Living By Making https://www.mianelle.dk/living-by-making Living by Making is a personal essay podcast about building a life through art.
Artist and writer Mia-Nelle Drøschler reflects on creativity, work, money, recovery, nature and the search for a meaningful life. Through intimate essays and conversations from her studio in the Danish countryside, she explores what it means to keep making—even when the path is uncertain.

Instagram: @mianelle_studio
Web: www.mianelle.dk/living-by-making

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:04:24 +0200 https://podbean.com/?v=5.5 en dk 2026 Mia-Nelle Drøschler. All rights reserved. Arts:Visual Arts 1440 episodic Mia-Nelle Drøschler Mia-Nelle Drøschler No false https://feed.podbean.com/mianelledroschler/feed.xml https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/22014176/livingbymaking_logo.jpg Living By Making https://www.mianelle.dk/living-by-making 144 144 Inherited Stories About Money Inherited Stories About Money https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/money-and-family/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/money-and-family/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:04:24 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/dc9270ee-4826-349d-a953-1503d620aa0f For years, I believed my fear around money came from being an artist. But what if the story began much earlier? In this episode, I reflect on ambition, art, class, family, and the beliefs we inherit without choosing them. Moving between my studio, memories of my parents, and the Danish countryside where I now live, I explore how my father's relationship with work and money quietly became my own—and what it might mean to finally let it go. This is an essay about creativity, inheritance, and the possibility of finding a different way to live. Living by Making is a podcast about building a life through art—not as a fantasy, but as a lived, ongoing practice. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mianelle_studio/

Web: https://www.mianelle.dk/

]]> For years, I believed my fear around money came from being an artist. But what if the story began much earlier?
In this episode, I reflect on ambition, art, class, family, and the beliefs we inherit without choosing them. Moving between my studio, memories of my parents, and the Danish countryside where I now live, I explore how my father's relationship with work and money quietly became my own—and what it might mean to finally let it go.
This is an essay about creativity, inheritance, and the possibility of finding a different way to live.
Living by Making is a podcast about building a life through art—not as a fantasy, but as a lived, ongoing practice.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mianelle_studio/

Web: https://www.mianelle.dk/

]]> mianelle false No 1990 16 full The Artist Who Looked Away The Artist Who Looked Away https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-artist-who-looked-away/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-artist-who-looked-away/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:14:43 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/467b2e86-fc2a-3aed-8d1a-f6d001097a77 For eleven years, six months and twenty days, I have counted time differently.

In this episode I reflect on addiction, ambition, shame and the strange contradictions of building an artistic life. From AA meetings in Denmark to an artist residency in Berlin, from quietly observing a famous writer in my favourite café to confronting my own fear of being seen, this is an essay about longing—for recognition, belonging, and the courage to show up as oneself.

Along the way, I explore how perfectionism, social anxiety and the fantasy of becoming "someone" can keep us hidden, even while we desperately want to be found.

Part memoir, part meditation on art and recovery, this episode asks whether success begins not with trying harder—but with trying softer.

Web: www.mianelle.dk

Instagram: mianelle_studio

]]> For eleven years, six months and twenty days, I have counted time differently.

In this episode I reflect on addiction, ambition, shame and the strange contradictions of building an artistic life. From AA meetings in Denmark to an artist residency in Berlin, from quietly observing a famous writer in my favourite café to confronting my own fear of being seen, this is an essay about longing—for recognition, belonging, and the courage to show up as oneself.

Along the way, I explore how perfectionism, social anxiety and the fantasy of becoming "someone" can keep us hidden, even while we desperately want to be found.

Part memoir, part meditation on art and recovery, this episode asks whether success begins not with trying harder—but with trying softer.


Web: www.mianelle.dk

Instagram: mianelle_studio

]]> studiobc false No 3129 15 full Congratulations! My big solo show in 2018 and I wanted to get drunk. Congratulations! My big solo show in 2018 and I wanted to get drunk. https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/congratulations-my-big-solo-show-in-2018-and-i-wanted-to-get-drunk/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/congratulations-my-big-solo-show-in-2018-and-i-wanted-to-get-drunk/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:13:10 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/deb480f5-a260-34f4-9c08-d226d995249e In 2018, I was given the opportunity to create a monumental wall painting as part of a solo exhibition in a large gallery built around an empty swimming pool.

For two days, I painted obsessively — covering more than eighty square metres of wall with flowers, animals, and colour. The exhibition became one of the biggest artistic opportunities of my career. Yet, alone in a borrowed apartment the night before the opening, another story unfolded.

More than a year sober, I suddenly found myself on my way to buy a bottle of wine.

