Inside Helen's hermit cave

Summary

Podcast Summary: Inside Helen's Hermit Cave

Title: Inside Helen's Hermit Cave
Host/Author: The Good Ship Illustration
Release Date: May 23, 2025
Episode Duration: Approximately 10 minutes

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Inside Helen's Hermit Cave," hosts Helen Stephens, Sam, and Jerry delve into the secluded workspace practices of Helen, one of the trio of seasoned illustrators at The Good Ship Illustration. This candid conversation unveils Helen's strategies for managing intense creative periods, maintaining work-life balance, and navigating the challenges of meeting deadlines while preserving her personal well-being.

Helen’s Hermit Cave: A Deep Dive into Her Creative Sanctuary

Helen’s Seclusion During Deadlines

Helen describes her "hermit cave" as a period of intense focus where she isolates herself to meet illustration deadlines. This approach involves shutting out social interactions and digital distractions to concentrate solely on her work.

Helen (00:56): "It's a nightmare in that cave. It's lovely because I try and forget the outside world."

Managing Communication and Distractions

During these periods, Helen actively ignores social media and communication platforms to maintain her focus.

Helen (00:45): "Because I ignore the WhatsApp group all day, or I say, you do that because I'm in my cave."

Daily Life Inside the Cave

Household Responsibilities

Even while immersed in her creative process, Helen maintains a semblance of normalcy by sharing household duties with her partner, Jerry.

Helen (01:24): "We just go half and half. Me and Jerry on cooking. So he does most of it while I'm in my cave."

Personal Care and Routine

Helen admits that personal hygiene can take a backseat during these intense work phases, although she does ensure moments for essential tasks like walking the dog.

Helen (01:35): "Sometimes hygiene can get no priority... Dog sits at my feet."

Creating the Perfect Work Environment

Recreating Childhood Comforts

Helen draws inspiration from her childhood to create a comfortable and focused work environment. She utilizes elements like a Velux window for the soothing sound of rain and connects her iPad with wired earphones to minimize distractions.

Helen (02:20): "I really like... watching old reruns... it makes me feel hibernated and I don't want to go anywhere."

Background Sounds for Focus

Rain sounds and the ambience of a gas fire help Helen simulate a nostalgic and tranquil workspace that fosters creativity.

Helen (02:23): "I've got a Velux window, so you hear the rain on that. So a rainy day is the best work day because it's that lovely white noise."

The Process of Creating a Book

Duration of the Hermit Phase

Creating a book typically involves several months of isolation. Helen shares that the duration varies depending on the project's complexity.

Helen (03:01): "No, I think it'll Salty Dog is about four months of cave from beginning. No, since the roughs were approved."

Idea Development and the Magic Drawer

Helen explains her "magic drawer"—a metaphor for storing and revisiting ideas until they are ready to be developed further. This process can sometimes extend the timeline of a project.

Helen (04:06): "It's like fermenting. And then you start fermenting kimchi... sometimes books take years just because the ideas bit took so long."

Evolving Work Pace

Reflecting on her early career, Helen contrasts her current workflow with her past, where she was more prolific but also more isolated.

Helen (04:43): "When I first started out, I would make four baby books and a picture book every year... I was in the cave all the time."

Balancing Work and Personal Life

Establishing Boundaries

Helen emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries to prevent work from overwhelming her personal life. She avoids working on weekends and limits evening hours unless absolutely necessary.

Helen (05:26): "I try not to work weekends and I try not to work into the evening unless it's absolutely necessary."

Impact of Work Habits on Health

She acknowledges the detrimental effects of working late nights, such as insomnia, and advocates for healthier work routines.

Helen (05:52): "But I think the hours you spend looking at the screen after, say 7 o'clock at night or in darkness... you'll get to bed at 12, you won't sleep till 3."

Morning Productivity

Contrary to night owls, Helen prefers waking up early to maximize productivity while still maintaining her energy levels throughout the day.

Helen (06:18): "I've never been an owl, I've always been a lark. I'm way more likely to get up at 5 and do a couple of hours before anybody else is awake."

Upcoming Projects and Community Engagement

Current Projects

Helen is finalizing her latest book, "Salty Dog," which integrates contributions from her co-hosts Katie and Tanya. The project reflects their collaborative spirit and shared experiences.

Helen (09:08): "We've been working out how our cover should look... I'm so honored. I'm party kitty."

Future Plans

The team anticipates engaging with their audience through readings and interactive storytimes once the book is published, fostering a deeper connection with their community.

Helen (09:53): "We can actually do a reading story time. That would be fun."

Reflections on Work-Life Integration

Evolving from Integrated Life

Helen reflects on the shift from her previous lifestyle, where work and personal life were inseparable, to her current approach that prioritizes balance.

Helen (05:26): "Whereas now I definitely have. There's a different boundaries around how much I work."

Learning from Experience

Through years of illustration work, Helen has learned to recognize her rhythms and set realistic deadlines, ensuring sustained creativity without sacrificing personal well-being.

Helen (07:04): "But there's that thing you were talking about, Katie. Sometimes where you have a deadline, you just keep going till the deadline."

