Creative Adventures - An accidental podcast
A monthly podcast in which artist @stevexoh follows a fascinating and wonky chain of thought that meanders through creativity, philosophy, psychology, nature, neurodiversity, mental health, creatures, wonder, and whatever weird project is consuming his attention at the time. Steve originally set out to create an accessible audio version of his Substack but quickly realised he had accidentally started a podcast. “Ruminations on the turning of the seasons, creativity and neurodiversity, all to the tune of birdsong. Lovely.” — Podcast Rex "Joycean stream of consciousness" - Frank Racioppi
Episodes
In this episode, having no phone signal makes me contemplate my existence, I come up with some ethical thought experiments inspired by a macabre Cold War idea and wonder why boats have such bad names.
TL;DL
00:48 Analogue friction
05:42 Existential ponderings in Cornwall
15:08 Badly named boats
19:18 The Fisher Protocol (and other ethical interrupts)
28:01 Details about open studio, exhibitions and workshops ...
In this episode I discover that a bird I see regularly is actually a very weird creature, make my head explode by going down a rabbit hole asking myself what memory actually is, and come up with a stupid idea to offer analogue versions of all of this.
TL;DL
01:26 Old Father Jackdaw update
02:31 Analogious joy
08:10 The mysterious crested arse foot bird
13:37 The invention of memory
19:37 Events and workshops
21...
In this episode I try to find ways of bringing the art of marginalia to a podcast, realise I may be somewhat addicted to the psychological tension created by an incomplete project and reflect on a profound experience that began with the discovery that a water bottle would fit on my head.
TL;DL
01:05 Old Father Jackdaw
05:23 On digital marginalia
09:34 Mouhamadodou Lo and his Children
11:00 Becoming Connie Cyclonic
...
In this episode I talk about the importance of breaking routines whilst breaking my own routine, reflect on how the biological process of synaptic pruning might be a useful metaphor for creative practice and consider whether the accidental pursuit of consistency could ruin my relationship with this podcast.
TL;DL
0:18 Breaking the routine of making this podcast
06:39 From “grope” to “rote”
13:58 The...
In this episode I realise how important meaning is as a way of organising my attention, reflect on the value of starting before I am ready in any creative endeavour and try to understand why human beings seek out quiet and stillness in nature only to fill it with noise.
TL;DL
1:14 “The River Thames Project” and organising my attention to find flow
11:56 On humans and making noise in nature
19:15 A trip to Can...
In this episode, encountering some midges on a run gets me reflecting on nuclear terror in the 1980s, I contemplate how therapeutic art works brilliantly in the gaps between words, and explore why acts of carnival are vital for weirdos trying to make a meaningful difference in the world.
TL;DL
02’ 06” A chain of thought from midges to 1980s nuclear terror
10’25” The microtonal power of the...
In this episode I investigate a strange fact I was sent about crows being rainbow coloured, explore impermanence and the art of ending projects at their peak, and lament the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and what that can teach us about the dangers of “golf-course creativity.”
TL;DL
04’ 32” I got sent a weird book about Rooks
08’ 36” Are crows in fact rainbow coloure...
In this episode I try to resist doing anything special for episode ten but end up going down a decenary rabbit hole, I reflect on the difference between aloneness and loneliness and rethink the brain’s role in creativity through getting to know a primitive sea creature.
TL;DL
3’ 12” Why does the number 10 feel so significant anyway?
9 ’42” A story of transform...
In this episode I express my love of the River Thames through the metaphor of a storybook with the bridges as the chapters, explore the difference between art culture and meme culture, and reflect on boredom as a powerful indicator of living a meaningful life.
TL;DL
2’ 41” A trip to St Leonards and the Hong Kong valley of the spiders
6 ’02” A love affair with ...
In this episode I reflect on the cyclical emotional process of making this podcast, tumble down a fascinating eel rabbit hole, ponder the excruciating greyness of “normal”, and explore my love of the brilliant weirdo.
TL;DL
1’ 15” Running in the dark and the peril of head-torches
6’ 34” The repeated process of making this podcast
8’ 55” ...
In this episode I talk about how discovering a bizarre mural has helped me approach the festive season with a little more resilience, reflect on ego ideals as the posters my inner critic keeps on its bedroom wall and tell the story of the man who loved dragons as a way of exploring the phenomenon of aboutism.
TL;DL
6’ 17” The Kingstonymus Bosch mural
15’ 38” The ghostly posters on...
In this episode I reflect on how much I love autumn, tell the story of a crow reunion, play a weird song I wrote and performed in assembly age 8, experiment with less censored/more eccentric social interaction and talk about the power of masks that help reveal more of who we already are.
TL;DL
2’ 15” I really love autumn
4’ 36” A crow reunion
14’ 27” ...
In this episode I tell the story of how getting trapped on an exposed beach in a lightning storm became the highlight of a disastrous snorkelling trip, explore how dreams can be a scary, intense but ultimately helpful healing process and reflect on the beauty and power of inexpertise through the lens of the Portsmouth Sinfonia.
TL;DL
3’ 32” The disastrous snorkelling trip
13’ 13” Live from...
In this episode I reflect on the big creative slump I found myself in August, explore how learning to see the world as strange can help us experience wonder and share the story of a beach trip with Poppy the dog that inspired me to make a little zine entitled “Be kind to crabs”.
TL;DL
4’ 08” Kindness for crabs
12’ 11” Thoughts on the creative slump
24’ 20” ...
In this episode I talk about The Windowsill Gang and how they bring me joy but also steal my crab shells, all about Arnie Mindell's beautiful concept of Quantum Flirting and share the story of how I have ended up inviting strangers to play Backgammon with me.
And an exciting moment (for me anyway) when I witness a crow/spider skirmish right outside my window.
TL;DL
1' 50" The Windowsill Gang
9' 09" Quantum Flirti...
In this episode I enjoy following the random gifts of a dyslexic mind and reflect on some of the comments that people made about my "create windows into your world" philosophy in episode one.
I also explore the idea of "niche environments" and "reasonable adjustments" as important considerations for anyone wanting to nurture their own spontaneous self-expression.
TL;DL
3' 42" The union of onions
6' 10" More thoughts on "w...
In this episode I realise that in attempting to make an accessible audio version of my Substack that I have accidentally created a podcast. Maybe.
I also consider the idea that all apps and digital platforms are evolving to eventually become the same thing (a bit like the evolutionary theory of carcinisation where everything becomes a crab) and I share my "Four lightly held philosophies for living a creative life" from an article I ...
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