Inside FLARE: the Art of Endo🎗️ – Details, episodes & analysis

Things are getting REAL over here and I have so much to catch you up on. ✨

In this episode, I’m bringing you behind the scenes of FLARE and sharing updates on the art exhibition that's slowly (and very excitingly) coming together. We talk about why I refuse to settle for "good enough," the unexpected magic that happens when you put yourself out there, and some of the amazing artists who are helping shape this project.

I’m spotlighting the work of participating artists Racheli and KYRIANNA, sharing more about their incredible projects and why I’m so excited to have them involved in the show. Their work is beautiful, powerful, and exactly the kind of art that makes me want to create spaces where these stories can be experienced in person.

Plus, I'm announcing something brand new: FLAME (Female Leaders Advancing Metal Education), a creative community and initiative for women welders. Yep, we're talking sparks, sculpture, metalwork, and building community through art in a whole new way.

If you've been following along with FLARE, consider this your official backstage pass. If you're new here, welcome. We're talking endometriosis, art, creative dreams, and all the fun, messy, unexpected ways ideas turn into reality.

Grab a cup of tea/coffee/drink-of-choice, come hang out, and get excited with me because there's a lot happening and I'm excited to share it with you!

Artists mentioned:

Racheli Aye

KYRIANNA

Kellie Gillespie

New Women-in-Welding Community

FLAME Female Leaders Advancing Metal Education

This episode is part reflection, part journal entry, part late-night conversation between friends.In this solo episode of Inside FLARE, I’m reflecting on one of the most emotionally intense months I’ve experienced in a long time.

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, I wanted to have an honest conversation about what happens when life keeps piling things onto your plate while you’re still trying to recover, heal, create, parent, and simply keep going.

Over the past month, my family experienced a mental health crisis that nearly changed our lives forever. At the same time, I found myself unexpectedly stepping into full-time parenting responsibilities while continuing to navigate recovery from major surgery, chronic illness, and the everyday realities of adulthood that don’t pause just because you’re overwhelmed.

I talk about witnessing the ripple effects that mental health struggles have on entire families, the invisible toll stress takes on a body already living with chronic illness, and the strange balance between heartbreak and gratitude that can exist at the same time.

I also share thoughts on marriage, creativity, the Maker Community that helped me through difficult seasons of life, and why sometimes simply making it through the month is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

Despite some heavy topics, this isn’t a sad episode. It’s ultimately about resilience, perspective, and finding small moments of joy even when life feels chaotic.

If you’ve ever felt like you were carrying too much, trying to support everyone around you, or wondering how to keep creating while navigating real life, this conversation is for you.

Thank you for being here.

Keep creating. Keep healing💛

Priscilla

In this episode, I’m diving into noone of the most important parts of FLARE: Art.

I share how my background as an artist and art educator shaped the vision behind FLARE, and why I knew from the very beginning that this needed to be more than just a platform. It had to be a space. A space where people living with endometriosis and chronic illness can create, express, and feel seen without pressure, without judgment, and without the barriers that often exist in the traditional art world.

I talk about the different ways art exists within FLARE, from our upcoming virtual gallery and rotating exhibitions to artist features, workshops, and opportunities to share your work and story in a way that feels right for you. Whether you’re someone who already creates or someone who has never considered themselves an artist before, this episode is about showing you that there is a place for you here.

We also get into the heart behind projects like BLAZE and the larger vision of making art more accessible, more inclusive, and more reflective of real lived experiences. Because for so many people, especially those navigating chronic illness, art becomes a way to process, to communicate, and to heal in ways that words sometimes can’t.

This episode is an invitation. To create. To explore. To share. And to be part of something that is built on the idea that your story matters and deserves to be seen.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the art world, unsure where you fit, or like your experience is hard to put into words, this conversation is for you.

FLARE exists to make the invisible visible and to remind you that art isn’t reserved for a select few. It’s something we all have access to. And it might just be one of the most powerful tools we have to heal.

Keep creating. Keep healing.

• Our WEBSITE:⁠ https://www.flareendo.org/⁠

• SUBSTACK: ⁠https://substack.com/@flareendo⁠ 

• INSTAGRAM:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/flare.endo⁠

• FACEBOOK: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flareendo⁠ 

• PINTEREST: ⁠https://www.pinterest.com/flareendo/⁠

• YOUTUBE: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flareendo⁠ 

• X: ⁠https://x.com/flareendo⁠

• BLAZE Project INTEREST FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/QaydSRQUexUVDeL4A⁠

• Art Exhibition SUBMISSION FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/PGrHWh73HqH8yVCx5⁠

In this episode, I’m breaking down all the different ways you can be part of FLARE and what this community is really about.

FLARE isn’t just a platform, it’s a space where storytelling, art, education, and advocacy come together to create something meaningful. Whether you want to share your story, create something from your experience, learn more about endometriosis, or help spread awareness, there is a place for you here.