Conclusion

In "Inside Helen's Hermit Cave," Helen Stephens offers an insightful look into the solitary yet structured environment that fuels her creative process. Through her disciplined approach, she balances intense work periods with personal life, demonstrating that success in creative careers doesn't have to come at the expense of well-being. The episode not only highlights practical strategies for managing creative workloads but also underscores the importance of setting boundaries and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

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Note: This summary captures the essence of the conversation held between Helen, Sam, and Jerry, as detailed in the provided transcript. For more nuanced insights and the full experience, listening to the original podcast episode is recommended.

Transcript

[Sam]

Sam, this is my selfish podcast topic because I want to know all about Helen's hermit cave.

[Helen]

What would you like to know about my hermit cave?

[Sam]

I love. I love lots of things about you, Helen, but this one, when you're working on a deadline, you just say, right, I'm going in my cave now.

[Helen]

I do.

[Sam]

And you do. You just in the cave. And we know you're in the cave. And then you.

[Helen]

Because I ignore the WhatsApp group all day, or I say, you do that because I'm in my cave.

[Sam]

But then you emerge in the glorious sunshine. Like, I've illustrated an entire book now.

[Helen]

I was like, it's a nightmare in that cave. It's lovely because I try and forget the outside world. I try not to do very much when there's a deadline for a book. So I think I go through periods of intense work where I just shut my studio door and I'm in there and I've got a book to make and I've got a deadline and I do it. And I don't organize very much socially.

[Jerry]

Do you do any cooking?

[Helen]

No.

[Jerry]

Cleaning?

[Helen]

Little bit. We just go half and half, half and half. Me and Jerry on cooking. So he does most of it while I'm in my cave.

[Jerry]

Do you even have a walk?

[Helen]

Take the dog out for a walk sometimes.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Helen]

Sometimes hygiene can get no priority. Yeah. If it's winter, dressing gown over clothes, hat on out there. Yeah. Dog sits at my feet. Oh, and I really like earphones with a wire that attaches me to my iPad because if I. Number one, the iPad's great for just watching old reruns of programs I know inside out because it makes lovely background noise and it makes me feel hibernated and I don't want to go anywhere. It's cozy. But also the wire literally attaches me to this. Yeah, it's one less thing. It's one more thing just to keep me focused at the time.

[Jerry]

Do you think you're trying to create childhood again? Like you could?

[Helen]

Definitely.

[Jerry]

A recording of a gas fire fluttering in the corner.

[Helen]

So you.

[Jerry]

Like you're a kid at home.

[Helen]

I really like. I've got a Velux window, so you hear the rain on that. So a rainy day is the best work day because it's that lovely white noise. It's like being on holiday in a caravan. Because when I was a kid, my mom used to buy me a massive. Those big felt pen packs that are really big. And it was always raining on holiday because we always went on holiday just down the road. From where we lived.

[Jerry]

Well, we're British, aren't we?

[Helen]

It's always raining. I'd lay on the floor in front of that gas stove and draw. I think I am trying to recreate that. Yeah.

[Jerry]

I can ask a really boring question, which is, how long does it take to make a book? So how long are you in the cave?

[Helen]

Oh, ages, sometimes. It really depends on the book. So I think I did three months. Really intense before bologna and now I only have a bit of book left. And then I've done the children's book show for three days. So I came out of my cave again. I don't. Ideally, I don't like coming out of the cave because it takes me a couple of days to get back to readjust.

[Jerry]

Does Gary shove you in door? Just stay there for a bit. You love it.

[Sam]

You know you do. So I think you're at four months of kee.

[Helen]

Yeah, I think it'll Salty Dog is about four months of cave from beginning. No, since the roughs were approved.

[Jerry]

So how long did the roughs take? You were in the cave for the roughs?

[Helen]

No. Don't know. Not long. A couple of months.

[Jerry]

They just flew off your pants?

[Helen]

Yeah. The roughs were quite quick.

[Jerry]

So it's really about six months.

[Helen]

Yeah. A bit of writing with Katie, but sometimes an idea happens and it goes in the magic drawer because I don't know if it's good enough yet. And then I'll pull it out for the magic drawer and some magic might have happened. And now look at it and think, oh, that's good. So that can add a year on your idea. You have an idea and it might not come out the magic drawer for six months.

[Jerry]

It's like fermenting. And then you start fermenting kimchi.

[Helen]

Yeah. Or like you're just waiting for another little bit of the puzzle, another little bit of inspiration from somewhere to come along and add to the bit that's in the magic drawer. And all of a sudden you're out of the drawer again. Ah, this could be something. Now. Now I've got this extra bit. So. Yeah, sometimes books take years just because the ideas bit took so long. Sometimes they're quite quick.

[Jerry]

But when you've got it all pieced together now in your dotage, with all your wisdom and experience behind you, you can do something like that. What, eight months, six months?

[Helen]

Yeah. Probably when I was first. When I first started out, I would make four baby books and a picture book every year. Probably. Yeah. And maybe some book covers. But it's All I did. That's all I did. I was in the cave all the time.

[Sam]

I was gonna say, yeah, if you don't have children, yeah, you can just be in cave mode.

