Artist Life
Fresh starts.
My family moved around a lot when I was young. I spent my early childhood in Germany, my middle school years in the US, and my high school years back in Germany. While my parents worried about packing up our lives in boxes, I got really good at daydreaming about my future.
It kinda made me fearless in a lot of ways. Focusing on the future was my coping mechanism for dealing with all the sad and scary thoughts about moving.
And it might explain why I have ants in my pants about forging ahead and finding my place in the world.
Each move was not only an adventure but a fresh start to a new version of me.
One thing’s for sure, I’m a firm believer in following your curiosity. Which is how I’ve ended up going down a rebel path of art-making and fashion.
Being the new kid.
What I soon learned was that after the excitement of being able to start over, came the discovery that by default I was cast as the new kid at school.
And being the new kid means you sometimes draw attention you don’t want. Because you talk funny, look different, dress weird, eat strange things, you get the idea.
The good news? I got comfortable with being a misfit.
Being a misfit doesn’t mean being indifferent. It means being comfortable with being different for the sake of your own values. In other words, for the sake of feeling comfortable in your own skin.
And for me, that means the freedom to express my creativity.This has been the desire that has guided me my entire life. It’s how I show up in the world.
Deep dives.
You might assume that I studied art in college. I did not. I studied interior design. And then working as an interior designer led to making theater props. That in turn, led to painting full-time. Followed by making wood sculptures and wood automata. Then sewing got the best of me and I made soft sculptures and fabric dolls. When my studio space got smaller, I focused more on watercolor drawings and writing.
There have also been monster puppets, paper theaters, murals, installations, scrolls, and boxes. Twenty-plus years is a long time.
But none of this happened in any kind of orderly fashion. I wish. It was more about overlapping projects where experimentation played a big role. Working on one project would always open the door to the next.
And to be honest, from the outside, it looks like I’ve never been able to make up my mind about what medium to work in. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
My mind has always been very much made up.
With every project, I’ve been following my joy.
It just so happens that my joy comes from working in many different mediums.
What’s more, I live to learn! I’m extremely process-driven and choose my projects based on what I wanna learn. In other words, I make my art to learn.
It all starts with play.
My life has been full of fresh starts, deep dives, and misfit adventures. Looking back, I can see that the magical thread weaving through it all is my ability to embrace play.
Here’s what I figured out:
There’s always a way to bring more creative play into your life. And as long as you can play and try new things, you’re never stuck.
Whenever I get scared to take the next step, I say to myself:
It’s my time to play.
PLAY = How I love to make art
PLAY = How I love to learn
PLAY = How I love to teach
Following joy, unleashing creativity, and diving into playfulness – that’s how I shine in the world! And I’m thrilled to create products and courses designed to help you do the same!