Always with my nose in a book, a pencil in my hand, a song in my voice, a fantasy character in my mind. Creativity is part of my natural instinct. Unfortunately, I was not able to practice art full-time. After a brief marriage that ended when I was expecting my daughter, I had no choice but to pursue a professional career. My children always came first. Life has knocked me down several times on my life journey but I believe that everything had to happen to prepare me for the amazing creative journey I now call my life. Everything that I dreamt of, everything I ever wanted is now part of my incredible life.
I’ve always wanted to be an artist.
Six years ago I started my art business. I work full-time and do many wonderful things in my studio. I have thousands of friends and followers around the world. One of my biggest dreams became a reality two years ago when I was sponsored to exhibitmy sculptures in Melbourne, Australia. I sometimes still pinch myself to see if that really happened.
I seldom wake up without the memory of my dream. This is then also the time of day that I take for myself to be quiet, to reflect, to make notes of my dreams and inspirations that occurred during the dark hours when everyone else was asleep. Just before dawn breaks, I get up and make myself a cup of good coffee. I may be a coffee snob but I work very hard and this is my treat, almost a reward to me for my efforts. I then make my way to my creative space, the one place in our house that truly fulfills me. I love every room in our 100-year-old farmhouse but my studio and the porch leading to it, is where I feel most alive, where I spend most of my time. We bought this huge 5 bedroom house out in the country to enable me to work from home. I love being at home and my studio is set up in the main bedroom, the original living room and of course the porch. It has a separate entrance from the street so clients and visitors do not have to walk through our house.
My life is not only inspired by realities and occurrences during the day, but also by vivid and imaginative dreams at night.
Every day I sit outside on the porch in front of the house for at least an hour or two to relax, reflect and recharge. I play with our dogs and feed the wild birds. The colourful porch elevates my mood and gives me energy to start my day.
After breakfast I start work in my studio. It is spacious and I love the natural light that filters from the large windows. I mostly sit at the large black table I inherited from my late mother-in-law. Our three dogs all lying at my feet. My studio is big and I can design, draw and cut my pattern pieces for the textile sculptures here and leave everything on the table while I start assembling. My sewing area is right next to it, so it is easy to alternate between machine sewing and hand stitching. If the pieces are larger or even life-size, I work on the floor in the space between it.
I still have the hand machine my maternal grandmother taught me to sew on when I was only five, and sometimes I still use it.
All my textiles, fibers and haberdashery are neatly organized into plastic drawers so that I can see what is where through the clear drawers. Everything is organized into almost 80 drawers and 12 clear plastic crates. Because it was previously the master bedroom, the walk-in closet was converted into a storage room with a rail where I can hang the old clothes that is making their way into my sculptures. I use a lot of recycled materials. I have drawers filled with old tie-backs, beads and other haberdashery that friends gift me. They know I love to use recycled items in my artwork.
My studio has a separate space where I paint and do mixed media artwork. I never sit when I paint because I use so many different mediums and paints in one piece that I constantly move around to get what I need. Again everything I use is organized into many drawers. As a mixed media artist that works with a variety of products, it is important to have things organized. I don’t like chaos. I am not a perfectionist but my things needs to be in place and the floor must be clean. It is a crazy thought because I think I am a hoarder. Maybe a “collector of useful things” is a better word to describe me.
“I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.” – Pablo Picasso
I find a purpose for everything that I keep and I know exactly where it is. No one is allowed to mess around in my studio, not even the cleaner. It is my sanctuary. The way things are organized and what I put on the walls does not always make sense but it makes me happy. I have many of my husband’s old children’s books, paints and toys in my studio. I am sentimental but I also get much of my ideas and inspiration from old things. Many of the decorative things in my studio are heirlooms or keepsakes that have sentimental value for me. The Mona Lisa print reminds me of a big dream come true when my husband took me to Paris in December 2009. It is still hard to believe that we walked the hallways trying to absorb the beauty surrounding us. To stand in front of the Mona Lisa albeit it through thick glass gives me goosebumps if I think of that moment. I surround myself with the “memories” of the past because I find sincere inspiration in it. One of my favourite pieces on the wall is a letter with an angel my first-born granddaughter made me. I have 3 beautiful granddaughters and I keep all their artwork in my studio where I can see it every day.
