Creativity, Identity and Belonging – My Artistic Journey So Far

“Beautiful, brave, vulnerable and bold”

*“We are not Vessels”* on display at the Assembly Arts ‘Erudite’ exhibition in Lancaster Sept 2025 (photo credit: Rae Tribbick)

This vase was an elegant female form but I refined it so much it started to warp and crack. After bisque firing I realised it would no longer hold water, which is what it was originally designed to do.
This felt deeply symbolic to me; how often we focus on refining our outer selves to the point where we can’t fulfil our original purpose, which I believe is to live in connection with ourselves, others and the world around us and to find moments of peace, hope and joy every day. As a result, I was inspired to write this poem and inscribe it onto the bisqued vase using sgraffito and iron oxide. The edge of the neck was purposefully left undone to symbolise that the inner work is never finished and there are still days when this poem feels a long way from true.
Inscription reads: “We are not vessels. We are not defined by our form or our function, what we produce or have or carry or hold. We are free and beautiful, we are made of stardust and light. Worthiness is a birth-right, bestowed upon every living thing since the dawn of time, to be claimed, not earned”

“Inspiring, authentic and full of truth“

Dr Naomi Parsons

(she/her)

Chartered Psychologist and Early Career Artist specialising in Women’s Experiences of Burnout, Chronic Illness, Invisible Disabilities, Late-Discovered Autism/ADHD and Trauma

“A fresh, vibrant, and dynamic artist”

I’m starting to believe that I am enough, and I’m slowly learning to unmask and discover who I really am

My story…

I discovered in my early 40s that I’m autistic and have ADHD; I’d been highly masking all my life and realised I have no idea who I actually am, what I like or what I need.

Deep in burnout, I reflected on when I’d been happiest and felt most alive, most myself. Immediately I remembered my GCSE Art Textiles class and my wonderful teacher Mrs Johnson. She let me break sewing machines experimenting with stitching into metal; she encouraged me to bring in an entire tree stump – crawling with woodlice – to recreate the beautiful patterns of bark in felt and fabric. I felt free and happy and the memories made a deep impression on me.

Now I knew where I needed to take my next steps.

In January 2025 I joined a pottery class. I felt lost and broken, and it felt like coming home, like breathing properly for the first time in years, like a drink in the desert.

I started to let go of perfectionism and let my creativity come out to play.

‘*Clay Play: a recovering perfectionist lets out her inner chi*ld’
The plate is very wonky and covered in indents and lines underneath from the fabric I rolled it out on. It makes me smile every time I use it

In the second half of 2025 I wrote and performed poetry, joined a paint and drawing class, connected with all sorts of inspiring people and realised that creativity wasn’t just an add-on luxury but the life-bones of my existence.

“Too Tired to be a Feminist” – debut performance poem at the Wordarium in Lancaster, July 2025
**trigger warnings for pregnancy, birth trauma and post–natal depression**

Naomi’s work moves me because it reaches the places that logic can’t. In a world obsessed with productivity and proof, her art gives permission for emotion, ambiguity, and truth to exist without justification. It lands in the body and asks you to feel something real. It is brave, necessary, and a powerful reminder that we are always enough.” – Michelle Minnikin, Chartered Psychologist and author of the book ‘Good Girl Deprogramming’

Artist’s Statement

I’m an early career artist whose work explores identity, belonging and what it means to flourish in our modern Western world. Working across clay, poetry and mixed media, I create intuitive, process-led work that celebrates diversity and authentic ways of being.

‘Grounding Bowl’ b17 clay, oxides and clear glaze on the inside.
A piece made through sheer sensory joy, exploring the feel of the clay and creating contrasting surfaces: smooth and shiny on the inside (very soothing to run a finger around), matt and textured on the outside. The bottom fits perfectly in the hand and is heavily textured with my own palm lines indented where it’s been moulded in my hand. Also exploring the impact of glaze on the final appearance of the oxides. It has just the right weight to feel grounding but not too heavy. I hold this to anchor myself when things feel overwhelming

I work experimentally, without a predetermined outcome, allowing each piece to emerge through curiosity, intuition and dialogue with the materials. I’m learning to let go of perfectionism and embrace uncertainty, trusting the creative process to reveal what needs to be expressed. Rather than focusing on a finished object, I am interested in what unfolds through making: discovery, play and transformation.

‘moonscape’:
an exploration of texture and oxides mixed into the clay body, held in the hand of a 3 year old.

Weaving together my knowledge and skills as a chartered psychologist and my lived experience of navigating the many complexities of life, I explore themes of grief, loss, trauma, burnout, neurodiversity, parenthood, chronic illness, invisible disabilities and being a woman in mid 2020s Britain.

‘Beautiful and Brave’ a vase for a friend going through surgery

Discovering in my forties that I am autistic and have ADHD (AuDHD) led me to connect with a creative part of myself that had been hidden and suppressed for a life-time. As I started to learn who I am, what I like and what I need for the first time, I found myself drawn to clay in particular. When I allow myself to immerse in the sensory joy of touching and moving clay I feel whole and alive; when I see what I’ve created at the end, I see my true self reflected back. Through this process, I’m learning to see myself and be myself for the first time in my life.

‘I see you’ – I’ve found my own style making a range of plates and dishes using different glazes that flow and interact to create a watercolour effect, leaning into my new found intuition and allowing myself to play and explore. Each one is unique, celebrating diversity and imperfection. When I look at them, I hear a quiet voice say ‘yes, this is me, this is who I am’

I see creative making as cultivating the conditions for healing and flourishing, both individually and collectively. Through my artwork, I invite people to feel seen, to celebrate diversity and to connect more deeply with themselves and others.

“Phenomenal – the embodiment of psychology in artistic form. Inspiring, authentic and full of truth. You’re going to move mountains” – Dr Wendy Kendall, chartered psychologist

‘postnatal depression’ – clay sculpture, bisqued and awaiting pit fire

“Naomi is doing powerful and important work. She is bringing together the psychological and the personal in a new and unique way. I find her work extremely moving and am struck by how brilliantly she is able to communicate her messages through the medium of art.” – Dr Natalie Chambers, Counselling Psychologist

I don’t know where the journey will lead, but I know I need to be on this path.

‘love your feet, love your path’ imprint on clay with oxides. A celebration of how far I’ve come on my journey of accepting myself and what life has given me that I wouldn’t have chosen but have learnt to accept and even embrace (on my better days!) This also represents sensory joy, the sheer delight of standing in clay, there was no agenda to this piece, it just came to fruition as I allowed myself to enjoy the sensory experience. My young daughter came to have a look as I was taking the photo. ‘They’re weird’ she said. Yes, my love. She then stood in my footprints and I smiled to myself. I hope she grows up knowing it’s ok to be weird, and it’s ok if your path looks different to other people’s. In fact, it can be wonderful 😊

“Naomi has found her voice, and we need to hear it! Creative, inspiring and most importantly unapologetically truthful, Naomi cuts through shame, politics and culture to express what so many of us are feeling. A fresh, vibrant, and dynamic artist who is able to share with the world an authenticity of heart which makes people feel seen and heard.” – Rachel, school counsellor

*cover photo: ‘flower bowl’ hand-built from b17 clay and painted with underglaze using wild flowers as paint brushes. An exploratory piece with no fixed outcome in mind, it became itself as I let my creativity flow

coming soon…

An 18 month creative arts development programme supporting AuDHD women to become ambitious visual artists

If any of my work resonates with you, I’d love to connect:

Unmasked