Works Artist Contact I was born in 1966 and grew up in the Dutch village of Nuenen, where van Gogh painted his 'Potato Eaters'.  My parents recognised that I was a creative soul, so from the age of twelve I started training as a florist, which in Holland is an art, craft, and big business.  After graduation I worked as a florist, but also took up oil painting and studied graphic design.  I was looking for a medium wherein I could self express; something I could do without other people's involvement. It was not until I started to work for a big company selling artificial flowers that my professional work started to become very sculptural.  I created avant garde arrangements of dry vinewood, slate and giant seed pods, built ten foot artificial trees for corporate lobbies and became well known within the company for my abstract arrangements.  I realised that what comes to me naturally is to create in 3D; this is where I was completely in my element. In 1993 on a holiday in Wales I finally found my medium: stone.  Being a bit bored I started to carve into some granite with a screwdriver and a hammer, which was very hard but I stuck with it and made a memorial relief for my friend's cottage. Back home I started to take seminars with a local artist, Linny Brouns, working in soapstone which is obviously very soft.  We were encouraged to work intuitively, which was new to me but I still work like that today.  The Egyptians called sculpture "making the stone alive", and because I never plan what I make it feels like my sculptures come to life whilst working on them. Quickly I moved on from soapstone to the other end of the spectrum, granite.  Lucien van der Eerden, a renowned sculptor, was well known for accommodating sculptors-to-be.  It was fantastic working in the magical woods where he lives, and that's where I truly started my journey to become a sculptor.  The partnership between myself and the stone became something I needed to pursue. In 1999 I moved to Cornwall, which is where I started to be able to fully focus on my sculpture.  At first I worked in my living room, where the dust got into the food and the CD player, and from there to a shed in the garden, where I worked for years without power tools to keep the noise down, being surrounded by niggly neighbours.  That way a sculpture took me several months to complete. In 2000 local painter Michael Praed opened a gallery in my village and that's when I started to sell my works, until 2011 when he retired.  Also Helen Feiler supported me for many years and displayed my work beautifully in her gallery. 2012 has brought an exciting new stage for me.  Local stone mason Victor Cowley gave me the opportunity to work on his land, where I can make lots of noise and use power tools.  I continue to work there on a daily basis.  With the support of my family and friends I hope to continue to reveal the graceful and sensual forms that lie within the stone, and to give my audience the freedom to explore and experience, to enjoy and criticise my works. Site by mjrcreative ©2012