12 | Becoming A Master Of Something New with Mad Dame

Alexis chats with Mad Dame - a Melbourne photographer and artist specialising in nude glitter portraits celebrating all genders and bodies. She shares her grounding rituals, the story of how her business came about, and how she creates deep, intentional experiences for every client that steps into her world. Mad Dame talks about embracing imperfection, using every resource fearlessly, and offers her secret to authentic networking. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about creativity, connection, and self-expression

 

If you’d like to see more, you can follow Jess on instagram, all art @maddameart or glitter portraits at @maddameglitter 

 

This episode was recorded on 11th May 2025 on the lands of the Woiworung Peoples. We hope that this episode inspires you as a creative person and as a human being.

Thanks for listening, catch you on the next episode.

Psst! We are always on the lookout for creative people to share their story and inspire others. Have you got someone in mind who would love to have a chat? Get in contact with us via Instagram @throughthecreativedoor

 

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Creative resources from Jess:

COPY from transcript

 

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CREDITS

Created and Hosted by Alexis Naylor

Music by Alexis Naylor & Ruby Miguel

Edited and Produced by Ruby Miguel

 Hello, my name is Alexis Naylor, and I am your host here at Through The Creative Door. On behalf of myself and my guests, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians on which this podcast is recorded and produced. May we pay our respects to all First Nations people and acknowledge elders past and present. On this podcast, I'll be chatting to an array of creative guests, getting a glimpse into their worlds and having some honest and inspiring conversations along the way. I am delighted to welcome you to Through the Creative Door.

 

Thank you so much, Jess, for coming through the Creative Door. This is a beautiful space. There's a lot of visuals happening. 

 

There's a lot of visuals happening. I mean, we could describe it with like really juicy words and let people like go into themselves and try to see what that looks like in their imagination. And then when they see it, they'll be like, oh my God, is it what I was thinking? It's better. Or it's like even more realistic and magical than I could have ever thought. 

 

How do you describe this space? 

 

This is called the Pink Palace. It's like an energy room. Like people will come in here, whether it's like the colored lights of pink or the colour of pink, that's everywhere.

 

That's really like, ah, like people feel like they're home or in a familiar space. Mm. So familiarity in a way. 

 

So you are such a talented bear, such an amazing photographer, but you specialise in, how would I say, like nude, all inclusive, gender inclusive, like glitter portraits, right? Like that's your like, sort of niche.Yeah. You obviously are like this amazing creator and makes these amazing worlds around it as well. 

 

So my, my creativity has brought me to this. Thing that I am mastering, and it is a niche of female identifying individuals that come in that feel like they need to move energy or celebrate or move through, move through something they're accepting, through having their body painted in glitter, specifically glitter.

 

And if anyone comes in with whatever they're dealing with, and as they are in their body, and as soon as I put this glitter on their body, their eyes light up and they're just like, who am I? What is this? I want this forever. And, and they be, they come back to themself, is the way they describe it. They forget about anything that's bothering them.

 

The things that that are going on in the outside world. They come into this. Pink sanctuary and go into play space and just come back to themselves. They say, this feels really familiar. And I'm like, how do I describe it? It sound sounds like what you're saying is like you are coming home to connecting with yourself.

 

It's fucking cool as shit and that's why it's privilege. Yeah, it's every time I do it, I'm just like, I know. Expanded with joy much more and. Yeah, I think when you know why you get up to do the creative thing. Mm-hmm. Then. It becomes juicier. 

 

So where in your creative space, what does a creative space mean to you and why?

 

Yeah. Okay. So, uh, a creative space to me is the word sanctuary. This is my four walls where no one can come and fuck with me. No one can tell me what