Vernissage of my December 2018 exhibition “Feeling the Light” in Altona Rathaus, Hamburg
2018 has been a year rich in creative possibilities and encounters. I’m so grateful for the beautiful souls whom I have met on my creative journey and who have enabled me to express my creativity in so many different ways.
I’ve been so touched by the wonderful messages of encouragement, the testimonials of my clients, the compliments of strangers, friends (new and old), colleagues and family members – be it in person or online. I can truly feel the care of each person. This makes me smile and I can feel my heart expand as I write. Thank you. You know who you are: you are reading these lines.
There are a few individuals who have made 2018 such a special year. First of all there’s Yoanna, the owner of the lovely gallery Galeríeka, who made two of my exhibitions possible this year, once in Winter and a second time in late Summer.
Then, there’s Florence who magically opened doors in the French community in Hamburg and gave me confidence to try new things.
Without Florence, I would never have met Marie-Christine and Marie of Hambourg Accueil who then gave me an amazing opportunity: my first live painting performance at the Bal de l’Amitié in the elegant Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg in March 2018. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of painting intuitively on the theme of 60 years of partnership between Hamburg and Marseille.
There is also Sophie, another French person whom Florence introduced me to, who made my second live performance possible – this time at the French Consulate, as part of the entertainment programme of the “Lange Nacht der Konsulate” in May 2018.
I’m so grateful to Lisa and Hendrik who allowed me to reveal myself as an artist in the beautiful video “Feeling the Light” that I decided to make in March 2018 to explain what my art process was about.
Christine and Hartmut also opened more creative possibilities for me, encouraging me to do my first group workshop as part of the activities of their foundation hem Stiftung. I ended up teaching to 8 adults for a whole afternoon in April 2018. I realised how much I love introducing people to the wonderful world of intuitive painting.
A few weeks later, thanks to Hendrik, I met Monika who runs the voluntary Weekend School programme at a secondary school in Wilhemsburg. Monika opened the doors for my second large group workshop, this time with a dozen of secondary school children – another unique experience which showed me the power of art to open minds and hearts.
Christine and Hartmut helped make my third exhibition come true this year in the fantastic setting of the Altona Rathaus in December 2018. They organised all the logistics, from room booking to transport for 30 paintings at the weekend, helped with hanging of my paintings in the city halls early in the morning, organised the vernissage and provided moral support too.
Stephanie opened her studio for a private tuition on stretching canvases and she has welcomed me her artistic community, allowing me to meet Barbara whose advice has been very important to me.
Frédérique has not only been a great friend, but a patient listener to my creative doubts and endeavours, with whom I spent many hours experimenting with different media and talking art.
I was lucky to meet my dear creative Instagram companion Anne-Christine in person this year, getting buckets of inspiration in her many creative ways.
To my lovely students whom I have guided in workshops on intuitive painting: thank you for your trust and being brave in the process. Here’s to your wonderful creativity!
Throughout 2018, Andreas and Anne have journeyed with me on the creative path and have helped nurture and support new creative opportunities. A wonderful project has been slowly growing and will come to fruition on 12 January 2019 at 8pm in Hamburg at the Kirche der Stille, Helenenstrasse 14A, 22765 Hamburg.
Finally, I am infinitely grateful for the continuous support of my husband Martin and the inspiration that my daughter Charlotte provides each and every day. Thank you for being in my life, thank you for bearing with me when I am down and for celebrating my successes, no matter how small they are. I love you.