Musings on creativity
It is a great wonder to look at nature, to see metamorphosis producing a butterfly, the perfect balance in the curve of an unfolding fern...and it is impossible not to be reminded that creativity and art is so directly linked to the Creator Himself.
I have always loved life, art and all things creative, and as the years go by I'm more and more in awe of the creative process.
During my childhood years in South Africa the creative people and wonders all around me fueled my creative instincts. I was fascinated by the processes of carving and sculpting, bonsai growing, wood-turning and welding, which I learned from my dad. I had a beautiful collection of amazing sub-tropical insects, a semi-precious stone collection, which I sorted, a bit obsessively, into different classifications of colour and type, and loved experimenting in the kitchen with both food and art materials. Mum taught me and my sister good sewing skills, and by high school we were making our own clothes, which was quite a fashionable activity then, and an extinct one today. I loved climbing in any tree that presented the possibility, and when we were on holiday at our beloved wild sanctuary of Kosi Bay, I walked the tropical forests for hours following the calls and searching for the nests of my favourite birds.
My room had a strange collection of artifacts that probably belonged in a eccentric's study rather than a teenage girl's room, a bird skeleton still in its nest, a bright orange bracket fungus on a piece of wood which kept growing for many years, a mole and a snake in bottles of formaldehyde (of course I did, I have wanted to be a doctor, taxidermist, biologist and explorer in the Amazon). There was also a little flask of quicksilver from a spillage in our primary school science class and a beautiful chunk of petrified wood from the Namib Desert. I played the piano, the flute and the guitar, loved languages, and I always wanted to travel. Looking back I realized that all these activities sprouted from an inquisitiveness, an interest in nature and experiencing life, which had a direct influence on my creative path. Looking back I can see how all these interests came together to shape me and my art.
After school I spent a year in the Army, and after studying music, psychology and languages at university for a while, I worked as a sign writer and graphic artist. I became a yoga teacher and an artist blacksmith, and built a business in bespoke metalwork that kept me creatively busy and working physically hard for many years. Since our immigration to Australia I decided to sharpen my creative focus and follow my dream of being a full-time artist. Within the first year, I was participating in several art shows in ACT and NSW, started making regular sales, and started up a creativity group with a talented and enthusiastic group of art students.
I have recently completed studies at ANU School of Art, majoring in Sculpture. The network of amazing artists, lecturers and students we are exposed to is a great source of career knowledge and practical inspiration, and many of them have made a lasting impact on my life and thinking.
What a rewarding journey it's been! I am deeply thankful for each creative gift and every opportunity that came along the way. I am still often surprised to see how faithfully the physical laws of creativity work: don't be afraid of the blank page, just start. When things seem at a dead end, just keep working. Work because of the joy of it, not to sell. And often the sale comes anyway (thank you, Julia Cameron!).
I enjoy encouraging others to develop their creative potential, and I believe that we all need to be creative in some are of our life. I want to express my faith and hope in my work, bring light and encouragement to whoever needs it. And although life has its pain and struggle along the way, I hope that we will never lose the wonder, fearlessness and innocence with which we saw the world as children.
Canberra, Dec 2019
It is a great wonder to look at nature, to see metamorphosis producing a butterfly, the perfect balance in the curve of an unfolding fern...and it is impossible not to be reminded that creativity and art is so directly linked to the Creator Himself.
I have always loved life, art and all things creative, and as the years go by I'm more and more in awe of the creative process.
During my childhood years in South Africa the creative people and wonders all around me fueled my creative instincts. I was fascinated by the processes of carving and sculpting, bonsai growing, wood-turning and welding, which I learned from my dad. I had a beautiful collection of amazing sub-tropical insects, a semi-precious stone collection, which I sorted, a bit obsessively, into different classifications of colour and type, and loved experimenting in the kitchen with both food and art materials. Mum taught me and my sister good sewing skills, and by high school we were making our own clothes, which was quite a fashionable activity then, and an extinct one today. I loved climbing in any tree that presented the possibility, and when we were on holiday at our beloved wild sanctuary of Kosi Bay, I walked the tropical forests for hours following the calls and searching for the nests of my favourite birds.
My room had a strange collection of artifacts that probably belonged in a eccentric's study rather than a teenage girl's room, a bird skeleton still in its nest, a bright orange bracket fungus on a piece of wood which kept growing for many years, a mole and a snake in bottles of formaldehyde (of course I did, I have wanted to be a doctor, taxidermist, biologist and explorer in the Amazon). There was also a little flask of quicksilver from a spillage in our primary school science class and a beautiful chunk of petrified wood from the Namib Desert. I played the piano, the flute and the guitar, loved languages, and I always wanted to travel. Looking back I realized that all these activities sprouted from an inquisitiveness, an interest in nature and experiencing life, which had a direct influence on my creative path. Looking back I can see how all these interests came together to shape me and my art.
After school I spent a year in the Army, and after studying music, psychology and languages at university for a while, I worked as a sign writer and graphic artist. I became a yoga teacher and an artist blacksmith, and built a business in bespoke metalwork that kept me creatively busy and working physically hard for many years. Since our immigration to Australia I decided to sharpen my creative focus and follow my dream of being a full-time artist. Within the first year, I was participating in several art shows in ACT and NSW, started making regular sales, and started up a creativity group with a talented and enthusiastic group of art students.
I have recently completed studies at ANU School of Art, majoring in Sculpture. The network of amazing artists, lecturers and students we are exposed to is a great source of career knowledge and practical inspiration, and many of them have made a lasting impact on my life and thinking.
What a rewarding journey it's been! I am deeply thankful for each creative gift and every opportunity that came along the way. I am still often surprised to see how faithfully the physical laws of creativity work: don't be afraid of the blank page, just start. When things seem at a dead end, just keep working. Work because of the joy of it, not to sell. And often the sale comes anyway (thank you, Julia Cameron!).
I enjoy encouraging others to develop their creative potential, and I believe that we all need to be creative in some are of our life. I want to express my faith and hope in my work, bring light and encouragement to whoever needs it. And although life has its pain and struggle along the way, I hope that we will never lose the wonder, fearlessness and innocence with which we saw the world as children.
Canberra, Dec 2019