In this episode, I walk through a visual flow of how you can get involved, from sharing your journey through Instagram, the podcast, or written pieces, to participating in workshops, journaling, and creative expression, to helping advocate and bring more visibility to the reality of living with endometriosis. There are so many ways to be part of this, and none of them require you to have it all figured out. You just have to start where you are.

This conversation is really about opening the door and showing you that your voice, your experience, and your creativity matter more than you might think.

If you’ve been looking for a way to connect, to express what you’ve been through, or to be part of something bigger than yourself, this episode is for you. I truly believe FLARE can become a space where people feel seen, supported, and inspired and this is just the beginning. 💛

Find Us On:

• Our WEBSITE:⁠ https://www.flareendo.org/⁠

• SUBSTACK: ⁠https://substack.com/@flareendo⁠ 

• INSTAGRAM:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/flare.endo⁠

• FACEBOOK: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flareendo⁠ 

• PINTEREST: ⁠https://www.pinterest.com/flareendo/⁠

• YOUTUBE: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flareendo⁠ 

• X: ⁠https://x.com/flareendo⁠

• BLAZE Project INTEREST FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/QaydSRQUexUVDeL4A⁠

• Art Exhibition SUBMISSION FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/PGrHWh73HqH8yVCx5⁠

In this episode, I’m sharing my story for the first time. Here is the full story of my journey with endometriosis.

From my first emergency surgery at 13 years old to multiple surgeries over the years, and now living in surgical menopause at 34, this episode is the most personal one I’ve recorded so far.

I talk about what it was really like growing up with endometriosis, how it affected my identity, my mental health, and the way I saw my future, and the emotional reality of living with a condition that changes your life again and again.

This episode is longer than the previous ones because it felt important to finally share everything, not just the medical side, but the emotional side too.

I couldn’t include everything so if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments or shoot me an email: flare.artproject@gmail.com

My hope is that by sharing my story honestly, someone listening who feels alone, misunderstood, or overwhelmed will realize they’re not the only one going through this.

If you’re living with endometriosis, chronic pain, or an invisible illness, this episode is for you.

——

Join FLARE on:

SUBSTACK: 

https://substack.com/@flareendo

INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/flare.endo

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/flareendo 

PINTEREST:

https://www.pinterest.com/flareendo/

YOUTUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/@flareendo 

X:

https://x.com/flareendo

BLAZE Project INTEREST FORM:

https://forms.gle/QaydSRQUexUVDeL4A

Art Exhibition SUBMISSION FORM:
https://forms.gle/PGrHWh73HqH8yVCx5

WEBSITE:
https://www.flareendo.org/

In this episode, I share the story behind BLAZE — a project that grew out of my own experience living with endometriosis and the emotional reality of chronic illness.

I talk about what BLAZE is, what inspired it, and why I’m so passionate about its mission.

At the heart of this project is a simple but powerful idea: changing the way we think about the word flare.

Instead of something associated only with pain and fear, BLAZE is about redefining that word as something strong, expressive, and empowering.

This episode offers a deeper look into the vision behind the project and why I believe creative expression can help change the way people understand chronic illness.

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, overwhelmed, or like your body has rewritten your life without your permission — you’re not alone, and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Join us on:

• FLARE Community on Substack

• Instagram

• YouTube

• Pinterest

• Facebook

Keep creating, Keep Healing💛

Welcome to the very first episode of Inside FLARE —

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of not just FLARE, but me — the messy, honest, emotional, sometimes chaotic reality of living with endometriosis and building something meaningful in the middle of it.

I talk briefly about my surgery, the moments that broke me, the ones that rebuilt me, and how FLARE was born out of all of it — not as a brand, but as a lifeline.

A space where art meets pain, where creativity becomes more than just coping, and where no one has to feel alone in what they’re going through.

Also — full transparency — I’m currently recovering from a major surgery while recording this, so if my energy feels a little softer than usual… that’s why. We’re honoring the “in progress” version of me here, not the polished one.

This episode is real, a little unfiltered, a little emotional, and honestly… kind of the foundation for everything that’s about to come.

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, overwhelmed, or like your body has rewritten your life without your permission — you’re not alone.

And you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

• ​Join the FLARE Community on Substack
• ​Follow us on Instagram
• ​YouTube
• ​Pinterest
• ​Facebook

In this week’s episode of Inside FLARE, I sit down with Prajakta of @gottaloveendo, a multidisciplinary artist, creative storyteller, trained Bharatnatyam dancer, and advocate whose work is deeply shaped by her experience living with endometriosis and chronic illness after being diagnosed at just sixteen years old.

What makes this conversation so special is the way Prajakta speaks about creativity not simply as art, but as something that helped her emotionally survive and understand her experience. Together, we talk about growing up as a young Indian woman with chronic illness, the emotional impact of being diagnosed so early, and how art, movement, and storytelling became ways to process pain, identity, and healing.