A story about making art, staying sober, and learning that every day counts. Receive letters with draiwings by signing up here: www.mianelle.dk and follow me on my Instagram: mianelle_studio

]]> In 2018, I was given the opportunity to create a monumental wall painting as part of a solo exhibition in a large gallery built around an empty swimming pool.


For two days, I painted obsessively — covering more than eighty square metres of wall with flowers, animals, and colour. The exhibition became one of the biggest artistic opportunities of my career. Yet, alone in a borrowed apartment the night before the opening, another story unfolded.


More than a year sober, I suddenly found myself on my way to buy a bottle of wine.


A story about making art, staying sober, and learning that every day counts.

Receive letters with draiwings by signing up here: www.mianelle.dk and follow me on my Instagram: mianelle_studio

]]> studiobc false No 2079 14 full The Vertical Lines - From Local Market to Museum Show The Vertical Lines - From Local Market to Museum Show https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-vertical-lines-from-local-market-to-museum-show/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-vertical-lines-from-local-market-to-museum-show/#comments Thu, 28 May 2026 11:35:19 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/5c8cc422-b1d8-3b63-a83e-21c31f079727 In this episode of Living by Making, I share the story of spending four days alone at a local market in Denmark, trying to sell my art from a small tent between crystal sellers, ceramic vulvas, and a tanning salon.

What begins as a practical attempt to earn money slowly turns into a reflection on class, visibility, the art world, survival, and what it feels like to create while living with a nervous system in constant alarm.

This episode moves between humour, exhaustion, social anxiety, art, and the strange reality of trying to build a life through making.

It is also an episode about the body — and the small sensory rituals that sometimes help us stay present when everything inside us wants to flee.

From local market to museum show.

Instagram: mianelle_studio Web: www.mianelle.dk  Email: studio@mianelle.dk 

]]> In this episode of Living by Making, I share the story of spending four days alone at a local market in Denmark, trying to sell my art from a small tent between crystal sellers, ceramic vulvas, and a tanning salon.

What begins as a practical attempt to earn money slowly turns into a reflection on class, visibility, the art world, survival, and what it feels like to create while living with a nervous system in constant alarm.

This episode moves between humour, exhaustion, social anxiety, art, and the strange reality of trying to build a life through making.

It is also an episode about the body — and the small sensory rituals that sometimes help us stay present when everything inside us wants to flee.

From local market to museum show.


Instagram: mianelle_studio
Web: www.mianelle.dk 
Email: studio@mianelle.dk 


]]> studiobc false No 1875 13 full How I Ended Up Working with Murderers How I Ended Up Working with Murderers https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/how-i-ended-up-working-with-murderers/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/how-i-ended-up-working-with-murderers/#comments Mon, 04 May 2026 18:35:03 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/03bde731-17fb-3862-9fc4-18f4e33682a1 I share fragments from my life:
living on almost nothing,
standing in a supermarket unable to choose,
and working for years inside a prison with men convicted of severe crimes — where something unexpected began to unfold.

This is an episode about vulnerability, dignity, and the invisible structures shaping an artist’s life.

And maybe also a question:
What is art worth — and to whom?

—

You are not alone. I see you.

🌿 Website: www.mianelle.dk
 🌿 Instagram: mianelle_studio
 🌿 Support my PodCast and work: patreon/mianelle

]]> I share fragments from my life:
living on almost nothing,
standing in a supermarket unable to choose,
and working for years inside a prison with men convicted of severe crimes — where something unexpected began to unfold.

This is an episode about vulnerability, dignity, and the invisible structures shaping an artist’s life.

And maybe also a question:
What is art worth — and to whom?

—

You are not alone. I see you.

🌿 Website: www.mianelle.dk

🌿 Instagram: mianelle_studio

🌿 Support my PodCast and work: patreon/mianelle

]]> studiobc false No 2215 12 full Who Gets to Belong in the Art World? Who Gets to Belong in the Art World? https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/who-gets-to-belong-in-the-art-world/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/who-gets-to-belong-in-the-art-world/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:24:16 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/89072954-a4fb-3d3b-9d9b-c240614bae3e This week, I received a working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation — after fifteen years of rejection.

In this episode, I reflect on what it means to finally be “recognised” as an artist.

On the idea of the elite — and the quiet feeling of still being outside of it.

On the realities of working conditions in the art world, money, and the body under pressure.

This is a personal essay about value, survival, and the moment something shifts — not in the system, but inside. Instagram : @mianelle_studio  Web: www.mianelle.dk

]]> This week, I received a working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation — after fifteen years of rejection.

In this episode, I reflect on what it means to finally be “recognised” as an artist.

On the idea of the elite — and the quiet feeling of still being outside of it.

On the realities of working conditions in the art world, money, and the body under pressure.

This is a personal essay about value, survival, and the moment something shifts — not in the system, but inside.

