Today I’m joined by artist and textile designer Yvette Kissi for a conversation about artistic freedom, intuition, heritage and the way this influences her creative practice.
We consider what it means to move fluidly between mediums, to follow colour as a guide and to honour the stories that shape us — especially those passed down through family and tradition.
Yvette shares how her creative process begins with painting and instinct, and how each piece carries a thread of both personal expression and ancestral legacy. We talk about embracing surprise, trusting what unfolds and the beauty of discovering your rhythm without rushing to a result.
This episode is full of reflection and creativity — a reminder that your work doesn’t have to shout to be felt, and that the story often begins long before we put our work into words.
Inside the episode, we explore:
Creative freedom and the joy of letting colour lead
Building a business that doesn’t compromise your art
The influence of heritage, family and Ghanaian beadwork
Making a brand identity that feels intuitive, not performative
Substack as a space for behind-the-scenes sharing
One of my favourite moments is Yvette’s excitement about building her own pigment library — a hands-on process of foraging and learning. Her joy is infectious and highlights that colour isn’t just a visual choice, but a tactile and emotional one too.
If you'd like to explore further, you might enjoy On Color by Stephen Farthing and David Kastan, and Make Ink by Jason Logan, both of which influence Yvette's creative practice. Also, keep an eye out for an upcoming post on the power of colour.
Wherever you are in your own creative practice, I hope this conversation invites you to honour your own rituals of return and the creative ways you come back to yourself.
Connect with Yvette:
Follow Yvette on Instagram @itsyvettekissi for glimpses into her creative process, pigment experiments and textile work
Visit yvettekissi.com to explore her art, designs, scarves and upcoming projects rooted in storytelling, heritage and craft
Subscribe to Rivulets — Yvette’s upcoming Substack publication, where she’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes stories and the personal threads woven through her practice
If something in this conversation resonated, I’d love to know. Feel free to share your reflections in the comments or carry what moved you into your own creative process.
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