Ann is an artist, café gallery owner, fellow mum of boys and wife, and, lucky for me, my neighbour in the Scottish Highlands.

 

She describes an idyllic, simple, uplifting childhood, spent mostly outside, and how this developed her creative thinking from an early age.

 

From her, you’ll hear how to nurture creativity so it becomes a lifelong friend, there to celebrate the good times and help you through the tough times.

 

You’ll learn about the importance of nature in her creative practice, as well as the importance of not dismissing ideas as silly without experimenting with them. (I love her story about how a ‘silly’ thought while ironing led to Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon commissioning her!).

 

She is full of inspiring ideas for how you can easily infuse creativity into your life without needing to take any time out of it. As she demonstrates, a creative approach to living creates a rich, vibrant, grateful headspace which allows her to connect better with herself, others and her natural environment.

 

As an added bonus, her gentle Scottish accent is mesmerising and relaxing to listen to!

 

Where you can find Ann:

 

On Instagram: @annvastano.art or @kincraigartcafe

On Facebook: Ann Vastano Artist, @kincraigartcafe

 

The painting that initially got Ann noticed by first minister Nicola Sturgeon, which hung in the Scottish Parliament was ‘Storms Made Us Stronger’.