Creative Guts

In today's episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Becky Barsi sit down with Haley Searcy, a multidisciplinary artist and arts community organizer.

Our conversation dives into Haley’s practice with various mediums, what brought her to New Hampshire (from one Durham to another!), and why community organizing is important to her. We also dive into the Paper Jam Zine and Print Fest, of which Haley is a co-organizer. This special event is happening on Saturday, November 7th at the Millspace in Newmarket, NH.

Learn more about Haley’s work at www.haleysearcyart.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. Learn more about the Paper Jam Zine and Print Fest at https://paperjam.mailerpage.io/ and at ​​www.instagram.com/paperjamzinefest.

Creative Guts runs on a small budget and a lot of heart. If the show means something to you, donations of any size make a real difference, and they're tax-deductible! Learn more and give at CreativeGutsPodcast.com.

Thank you to Kennebunk Savings Bank for sponsoring the podcast!

Grateful for our friends at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery in Exeter, NH and the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH for their support of the show.

Views and opinions shared by our hosts or guests are their own and don't necessarily reflect the views of Creative Guts.

Tomorrow we’ve got a brand new episode of Creative Guts for you!🎙️We’re chatting with a multidisciplinary artist that is also a big-time community organizer in the NH seacoast.

Who is it? Tune in tomorrow! 🎉

✨Call for Art Guides✨

This year's Art 'Round the Room will be held on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8th, from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm at The Derryfield School in Manchester, NH, and we're seeking applications for art guides!

Art ‘Round the Room is a unique experience where participants will experience various art mediums with guidance from professional artists at timed stations around the room! The professional artist will be a guide who gives a brief introduction to their medium to each group of participants that comes to their table. This is a speed dating-style event geared toward adults to try different art mediums (without the dating).

Each artist guide will receive a $250 stipend.

Learn more and apply at www.creativegutspodcast.com/events.

It’s almost time for our podcast return! Tune in next Wednesday for our welcome back episode and a catch up with our hosts, Laura Harper Lake, Becky Barsi, and Joe Acone.

But in the meantime, listen—or relisten— to some of the amazing creatives we've interviewed. Their stories will fuel your own creative journey! 🔥🔥🔥

Find us wherever you listen to podcasts or right on our website, www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com.

🎉The print edition of the Summer 2026 Poetry Zines have arrived! 🎉

This amazing little collection of works, based on the theme Curious Collaboration, will be heading out in the mail soon to the creatives who were gutsy enough to submit work to our call!

Interested in buying a physical copy? We have a limited amount available here for purchase: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/creative-gutss-shop

Want to take in the free digital edition? Check it out at www.creativegutspodcast.com/zine

Interested in volunteering for a small arts nonprofit? Let's chat!

Creative Guts is seeking more folks to join our Programming Committee, a group of passionate people who help develop and execute our programs to support the mission of our nonprofit. We meet once a month and make cool stuff happen!

Examples of support we’d love more help with:
admin & coordinating, proofreading, graphic design, tabling at events, and more.

Interested? Send an email to [email protected] to ask questions and discuss what volunteering entails.

We're a bit quieter in the summer, but that doesn't mean you can't tune into to our catalog of over 250 episodes of the Creative Guts podcast! The creative journeys shared on our show from makers of all varieties are heartfelt, inspiring, and at times, down right hilarious.

Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts or right on our website, www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. 💙 It will invigorate your own creativity and make you smile.

The photos are in from our 2026 Film Festival, and here are just a few! This was such an impactful night filled with connections, joy, and powerful works of art on the silver screen. 💙

Congratulations to this year's award winners:

👏 Heartstrings - Most moving: In The Back of Your Head by Pauline Aksay
👏 Brain Stormer - Most creative: Waves by Emma Lowery
👏 Gutsy - Most vulnerable: Silent System by Mariah Larocque
👏 Stargazer - Most inspring: L'amoureux (The Lover) by Kori Chamberlin
👏 Hats Off - Top Score: LIMBO by Mia Kashiwabara

To all our filmmakers, thank you for sharing your amazing work with us at this festival. You are the definition of GUTSY! 👏

To download any photos from this event, please visit www.CreativeGuts.org/events. Thank you to Becky Barsi for taking these photos!

Thank you to all who joined us!

That’s a wrap! 🎬 Official photos will be shared next week, but we wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who came out last night to the Creative Guts Short Film Festival!

We loved meeting all the filmmakers, watching connections being built, and having the community show up for the arts. 💙

A huge thank you to Red River Theatres for having us and all their support!!! 🍿