If it gets too hot in the studio or it feels as if the walls are closing in on me, I take everything out to the large wooden table on the porch to work outside. I am an outdoors person and love nature. You will seldom find me working with shoes on my feet. I often paint on the porch because everything is just so much better if you have natural light. It is also not so easy to paint large canvasses on my easel, so I prefer to sit outside on the floor.
I have thousands of brushes! Or it feels like that! It is ironic because I mostly use my hands and different mark-making tools and materials when I paint. Of the 4 containers filled with brushes on my table, I have 3 that I paint with. They are old and worn out but when I reach for a brush, even if there is several new ones of the same size and brand, I will always empty the container on my table and search for those three. Of the three, I have one special one. The one that reminds me of the hours of struggle to blend a realistic face and helped me achieve my goal. The one that painted my very first painting that was sold online to a client in the States. It is almost like in my subconscious mind I see it as my magic wand or lucky charm.
Even on days when I have to do administrative work, marketing or updating my website and social media, I find myself working at the big table inside or the daybed out on the porch instead of the office. It gives me a kind of comfort that I will get through this part of my business as well because my heart constantly yearns to rather create. I think it is very important to have your own creative space, even if it is just a corner in your house. It is exactly how I started out. If I close my eyes I can see how my studio evolved from a tiny area in my dining room to the spacious areas I find myself working in. It is a relaxing space where I can be myself.
I love to create. At the moment I focus more on textile sculpting than painting because my work is unique and sells internationally. I have over 100 animal creatures who now live in the States and the rest of the world. I am thankful that I know so many people in America. That so many people love my work and support me. Every now and again I wish I could live there, but my heart is where my home is. As long as I can make art, I am happy.
Always with my nose in a book, a pencil in my hand, a song in my voice, a fantasy character in my mind. Creativity is part of my natural instinct. Unfortunately, I was not able to practice art full-time. After a brief marriage that ended when I was expecting my daughter, I had no choice but to pursue a professional career. My children always came first. Life has knocked me down several times on my life journey but I believe that everything had to happen to prepare me for the amazing creative journey I now call my life. Everything that I dreamt of, everything I ever wanted is now part of my incredible life.
I’ve always wanted to be an artist.
Six years ago I started my art business. I work full-time and do many wonderful things in my studio. I have thousands of friends and followers around the world. One of my biggest dreams became a reality two years ago when I was sponsored to exhibitmy sculptures in Melbourne, Australia. I sometimes still pinch myself to see if that really happened.
I seldom wake up without the memory of my dream. This is then also the time of day that I take for myself to be quiet, to reflect, to make notes of my dreams and inspirations that occurred during the dark hours when everyone else was asleep. Just before dawn breaks, I get up and make myself a cup of good coffee. I may be a coffee snob but I work very hard and this is my treat, almost a reward to me for my efforts. I then make my way to my creative space, the one place in our house that truly fulfills me. I love every room in our 100-year-old farmhouse but my studio and the porch leading to it, is where I feel most alive, where I spend most of my time. We bought this huge 5 bedroom house out in the country to enable me to work from home. I love being at home and my studio is set up in the main bedroom, the original living room and of course the porch. It has a separate entrance from the street so clients and visitors do not have to walk through our house.
My life is not only inspired by realities and occurrences during the day, but also by vivid and imaginative dreams at night.
Every day I sit outside on the porch in front of the house for at least an hour or two to relax, reflect and recharge. I play with our dogs and feed the wild birds. The colourful porch elevates my mood and gives me energy to start my day.