[Helen]

Yeah. I don't work as quick as that anymore because I really love what we do for Good Ship. And I have a daughter and a dog.

[Jerry]

And you want the guy, I think.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Helen]

I want life. Yeah.

[Jerry]

You leave college and you're working so hard looking for jobs that you put yourself in the cage automatically. I reckon you stay there for the first 15 years. Yeah, I'm always here. I won't be on holiday at any point this year, just in case you need me or any changes. I'll be ready. And you work really long hours.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Helen]

And used to cut out little bits of paper and stick them down and they would get stuck all over the bottom of my feet. And then I'd get into bed and the bed was full of them and then get out and start working like the whole thing was all one. My life, my work was all one thing. Whereas now I definitely have. There's a different boundaries around how much I work. So I try not to work weekends and I try not to work into the evening unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Jerry]

I found if you work in the evening, it's worse now than it used to be. But I remember working on those kids go books and I'd work at night on those. And I wondered why I had insomnia for three years, because we were doing six all at once. But I think the hours you spend looking at the screen after, say 7 o' clock at night or in darkness. So you spend three hours and you get to bed at 12, you won't sleep till 3. It's exactly the same exchange.

[Sam]

You got paid back in a week.

[Jerry]

Time just by lying there. So I think that working at night is a disaster, isn't it? And as soon as you can start cutting those things out and saying, I might be freelance, but I do actually have a lot life.

[Helen]

I've never been that. I've never been an owl, I've always been a lark. I'm way more likely to get up at 5 and do a couple of hours before anybody else is awake, because I can feel smug.

[Jerry]

Then it's worth it for a double smug. Yeah, exactly.

[Helen]

I just do it to be smug. Yeah. But then I never work. I get tired about 3 o' clock, so I usually take the dog for a walk at three because if I didn't take her for a walk I'd probably have A nap. Which is fine. Sometimes I do. But yeah, I get tired late afternoon. So I stop. I'll either stop completely or stop for an hour and even a bit more.

[Jerry]

If you're in the cave, you finish. A rational human time.

[Helen]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Not working till 10 o' clock.

[Helen]

No. Very rarely. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. No.

[Jerry]

I think you get to know you. You get to know your own rhythms and how long things take you after a while. I used to have this weekly slot in a monthly slot in a magazine. I'd be like, oh, it's Friday and it's 6 o' clock. I seem to have finished the artwork and it took two till I could actually work to a reasonable human deadline instead of thinking, I better go back and work until 10 o'clock tonight. A bit more on it.

[Helen]

But there's that thing you were talking about, Katie. Sometimes where you have a deadline, you just keep going till the deadline.

[Sam]

Yeah. The work expands all the time. I definitely find that if somebody tells me there's two weeks to do it, then I will spend the whole. Actually, I'll probably wait a week and six days and start like right before that deadline. But it's much easier. It's so hard to squash it into smaller space if you know you've got more time.

[Jerry]

And that's why you do live illustration.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Because you've got three hours. Get this done. There's no faffing around.

[Sam]

But I definitely prefer the waking up early thing because it gets to bedtime. I've just got no brain cells left.

[Helen]

I think there's no point trying.

[Sam]

And Cameron will be like, oh, just you sit up and do a bit now. But I cannot.

[Helen]

Me too. I just can't. And it was the same when PI was little. I would be. She would wake at the crack of dawn and I'd be up for it. Eyes awake. Let's play. Fine. But bedtime. Her bedtime. I was done really good. Yeah.

[Jerry]

Don't get working until about 10, 10:30 and could work till midnight.

[Helen]

Wow.

[Jerry]

But I don't. I won't do that anymore now since I worked out the very obvious key to screen insomnia. Yeah.

[Sam]

Maybe boundaries, like the only way to learn them is the hard way, I think. So hit your head against the wall for a bit and they're like, oh, that hurts you in that.

[Jerry]

So are you out of the cave for a long while?

[Helen]

No, I haven't. I haven't finished completely. I've got one more chapter to do.

[Jerry]

And the COVID And we've been looking at the COVID today and taking photographs. So you if you look back on Helen's Insta or even Good Ship Insta. We've been working out how our cover should look. It's been so much fun for salt. It's salty and pals.

[Helen]

Yeah, salty. So salty. Dog was a good ship. Is he still is. Good ships Salty. He's the dog on our picture book course. He guides everybod through the course. But yeah, he's become some stories. Katie and I have written the stories together and then I've been illustrating them and then I've been getting Tanya's design eyes. Also, Tanya is one of the characters in the book.

[Jerry]

I'm so honored. I'm party kitty.

[Sam]

You are.

[Jerry]

I love my character, but the book is so funny. We've done some readings, some Wednesdays when we do podcasts, bits of the book have come round and Katie's read them out and they're just hilarious. I can't wait to see it in publication.

[Helen]

I can't wait to see. Maybe when they come out, we can act in.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Helen]

We can actually do a reading story time. That would be fun.

[Sam]

We'll read your bedtime story.

[Helen]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Okay. See you next week.

[Helen]

Yes. Bye, everybody.

[Jerry]

Bye.

[Helen]

Bye.

[Jerry]

It.