Aysha Tengiz on the Nicer Tuesdays stage talking vulnerability and illustration

Name: Hereford College of Arts
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Published

29th August 2025
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The Baboo The Unusual Bee illustrator - and former HCA student - touched on some of the personal challenges (and absolute joy) and being a freelance artist.

Nicer Tuesdays is a monthly It's Nice That event which invites speakers from across the creative sphere take to the podium to share insights from a recent landmark project, showing the ideas and processes behind its making.

In her talk, Aysha goes back to her love of picture books and childhood drawing, and how the 'boring' parts of retail jobs unintentionally laid the the foundation for her current freelance practice.

She also reflected on the complicated relationship you can have with your work as an artist - and specifically as a professional artist trying to balance creative integrity with commercial success.

Within illustration, I feel like your work is very personal. It's the colours that you find endearing, it's the stories you are choosing to tell and it's kind of a like a manifestation of your own personality. So when that's being critiqued, your self-worth and your value can be very much affected by the success of your work.
Aysha Tengiz, Illustrator

You can watch the Aysha's full talk below - and all the Nicer Tuesdays talks for free on YouTube.

Along with a refreshing honesty about the impact on mental health - both the highs and lows - of building a creative practice, Aysha also describes her own process and takes you behind the scenes of a tourism commission for Helsinki, where she had to imagine the city through illustration - without ever visiting.

It's a fascinating watch for anyone interested in creativity or pursuing a career as an illustrator.

Watch: Aysha Tengiz at Nicer Tuesdays

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Find out more about Aysha Tengiz

From commissions for the Observer and Google, to pop-ups at art markets, you can follow Aysha's career on her Instagram account below.

Follow Aysha on Instagram

Watch more Nicer Tuesdays

In case you can't make it to the monthly events in person, It's Nice That film all their Nicer Tuesdays talks and share them on YouTube. With amazing speakers from across art, design and photography the series is an amazing resource for any emerging creatives.

Watch more Nicer Tuesdays

Watch country music star CMAT read Baboo the Unusual Bee at Glastonbury

As part of BBC's CBeebies Bedtime Stories series, Irish country star CMAT chose Aysha's Baboo The Unusual Bee to read. You can watch the 6-minute clip in full on iPlayer by following the link below.

Watch on BBC iPlayer

BA(Hons) Illustration

Throughout our lives, illustration helps us all make sense of a complicated world. It is a communication tool that transcends language and culture, entertains and educates.

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