After breakfast I start work in my studio. It is spacious and I love the natural light that filters from the large windows. I mostly sit at the large black table I inherited from my late mother-in-law. Our three dogs all lying at my feet. My studio is big and I can design, draw and cut my pattern pieces for the textile sculptures here and leave everything on the table while I start assembling. My sewing area is right next to it, so it is easy to alternate between machine sewing and hand stitching. If the pieces are larger or even life-size, I work on the floor in the space between it.
I still have the hand machine my maternal grandmother taught me to sew on when I was only five, and sometimes I still use it.
All my textiles, fibers and haberdashery are neatly organized into plastic drawers so that I can see what is where through the clear drawers. Everything is organized into almost 80 drawers and 12 clear plastic crates. Because it was previously the master bedroom, the walk-in closet was converted into a storage room with a rail where I can hang the old clothes that is making their way into my sculptures. I use a lot of recycled materials. I have drawers filled with old tie-backs, beads and other haberdashery that friends gift me. They know I love to use recycled items in my artwork.
My studio has a separate space where I paint and do mixed media artwork. I never sit when I paint because I use so many different mediums and paints in one piece that I constantly move around to get what I need. Again everything I use is organized into many drawers. As a mixed media artist that works with a variety of products, it is important to have things organized. I don’t like chaos. I am not a perfectionist but my things needs to be in place and the floor must be clean. It is a crazy thought because I think I am a hoarder. Maybe a “collector of useful things” is a better word to describe me.
“I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.” – Pablo Picasso
I find a purpose for everything that I keep and I know exactly where it is. No one is allowed to mess around in my studio, not even the cleaner. It is my sanctuary. The way things are organized and what I put on the walls does not always make sense but it makes me happy. I have many of my husband’s old children’s books, paints and toys in my studio. I am sentimental but I also get much of my ideas and inspiration from old things. Many of the decorative things in my studio are heirlooms or keepsakes that have sentimental value for me. The Mona Lisa print reminds me of a big dream come true when my husband took me to Paris in December 2009. It is still hard to believe that we walked the hallways trying to absorb the beauty surrounding us. To stand in front of the Mona Lisa albeit it through thick glass gives me goosebumps if I think of that moment. I surround myself with the “memories” of the past because I find sincere inspiration in it. One of my favourite pieces on the wall is a letter with an angel my first-born granddaughter made me. I have 3 beautiful granddaughters and I keep all their artwork in my studio where I can see it every day.
If it gets too hot in the studio or it feels as if the walls are closing in on me, I take everything out to the large wooden table on the porch to work outside. I am an outdoors person and love nature. You will seldom find me working with shoes on my feet. I often paint on the porch because everything is just so much better if you have natural light. It is also not so easy to paint large canvasses on my easel, so I prefer to sit outside on the floor.
I have thousands of brushes! Or it feels like that! It is ironic because I mostly use my hands and different mark-making tools and materials when I paint. Of the 4 containers filled with brushes on my table, I have 3 that I paint with. They are old and worn out but when I reach for a brush, even if there is several new ones of the same size and brand, I will always empty the container on my table and search for those three. Of the three, I have one special one. The one that reminds me of the hours of struggle to blend a realistic face and helped me achieve my goal. The one that painted my very first painting that was sold online to a client in the States. It is almost like in my subconscious mind I see it as my magic wand or lucky charm.
Even on days when I have to do administrative work, marketing or updating my website and social media, I find myself working at the big table inside or the daybed out on the porch instead of the office. It gives me a kind of comfort that I will get through this part of my business as well because my heart constantly yearns to rather create. I think it is very important to have your own creative space, even if it is just a corner in your house. It is exactly how I started out. If I close my eyes I can see how my studio evolved from a tiny area in my dining room to the spacious areas I find myself working in. It is a relaxing space where I can be myself.
I love to create. At the moment I focus more on textile sculpting than painting because my work is unique and sells internationally. I have over 100 animal creatures who now live in the States and the rest of the world. I am thankful that I know so many people in America. That so many people love my work and support me. Every now and again I wish I could live there, but my heart is where my home is. As long as I can make art, I am happy.
