Sculptor, painter and vocalist LUCIANNE LASSALLE comes from a long line of artists. Her grandfather, Henry Valensi was founder of the Musicalisme movement in Paris and - as we hear in this podcast - showed Walt Disney his work which the American then ‘borrowed’ for the movie Fantasia. Lucianne’s grandmother was a painter who raised her children on a remote French island, while her aunt was a muse to Picasso. Parents Mélinda and Léonard were a potter and painter respectively. Little wonder with this rich heritage that Lucianne is so dedicated to pursuing her own art!

Her bronze and ceramic sculptures are classically figurative, echoing Bernini and Michelangelo, with a verve and contemporary dynamic, and can be found in public and private collections around the world. “Lucianne is one of the best figurative sculptors in the UK,” says the Chair of the National Galleries of Scotland. “Lucianne bridges the gap between hip-hop and Michelangelo,” says writer Howard Male. She was born in Paris, and now lives and works in Bristol, England. Her enthusiasm and creative joy are abundant in this episode of Creageivity.

Lucianne’s website: www.luciannelassalle.com/
facebook.com/lucianne.lassalle.sculpture/
Music by Geoff Leigh and Lucianne Lassalle used with permission

If you feel you're too old to be creative, or too creative to be old, then Creageivity is the podcast for you!

Pioneer of electro and electro-pop KAREL FIALKA has never stopped working in music, as a performer, writer and producer. He had significant chart success with his singles Armband, Hey Matthew and The Eyes Have It, and in our Creageivity session he also mentions - and features - his song Alphaville with Tilda Swinton on vocal duties. There’s also the tale of how his friend and tennis partner, Colin Blunstone of the Zombies created a successful demo for a Cliff Richard orchestral album.

Karel’s self-recorded song Hey Matthew was heard by music mogul and manager of The Police, Miles Copeland, who signed Karel to IRS Records. The single became a top ten hit in the UK and also charted strongly in Europe. Karel recorded the LP Human Animal while at IRS.

He has collaborated with and written for a wide range of artists and fellow travellers including Nick Magnus, Jona Lewie, Paul Roberts, Colin Blunstone, Martin Stephenson, along with Cliff Richard, as well as taking production duties on various projects.

He makes light of his somewhat exotic upbringing, and vividly describes the impact of hearing life-changing rock’n’roll in the movie The Girl Can’t Help It, and how Bob Dylan has been a lifelong influence right up to the present day. Our (re)connection to Karel comes through Tim Fraser, our songwriting guest on Creagivity 3.

KAREL FIALKA is a raconteur with many a story from the sharp end of music and creativity. We also hear snippets of Still Life from his debut album, as well as Alphaville, and a soon to be released track, French Reggae.

website: https://www.karelfialka.com/

Tracks Still Life, Alphaville and French Reggae used with permission.

Karel photo by Mike Ross from the album PEACE V WAR

If you feel you're too old to be creative, or too creative to be old, then Creageivity is the podcast for you!

The poet WENDY KLEIN believes profoundly in the curative powers of dancing, dogs, and reading poetry out loud, and hopes someone will humanely destroy her if she ceases to enjoy these pleasures! Fortunately no destruction was necessaary as Wendy engaged us deeply with her life story, reading three of her poems - a real treat.

Wendy describes herself as ‘The Crone Poet’ and writes highly personal poetry which develops into universal themes. She comes from a family background where if you didn’t write, you were the odd one out.

Born in the USA, Wendy studied drama and English at the University of Utah and San Francisco State University before leaving the USA in 1964. She was later to renounce her American citizenship. In England she qualified as a social worker in 1983, then as a family and couples psychotherapist in 1992. Her only novel, Listening for Nightingales, was published in 2002, after which time she has concentrated on poetry, with many of her poems winning awards and prizes.

A ‘very difficult project’ which Wendy talks about in the podcast is her video Let Battle Commence about her Confederate Great Grandfather’s role in the American Civil War. Wendy also mentions how being ‘a kind of hippy’ in her younger days saw her travelling around Europe and leading a highly independent life. He poem Three Dog Night which she reads in the podcast is a reflection on this time.

To hear powerful poetry and thoughts about aging, self-criticism, assisted dying and why dogs are generally better than humans, this podcast is a must-listen.

Wendy Klein's Poetry Website: https://www.cronepoet.com/

Let Battle commence video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2JlbpAdUcU

Music: Acoustic Motivation by Yuri Semchyshyn via Pixabay with thanks

If you feel you're too old to be creative, or too creative to be old, then Creageivity is the podcast for you!