Where Light Meets Language: How Artist Elisa Artesero Found Her Voice (and the courage to share it)
Elisa Artesero is a Manchester-based visual artist whose work quite literally illuminates the streets. She creates large-scale public installations that cast glowing, shadow words onto pavements, walls, and planter gardens: poems that appear like magic in unexpected places, made to be stumbled upon rather than sought out. Her most-loved permanent piece, The Garden of Floating Words, is installed in London, where neon words float in a garden, which is reflected endlessly by the glass building behind them (see here for more details).
But Elisa didn’t arrive here in a straight line. She began by studying for an English degree, moved through freelance journalism and office work and only at 25 — feeling both compelled and terrified — said out loud for the first time: I want to be an artist. What followed was a one-year art foundation course, a second degree in interactive arts and years of practice and patient trust in the process. It was only at the very end of her degree, in the final show, that her two great loves — text and light — suddenly came together.
In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to make the leap, why the most personally vulnerable work tends to connect most powerfully and how learning to sit with rejection — rather than be crushed by it — is a non-negotiable skill for any creative life.
Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome & Introduction
Rachel introduces the Stories of Creative Courage conversation series, which explores the many blocks that can get in the way of wholeheartedly creating.
The series features writers, artists, coaches, entrepreneurs and anyone navigating creativity in its broadest sense.
Key theme: the more honestly we name our blocks and patterns, the better we can support each other.
[03:00] Elisa’s Background: The English Degree, the Office Job and the Quiet Itch to Create
Elisa studied English, loved writing poetry and short stories but didn’t want to teach.
She drifted into office and project management work and freelance writing
Her editor gave her a pivotal piece of honest feedback: you can write, but you’re not a journalist. Rather than deflating her, this helped clarify what she was — and wasn’t — moving towards.
Being competent at something isn’t the same as it being right for you.
[17:00] The Moment of Clarity: “I Want to Be an Artist”
At the age of 25, in conversation with a friend, Elisa blurted out the thing she’d never said aloud: I want to be an artist.
The immediate response was a list of reasons why she couldn’t — “I’m too old” being the first.
Her friend’s challenge: why not? What’s the worst that can happen?
She took the first step: an art foundation course. Only a year long with low stakes and a door back into her old job she could step back through if needed.
[24:00] Finding the Right Environment: Permission to Experiment
At art school, Elisa found that environment matters enormously. A combative, critical approach (”defend every choice”) initially on the Fine Art course didn’t suit her experimental phase.
Interactive Arts offered a different philosophy: the tutors responded with “we don’t know where your idea is going, but we’ll hold you through it.”
She worked across glass, metal, laser cutting, light: the territory of genuine play.
Key insight: you need a good level of taste before you have the skill to match it. Knowing what quality feels like is enough to start.
[26:00] Text Meets Light: The Art Form Explained
Elisa’s work plays with the ephemerality of both light and language — neither can truly be grasped or held.
The Stories Under Our Feet installation — words projected from beneath benches at Manchester Central Library, forming poems about rain and the city. People would look down, discover them unexpectedly and linger.
A woman approached Elisa a year later: that piece had reached her at a time when she was losing hope. It gave her a small lift she needed. That’s the feedback Elisa lives for.
Permanent installations like The Garden of Floating Words (in London) require different thinking: durability, fabrication, public safety — but offer the gift of changing with the seasons and time of day.
[36:00] Vulnerability and the Work That Connects Most
Elisa’s most personal poem — written for a temporary commission — has had the strongest audience response of anything she’s made.
Personal work is harder to pitch to commissioners, who often want place-specific, legible themes. Temporary commissions offer more creative freedom.
The paradox Rachel names: we fear making ourselves vulnerable, yet it’s precisely the vulnerable work that connects most deeply.
“If you can harness the courage, it becomes a force for connection.”
[40:00] Rejection, Resilience and Creative Integrity
Artists face more rejection than most professions, and it’s rarely talked about honestly.
Having been on selection panels herself, Elisa knows: a rejected piece is almost never bad — it just fit less well than another on that day.
The antidote to rejection stinging too much: maintain your own standards and keep making work you’re satisfied with. The only time it’s truly devastating is when you know you didn’t put the work in.
Integrity with your own practice is the protection.
[45:00] Elisa’s Definition of Creative Courage
If it scares you, you’re probably going in the right direction.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s saying yes anyway and treating it as an experiment.
The hardest step is often making the ask — contacting the publisher, submitting the proposal — not the making itself.
“Feel the fear and still say yes.”
Key Quotes
“I just blurted out: I want to be an artist. It was the first time I’d said it out loud — and I immediately came out with all the reasons why I couldn’t.” — Elisa Artesero
“You need a good taste level before your skill catches up. Knowing what quality feels like or looks like — even if you’re not achieving it yet — gives you something to move towards.” — Elisa Artesero
“I’ve been fortunate to be on the other side — helping decide who gets chosen. It’s rarely that one piece is terrible. There are often loads of amazing options. One just fits better.” — Elisa Artesero
“If it scares you, you’re probably going in the right direction. So do it. Give it a go. What’s the worst that can happen?” — Elisa Artesero
“The only time rejection can feel truly devastating is if you know you didn’t put the work in. Maintain your own standards. Keep making work you’re satisfied with.” — Elisa Artesero
Resources Mentioned
Carl Jung / the unconscious — Elisa referenced Jung’s work on the unconscious and its role in creative synthesis; how what you’ve absorbed surfaces in ways your conscious mind doesn’t fully understand.
Art foundation courses — Elisa recommends these to anyone considering a creative path, regardless of whether they pursue fine art afterwards. She describes them as an exceptional growth experience.
Where to Find Elisa
Website: elisaartesero.com
Instagram: @elisaartesero
Thank You!
Thank you so much for being here, whether you joined the live or you’re watching the replay. The fact that you show up for these conversations means more than I can say. This is exactly the kind of community I hoped to build: people who care about creativity, who want to talk honestly about what gets in the way and who are willing to hold each other through it.
A particular thank you to Elisa for her generosity and her bravery in doing her first ever live conversation. You were, as I told you, an absolute natural!
P.S. & What’s Next?
P.S.
If you missed any previous episodes in the Stories of Creative Courage conversation series, you can find them here. Each one is a standalone conversation so dip in wherever something catches your attention.
What’s Next?
If there’s something you’re longing to create — a writing project, an artistic creation, or even a new venture — I’m here to support you to develop your courage and expand the power of your self-expression.
Here’s how I can support you:
Make an appointment for a virtual coffee (free). I hold 3-4 slots every month for a 20-minute chat so we can either get to know each other, or reconnect. This is for everyone! Perfect if you’re curious about meeting new people and making, or deepening, connections.
Book a 30-minute Creative Breakthrough call (free) to gently uncover the exact fear or limiting belief sabotaging your creative expression so you can finally share your work with confidence
Read my manifesto for creative courage (free). Follow my story in serial form about the core principles of my creativity and my journey into creative courage.
There are two options for working with me.
You can join the Creative Courage Circle, a community whose members are committed to authentic expression. It’s an ongoing group that supports writers, artists, creators and entrepreneurs to recognise their creative blocks, then embrace the value of their voice and witness the Creative Essence—the unique light—in others.
For those ready for deep transformation, Creative Courage Mentoring pairs private 1:1 Creative Essence work with full membership of the Creative Courage Circle—transforming the core fears and patterns that have kept you stuck into fuel for your most authentic creative expression.
If you want to explore further how we can do some powerful work together, here’s where you can book a 30 minute, no-strings Creative Breakthrough call.
