A long time ago...

A quiet little girl ...

As a child I was very quiet and shy. I preferred to be alone at home among my dolls, playing and drawing things.
Fortunately, my mother was a stay-at-home mom and my father was an artist, so there was always a safe place and a creative place nearby.
I loved being in my father's studio, observing what he made. When I was about 3-4 years old, I saw my father painting letters on a billboard. I felt so bad for the paint that was taken out of the jar and separated from the paint that was left in the jar. They would miss each other very much now....
So my sensitivity has probably always been there.

How I first met my youngest and later my other brother

Until the age of 7, I was an only child. I almost became "big sister" when I was 4, but my sister was stillborn. When I was 7, I met my little brother. He was a few weeks old and came from Chile. It was great to trade in my dolls for a real baby!
When I was 11, our second brother came, also from Chile. He was 7 at the time, spoke Spanish and fit in the middle of our line-up (11y, 7y and 3y), our family was complete.

As the years passed by...

  • Not so quiet anymore

    In elementary school, I was always "the quiet child" who only dared to say something in class after 2 trimesters. That changed in secondary school. I enjoyed acting and became a lot more confident. Psychology and sociology suited me, the creative subjects remained my favorite, and I regularly spent lunch breaks in the darkroom, where we were allowed to develop our own pictures.

  • Plans and dreams come true

    After secondary school I went to college. I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. I also went to live in a dorm and was enjoying student life to the fullest. Three years later, with my degree in hand, I was able to work as a kindergarten teacher and was very lucky to find a job at the school I attended as a child. I became a colleague of "my teachers" of the past. 

    I went to live in a cozy apartment, and in the evenings I took classes in ceramics.

  • Me and you become we

    I met my husband and discovered that living together in my apartment was much more fun than living alone. We took beautiful trips together and got married. After a few years, we moved to Lier because I wanted my own store where I could sell my unique creations. 

    At that time, I was either working in my classroom or in my store. 

    Our first son was born in December 2005, our second son in 2010. I started working less at school and my time in my store was also cut back a bit. After all, I wanted to have enough " mom time " with my sons

Relatively recent

Wake up call

A few years ago, I started having problems with my health. I took a step back to avoid heavy medication. Being a teacher, which I had always loved so much, was starting to weigh me down. My energy was gone before the day was over. 

I started studying again, graphic design. Being a student again and learning on my own was great. Since then I have been very excited to get started with the new ideas and options I had been given.

 

I really want to keep working with children, but this time with my own limits in mind.

 

My dream...

Art that touches the heart, that is what I want to create.

 

With the works I make, I want to reach the layer beneath the " apparently perfect facade". Nowadays much is focused on appearances, so we often cannot and dare not show ourselves as we really are. This way we tend to lose ourselves, do what is 'expected' of us and live on 'automatic pilot'.

An image often says more than a thousand words.

When an image does something to you, do something with it. Images are a means to connect with our inner self, allowing feelings to have a place. This can assist you in finding yourself again and rebalance.

So here I am right now

I create works that energise people and radiate warmth, positivity and hope.
Because when people feel good, they are able to be kind to other people as well.