About me and my art
Soul searching
My first ever painting I made when I was 14 years old. I called it Soul searching. I still think it is the most powerful work I've ever made. It opened a new world to me: Art as a way to express myself when words could not cover the depths of my feelings and emotions.
I remember feeling exhilarated with this sense of breakthrough and showed it to my parents. "That's nice", they said. "Make sure to clean up the garage when you're done".
5 years later, my parents talked me out of becoming an artist. I was doomed to a life of poverty. They meant well.
I could not live in any of the worlds offered to me - the world of my parents, the world of war, the world of politics. I had to create a world of my own, like a climate, a country, an atmosphere in which I could breathe, reign and recreate myself when destroyed by living. That, I believe, is the reason for every work of art.
ANAïs NIN
Clueless
I pleased my parents by studying Law and French, and I took complementary courses in Journalism. I had many shitty jobs that made me deeply unhappy. Till I was 30, I had no clue what I wanted to do "when I grow up". I struggled with relationships and with my health. My main priority was processing my traumas, dealing with addiction and related hardships. During a massive burnout, I decided to become a freelance writer. That was in 2009. I loved the autonomy and proved to myself that life is easier when you do something you love. I appreciate that people valued me as an expert and paid me accordingly. Gradually, it dawned on me that I have stories to tell myself instead of writing about other people’s products, services, or strategies etc. I want to share my personal story. I want to inspire others to transform their pain and suffering and reconnect with their essence as I did. Therapy, astrology, being a life artist, singing, and writing poetry kept me afloat all these years.
Mess is more
Muriel Van Peteghem. Bodypainting: House of body art © L. de Veth
© Ernst van Deursen