Instagram : @mianelle_studio 
Web: www.mianelle.dk



]]> studiobc false No 948 11 full Will the Past Catch Up With Me Soon Will the Past Catch Up With Me Soon https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/will-the-past-catch-up-with-me-soon/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/will-the-past-catch-up-with-me-soon/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:10:34 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/bfe945fd-a0fc-340a-8bde-a6f509ccf426 This episode moves between past and present, between memory and the act of making. It is about drawing, painting, and trying to hold on to something that keeps slipping away. About childhood, repetition, and the body remembering before the mind does. A reflection on what it means to make something good— and what it costs to keep trying. Follow my instagram: @mianelle_studio or visit my website www.mianelle.dk

]]> This episode moves between past and present, between memory and the act of making.

It is about drawing, painting, and trying to hold on to something that keeps slipping away. About childhood, repetition, and the body remembering before the mind does.
A reflection on what it means to make something good—
and what it costs to keep trying.

Follow my instagram: @mianelle_studio or visit my website www.mianelle.dk

]]> studiobc false No 1471 10 full What is the role of the artist today? What is the role of the artist today? https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/what-is-the-role-of-the-artist-today/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/what-is-the-role-of-the-artist-today/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:46:06 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/0970c882-29ad-36e7-b4a1-547c9fe2633b A poetic reflection on the role of the artist in a capitalist world. Between money, meaning, and a night walk in the forest, I explore what it means to create—and belong—today. Website: www.mianelle.dk  Instgram: mianelle_studio

]]> A poetic reflection on the role of the artist in a capitalist world.
Between money, meaning, and a night walk in the forest, I explore what it means to create—and belong—today.

Website: www.mianelle.dk 
Instgram: mianelle_studio


]]> studiobc false No 2013 9 full Working Class Artist Working Class Artist https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/working-class-artist/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/working-class-artist/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:35:20 +0200 studiobc.podbean.com/4cf25c7c-6555-3192-a81f-6824d03e3965 From preparing breakfast for Airbnb guests at my farmhouse in Denmark to thinking about class, grants, day jobs, art school debt, and what it means to make art while carrying a working-class history in the body, this is an episode about survival, shame, labour, and the strange intimacy of trying to build a life through creative work. Instagram: @mianelle_studio Web: www.mianelle.dk Email: studio@mianelle.com

]]> From preparing breakfast for Airbnb guests at my farmhouse in Denmark to thinking about class, grants, day jobs, art school debt, and what it means to make art while carrying a working-class history in the body, this is an episode about survival, shame, labour, and the strange intimacy of trying to build a life through creative work.
Instagram: @mianelle_studio
Web: www.mianelle.dk
Email: studio@mianelle.com

]]> studiobc false No 1698 8 full Can You Stay True and Still Make a Living? Can You Stay True and Still Make a Living? https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/can-you-stay-true-and-still-make-a-living/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/can-you-stay-true-and-still-make-a-living/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2026 13:51:36 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/517be39b-188b-31ac-96eb-3d1837b021c1 What happens when your integrity and your survival pull in different directions?

In this episode, I reflect on the tension between staying true to your artistic voice and trying to make a living within a system that often asks for something else.

From my farmhouse in Denmark, I move between the soil, the studio, and the gallery world — through experiences with commercial galleries, years of holding on to my own way of working, and the quiet question that keeps returning:

Can you build a life as an artist without compromising what matters most?

This is an episode about money, shame, freedom, and the cost of staying true. www.mianelle.dk

]]> What happens when your integrity and your survival pull in different directions?

In this episode, I reflect on the tension between staying true to your artistic voice and trying to make a living within a system that often asks for something else.

From my farmhouse in Denmark, I move between the soil, the studio, and the gallery world — through experiences with commercial galleries, years of holding on to my own way of working, and the quiet question that keeps returning:

Can you build a life as an artist without compromising what matters most?

This is an episode about money, shame, freedom, and the cost of staying true.

www.mianelle.dk

]]> studiobc false No 1451 7 full Is It Worth Continuing to Make Art When I Cannot Pay My Rent? Is It Worth Continuing to Make Art When I Cannot Pay My Rent? https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/is-it-worth-continuing-to-make-art-when-i-cannot-pay-my-rent/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/is-it-worth-continuing-to-make-art-when-i-cannot-pay-my-rent/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:31:06 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/423aa885-de3d-39a5-98b1-078cded2ba97 What does it mean to continue making art when it does not pay the rent? In this episode, I reflect on the quiet panic that can live alongside a creative life — the tension between devotion to the work and the very practical question of survival. From my farmhouse studio in Denmark, I speak about money, doubt, class, and the strange persistence that keeps many artists working even when the numbers do not add up. This is an episode about staying with the work when the world asks for something more practical.

