Protect your child
‘Where protection does not come from outside, personal responsibility begins. From this, the creative source is formed.’
The inner child learns to be strong when it accepts its own vulnerability. Anger, grief and despair develop strength.
Self-efficacy is achieved by positively experiencing difficult times.
I wanted to understand how people can protect themselves. What gives us the strength to be strong in situations where hope no longer exists?
What gives us the ability to endure pain in order to turn back to life?
Belief in goodness, courage and responsibility are essential for taking action.
Creativity gives us opportunities to find solutions, even when there are difficult challenges.
Year: 03/2024
Dimensions: 75 × 54 × 2 cm (H × W × D)
Material: Mixed media on cardboard, modified wooden frame with glass
Self-efficacy is achieved by positively experiencing difficult times.
I wanted to understand how people can protect themselves. What gives us the strength to be strong in situations where hope no longer exists?
What gives us the ability to endure pain in order to turn back to life?
Belief in goodness, courage and responsibility are essential for taking action.
Creativity gives us opportunities to find solutions, even when there are difficult challenges.
Year: 03/2024
Dimensions: 75 × 54 × 2 cm (H × W × D)
Material: Mixed media on cardboard, modified wooden frame with glass
In 2018, I was right in the middle of the creative process. I was working on the design of the Ringholm, a museum ship in Kappeln on the Schlei, and at the same time was developing several pieces at home. My flat had long since ceased to look like a home. It had become a studio. Every room was strewn with paints, materials, sketches and books, and unfinished artworks were scattered everywhere. There was no escaping art.
Whilst I was immersed in this creative chaos, my mother rang.
“Sweetie, you need to think of something. People are constantly asking me about the Ringholm. What’s your artistic intention? Why are you doing this? I can hardly work on the boat without getting caught up in conversations. Could you make some leaflets or a website that explain your intentions?”
I laughed: “Mum, that’s brilliant. I’ll be there at the weekend and I’ll think of something.”
Sitting on the carpet with a cup of tea in my hand, surrounded by my artistic chaos – in which there was no longer any room for my beloved sofa – I pondered where this journey should take me.
“Protect your child and change the world.” If we protect the inner child within us and help children to experience a carefree childhood, we change the world.
Full of enthusiasm, I rang my mum.
“Very nice,” she said. “And what about the flyers and the website? Otherwise, Ringholm will take too long to finish.”
So I sat back down on the floor, my sketchbook beside me. Lost in thought, I doodled away. I needed my own colours and a logo. Do female artists even do that sort of thing? Never mind. It had to suit me. That’s the most important thing!
A circle! I love circles! A ‘perfect’ shape that will never be perfect. A π with a line through it becomes an A. And, of course, a child with a halo, as a symbol of protection.
To me, turquoise stands for insight and clarity. Life is a journey towards clarity. White stands for innocence, gold for appreciation. And red? Red overwhelms me, just as life and art sometimes overwhelm me. So red had to be included too, as a darker and more challenging shade.
What began back then with a sketch gradually developed into my artistic system, which I continually rearrange, reshape and expand over time.
Whilst I was immersed in this creative chaos, my mother rang.
“Sweetie, you need to think of something. People are constantly asking me about the Ringholm. What’s your artistic intention? Why are you doing this? I can hardly work on the boat without getting caught up in conversations. Could you make some leaflets or a website that explain your intentions?”
I laughed: “Mum, that’s brilliant. I’ll be there at the weekend and I’ll think of something.”
Sitting on the carpet with a cup of tea in my hand, surrounded by my artistic chaos – in which there was no longer any room for my beloved sofa – I pondered where this journey should take me.
“Protect your child and change the world.” If we protect the inner child within us and help children to experience a carefree childhood, we change the world.
Full of enthusiasm, I rang my mum.
“Very nice,” she said. “And what about the flyers and the website? Otherwise, Ringholm will take too long to finish.”
So I sat back down on the floor, my sketchbook beside me. Lost in thought, I doodled away. I needed my own colours and a logo. Do female artists even do that sort of thing? Never mind. It had to suit me. That’s the most important thing!
A circle! I love circles! A ‘perfect’ shape that will never be perfect. A π with a line through it becomes an A. And, of course, a child with a halo, as a symbol of protection.
To me, turquoise stands for insight and clarity. Life is a journey towards clarity. White stands for innocence, gold for appreciation. And red? Red overwhelms me, just as life and art sometimes overwhelm me. So red had to be included too, as a darker and more challenging shade.
What began back then with a sketch gradually developed into my artistic system, which I continually rearrange, reshape and expand over time.