Prajakta’s work is thoughtful, emotionally rich, and deeply connected to culture and self-expression, which is why I’m also so excited she’ll be exhibiting her work in FLARE’s upcoming exhibition this fall.

This episode is reflective, inspiring, and deeply human. It’s about much more than diagnosis. It’s about creativity, resilience, and learning how to continue becoming yourself alongside chronic illness.

Keep creating, Keep healing💛

Prajakta's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gottaloveendo/

Prajakta's website: https://prajakta.co.uk/

Prajakta's Substack: https://substack.com/@prajaktaart

In this deeply personal episode of Inside FLARE, I sit down with Sophie, founder of Endo Moves Club and an adaptive fitness instructor living with stage IV and thoracic endometriosis, for an honest conversation about what it really means to navigate chronic illness, grief, resilience, and learning to adapt alongside a changing body.

Sophie shares her long road to diagnosis after years of being dismissed despite clear symptoms and a family history of endometriosis. From being told she was “too young and healthy” to have the disease, to becoming bedridden before excision surgery, she opens up about the emotional and physical toll of not being believed.

What makes this episode especially meaningful is how personal the conversation becomes. As Sophie talks about living with thoracic endometriosis, I also share my own recent fears and complications following surgery, including my experience with a collapsed lung and ongoing concerns surrounding thoracic endo..

Together, we talk about medical gaslighting, fear, grief, identity, movement, and the complicated relationship many people with endometriosis have with their bodies.

We also explore how movement can become healing instead of harmful, why meeting yourself where you are matters more than pushing through pain, and how creativity, self-expression, and adaptive movement can help rebuild trust with your body after illness and surgery.

Sophie’s approach through Endo Moves Club is incredibly refreshing and compassionate. She is creating space for people with endometriosis to reconnect with movement in a way that feels supportive, accessible, and realistic.

This episode is vulnerable, validating, and hopeful. It’s for anyone who has ever questioned their pain, struggled to feel at home in their body, or wondered if healing and joy are still possible while living with chronic illness.

Keep creating, Keep healing💛

In this episode of Inside FLARE, I sit down with Chelsea Hardesty, patient advocate, artist, mother, founder of Getting the Better of Endo, and one of the first people who truly understood the vision behind FLARE when I shared it with the world.

Chelsea shares the reality of living with symptoms for sixteen years before finally being diagnosed with endometriosis after one doctor completely missed disease that another specialist found just weeks later covering her bowel, bladder, and colon.

We talk about what happens when years of dismissal slowly make you question your own body, your instincts, and your reality. This conversation goes far beyond diagnosis.

We dive into the emotional and physical complexity of living with chronic illness, from multiple surgeries and high-risk pregnancies to pelvic floor dysfunction, chronic pain, and the long-term impact medical gaslighting can have on mental health.

What makes Chelsea’s story especially powerful is the way she transformed her experience into action. Through advocacy work on Capitol Hill, poetry, community storytelling, and traveling art installations at state capitols, she is helping reshape how people understand endometriosis and why awareness through art matters so deeply.

This is one of the most layered, honest, and important conversations I’ve shared on Inside FLARE so far. Not only because of Chelsea’s story, but because it reflects the reality so many people quietly live through every day.

If you have ever questioned your pain, felt dismissed, or wondered how to turn something painful into something meaningful, this episode is for you.

Keep creating, Keep healing💛

-Priscilla

Show Notes:

• Chelsea's Substack: https://substack.com/@gettingthebetterofendo

• Getting the Better of Endo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gettingthebetterofendo

  
  

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betterofendo?_t=ZP-8v7jPs7ZIlS&_r=1

  
  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gettingthebetterofendo/

  
  

• Book: Project 514 415 - Explore the Lived Experience of Endometriosis Through Art and Literature: https://tr.ee/WZAWXUbzNe

• SATIRE V: https://tr.ee/BffmSsdT0B

  
  

• The American End of Endo Project: https://tr.ee/QuCBwqQ_au

  
  

• Worldwide EndoMarch: https://tr.ee/QuCBwqQ_au

  
  

  Find FLARE On:

  
  

  • Our WEBSITE:⁠ https://www.flareendo.org/⁠

  
  

  • SUBSTACK: ⁠https://substack.com/@flareendo⁠ 

  
  

  • INSTAGRAM:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/flare.endo⁠

  
  

  • FACEBOOK: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flareendo⁠ 

  
  

  • PINTEREST: ⁠https://www.pinterest.com/flareendo/⁠

  
  

  • YOUTUBE: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flareendo⁠ 

  
  

  • X: ⁠https://x.com/flareendo⁠

  
  

  • BLAZE Project INTEREST FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/QaydSRQUexUVDeL4A⁠

  
  

  • Art Exhibition SUBMISSION FORM: ⁠https://forms.gle/PGrHWh73HqH8yVCx5⁠