]]> What does it mean to continue making art when it does not pay the rent?
In this episode, I reflect on the quiet panic that can live alongside a creative life — the tension between devotion to the work and the very practical question of survival. From my farmhouse studio in Denmark, I speak about money, doubt, class, and the strange persistence that keeps many artists working even when the numbers do not add up.
This is an episode about staying with the work when the world asks for something more practical.

]]> studiobc false No 1284 6 full Addiction, getting sober and making art. Addiction, getting sober and making art. https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-demon-and-the-wall/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-demon-and-the-wall/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:15:16 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/7b87268b-c269-3a3f-8144-4393645ec7fb In this episode of Living by Making, I reflect on the years when alcohol quietly became a way of coping with anxiety, pressure, and doubt. Through memories of early sobriety, AA meetings, and a strange encounter with a Catholic priest who believed a demon lived inside me, I explore what it meant to face addiction while trying to build a life as an artist. It is a story about survival, art, and the moment when choosing to live becomes possible again.

]]> In this episode of Living by Making, I reflect on the years when alcohol quietly became a way of coping with anxiety, pressure, and doubt. Through memories of early sobriety, AA meetings, and a strange encounter with a Catholic priest who believed a demon lived inside me, I explore what it meant to face addiction while trying to build a life as an artist.
It is a story about survival, art, and the moment when choosing to live becomes possible again.

]]> studiobc false No 1726 5 full Four years after my graduation and homeless Four years after my graduation and homeless https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-hen-or-the-egg/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/the-hen-or-the-egg/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:51:30 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/461e239d-eef2-3ce8-9564-eaebc801acf1 I had 3.5 pounds. No address. And I was told to go back where I came from. This episode moves from chronic pain and no income in the countryside to my return from Glasgow in 2013, being labelled “IMMIGRANT” in my own country, nearly losing my body to illness, and the collapse of my first solo show. It’s about poverty inside the art world. About welfare systems that don’t catch you. About drinking too much. About mothers, rollercoasters, and radishes. And about how strength is arranged — weakest first. If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers. Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses. Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> I had 3.5 pounds.
No address.
And I was told to go back where I came from.
This episode moves from chronic pain and no income in the countryside to my return from Glasgow in 2013, being labelled “IMMIGRANT” in my own country, nearly losing my body to illness, and the collapse of my first solo show.
It’s about poverty inside the art world.
About welfare systems that don’t catch you.
About drinking too much.
About mothers, rollercoasters, and radishes.
And about how strength is arranged — weakest first.

If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers.
Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses.
Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> studiobc false No 1521 4 full Panic Attacks and Solo Shows Panic Attacks and Solo Shows https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/panic-attacks-and-solo-shows/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/panic-attacks-and-solo-shows/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:00:55 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/c319a515-8bc2-38bf-8d3e-ead69df45b00 What happens after your first solo show fails? In this episode, I share the two years I spent in Glasgow — navigating money, mental health, ambition, and survival — and what they taught me about living by making without a safety net. If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers. Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses. Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> What happens after your first solo show fails? In this episode, I share the two years I spent in Glasgow — navigating money, mental health, ambition, and survival — and what they taught me about living by making without a safety net.

If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers.
Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses.
Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> studiobc false No 1285 3 full I thought I was the next Tracy Emin I thought I was the next Tracy Emin https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/i-thought-i-was-the-next-tracy-emin/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/i-thought-i-was-the-next-tracy-emin/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:36:40 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/0da129a1-2526-38f5-baba-8e8105ca72a0 My first solo show in London in 2010 — and I didn’t have the money for it. If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers. Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses. Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> My first solo show in London in 2010 — and I didn’t have the money for it.

If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers.
Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses.
Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> studiobc false No 1117 2 full Money as a Constant Background Noise Money as a Constant Background Noise https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/money-as-a-constant-background-noise/ https://mianelledroschler.podbean.com/e/money-as-a-constant-background-noise/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:50:53 +0100 studiobc.podbean.com/adf5d365-550c-3039-9c0b-2d6042e105a9 Meet me at my Degree Show in Fine Art (2010). This episode begins there — at the moment where money, hope, ambition, and fear quietly start to hum in the background of an artist’s life. If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers. Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses. Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> Meet me at my Degree Show in Fine Art (2010).
This episode begins there — at the moment where money, hope, ambition, and fear quietly start to hum in the background of an artist’s life.

If this episode speaks to you, you’re welcome to join my monthly letter for artists and makers.
Each month I share reflections on painting, artistic courage, creative structure and the inner life of making. You’ll also receive early access to new works and invitations to mentorship and masterclasses.
Join here: STAY CONNECTED

]]> studiobc false No 1090 1 full