switch Project) Find a transcript of this episode here.

Steve Thorp is a psychotherapist, writer and editor ofUnpsychology Magazine. He is also author of music publication Ziggy's Lament, as well as essays and poems in various publications including Dark Mountain and the recent Climate, Psychology, and Change edited by Steffi Bednarak. He has edited and contributed to several books on race equality and education before training in psychotherapy and working with school staff and student wellbeing for manyyears. Steve is author of several books published by Raw MixturePublishing including Soul Manifestos and Pieces of Joy (2014); Soul Meditations (2016) Blue Marble (2017) and Lifesongs (2021) with illustrator, Ruth Thorp, and his PoetryMix series (2019) with Mary Thorp. He also has had a number ofpoetry pamphlets and collaborations with other illustrators including Mary Thorp and Kim Major-George. Steve has taken part in a number of exhibitions including at the Dark Mountain Gathering and St Davids Cathedral, with artist Kim Major-George, and at Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in St Davids. In this episode Emily and Steve talk about self publishingas a desire line, building communities through writing, indie zine culture, psychology, punk and more. Also included are poetic interludes where listeners can enjoy spoken word by Steve. The ending piece features music by Patrick Carpenter, and was created for Unpsychology issue 9.1. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://share.descript.com/view/1Q82AOIoK6h Links and references https://www.unpsychology.org https://unpsychology.substack.com https://medium.com/unpsychologymag https://www.instagram.com/unpsychology https://www.facebook.com/unpsychology Get hold of free digital and print versions of UnpsychologyMagazine from: https://unpsychology.substack.com/p/unpsychology-edges-in-print Essay about current position of Unpsychology https://unpsychology.substack.com/p/steps-forward-steps-back https://ziggyslament.substack.com https://www.instagram.com/stevethorp54/ https://www.rawmixture.co.uk/ https://www.rawmixture.co.uk/OURBOOKS Books and articles Art Objects by Jeanette Winterson The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga Between activism and academia: zine-making as a feminist response to COVID-19) by Dr Emily Gray

Jo Jukes is an artist, creativity tutor, nature writer, poet and musician. Her self published books Finding Home and A Year of Beauty tell stories of connection with her local landscape in Shropshire. Jo has also released two albums of music with musician Rick Wilson. In this episode, Emily and Jo talk about walking practice, interdisciplinary creativity, living in tune with the seasons, ancestry and speaking up. This podcast includes original music by Jo and Rick Wilson. A transcript is available here . References & Links www.jojukesandrickwilson.com Jo's books on Etsy Instagram @jukesjo The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit Songlines by Bruce Chatwin The Summer Day by Mary Oliver Instagram @desirelinespodcast Music by Jo and Rick (in order played) The Field Awenydd She Moves Through Her Phases A Lifetime of Digging Title music by Richard Boxley

The Landing Project is a two-year ACE funded project based in Shropshire that unites artists, farmers, environmental practitioners, schools and local communities through on-farm artist residencies and a programme of workshops, public events and exhibitions. It explores how creative activities can offer alternative pathways to communicate about how we farm the UK, and constructive ways to imagine positive futures for our farmland. Led by artists Molly Brown and Andrew Howe, the project is a creative exploration of rural labour, the evolution of farming practices and future relationships between people and land. Episode transcript available here. Links & References https://www.thelandingproject.com The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes Therapeutic Landscapes of Stillness (paper by Karolina Doughty) Dr Ffion Jones (agriculture & creativity) Instagram: @the.landing.project @mollybrown.prints @andhowenow @emily.f.wilkinson @desirelinespodcast Opening/closing music by Richard Boxley Interlude music by Oliver Kynaston

James Aldridge is a visual artist based in Wiltshire, UK who works with people and places. James' practice explores the place of visual arts processes within learning and wellbeing, at a time of climate and ecological crisis, and particularly the importance of including queer and neurodivergent voices/experiences within this work. In this episode, Emily and James talk neuroqueering, nature and neurodivergence whilst comparing their practices as walking creatives. A transcript of this episode is available here . Links and references Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism by Robert Chapman Neuroqueer Heresies by Dr Nick Walker Erin Manning on For the Wild www.jamesaldridge-artist.co.uk www.queerriver.com Instagram @JamesAldridgeArt Instagram @desirelinespodcast Instagram @emily.f.wilkinson