FROM MY LIFE

Being creative and sharing

Creativity runs like a red thread throughout my life, and I love sharing what I have learned

In the article Inspiring Relatives, I wrote about growing up with creative parents, having several creative relatives, and being creative myself.

Creativity runs like a thread through my life — it’s part of the oxygen I need to be me. Where photography, both every-day and erotic photography, has interested me for as long as I can remember, I’ve done different creative things in different phases of my life.

Creative art lessons

I was 10 years old when we moved to Namibia — then still South West Africa — and when I went to high school a year later, I ended up in art class. This was the first time I had formal art lessons, including art history. I learned about the pyramid of Cheops, about mixing colors, about drawing circles freehand, the techniques behind drawing faces and much more. I had those art classes for three years, but then we moved to another city, and sadly, the next school I attended had no art class.

Designer course

I was about 19 when I moved into a tiny flat with my daughter. The evenings were quiet once she was asleep, and I looked for something to do. Since I had done my final school exams through a correspondence course, I looked at the same organization for more things I could learn. I decided on a designer course, on learning how to draw patterns to make my own clothes. Back then, it was still cheaper to buy material and make your own clothes than to buy them.

I made myself a couple of long skirts, combined with long blazer jackets. It was delightful showing off my creations. I drew all patterns using my own measurements, and the clothes fit me like a glove. I used the knowledge to design my first wedding dress, drew the pattern and gave it to my future mother-in-law, who wanted to make my dress.

My own magazine

Fast forward two and a half years, and I was a young, divorced woman with two young kids. This was when I moved down to Cape Town to join the army. I ended up working in the personnel department, and soon was part of a wonderful group of colleagues, who became and remained friends for many years (some still are).

In March 1992, I had an idea. I created a magazine with news from our department, but also some news about the military hospital where I worked. I told no one about creating the magazine, but once they held it in their hands, they all knew. My writing style gave me away.

The magazine was a hit! I meant it to be a onetime thing, but my colleagues wanted me to continue, and I did for the rest of that year. I asked a couple of them to ‘work’ as ‘journalists’ to help me compile a good magazine, and I was the ‘end editor’.

When it was time for publication, I laid out all the pages on the floor in my living room. I then arranged the articles and pictures in a way to be visually appealing. There was a lot of cut-and-paste work, and then a full day of copying all pages back to front. Every month, we distributed fifty copies of the magazine through all departments in the hospital.

I still have the original copies of the magazines, which, with the third edition, got the name ‘Talisman’. Sadly, when I transferred from Cape Town to Pretoria in January 1993, no one wanted to take over the magazine.

Wishing cards

In my first years in the Netherlands, I joined the ‘movement’ when many people started making their own wishing cards. I started out simple, but eventually moved onto making 3-D cards. Of course, those all had to be used for birthdays and Christmas and other occasions where we wanted to send a card. For my second wedding, I made the invitation cards. I only made wishing cards until I discovered web design.

Creative web design

My dream to write started at a very young age. Creating that magazine fed some of that. I started writing my No Consent series in the second year I lived in the Netherlands, as part of a healing process. Once I had written it, I wanted to share it with the world.

This was when I discovered Microsoft FrontPage. I started playing around with it, with the idea of eventually putting the story on a website. It never happened, but I taught myself a lot about creating websites, and also about HTML. I would do something on the ‘front end’ of FrontPage, then go to the HTML tab and study the code. Much of that is still in my head, and from the moment I discovered websites, I wanted my own.

The first website I created that saw the light of day was for pheromones which I sold online together with an American friend. He taught me the ropes of buying a domain, and uploading your created website to it. At the same time — back in 2001 — I also created a website for a Dutch cleaning company.

All of what I learned in those years was just the forerunner for me finally starting Rebel’s Notes (12 years old this month).

An art coach

In 2010, I wanted to get back to painting again and found an art coach in our town. I went to class once a week, where I relearned some skills which had become quite rusted over the years.

I was the only student who dared to paint anything remotely erotic. All the other ladies painted Buddha’s or mandalas or just ‘simple’ landscapes. I enjoyed seeing the different techniques they used. Some painted with the tiniest brushes and after a three-hour class, you could hardly see they had done anything. Others painted with large brushes and fewer details. That was the beauty of the group — we all had our individual styles.

Sadly, the coach moved to Rotterdam. For two or three months I attended class there, but the space she had was small, and the dynamic of the group had changed. By then I already doubted whether I wanted to continue painting. I had come to a crossroads and had to choose: painting or writing.

You know what I chose.

Sharing from my creative background

Over the years, I have learned so much. About website design, about writing, about photography and about writing manuals (I still do this for our custom made management system at work).

I love sharing my knowledge, and this is exactly why I jumped at the opportunity when my friend May More approached me about Blogable. This is a place where I can share my knowledge to help others. I love doing that!

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