art

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." – Scott Adams

My work begins with the careful selection of linen. The stacks of sheets, grain sacks, and rolls of old linen that I see as soon as I enter my studio already form a composition in themselves, an image that brings me both calm and inspiration.

This is where it all started. The 19th-century linen fabrics I work with are always narrow woven. At the time, looms were never wider than approximately 60 cm. The sheets from that period therefore contain visible seams where the narrow strips of fabric were joined together. These seams are an essential part of my work. It is not a neutral surface, but a present and tangible foundation that carries the work and gives it direction.

These fabrics carry time with pride. Repairs remain visible and tell their own story. The many washings and the intensity of use have brought the linen to life; it has gained a softness and layering that cannot be imitated.

The stitching technique used is inspired by the 17th-century Japanese tradition of Sashiko. This was originally applied to reinforce and embellish fabrics.

This form of stitching requires a great deal of time. A meditative ritual that can continue for days on end. Sometimes in silence, sometimes accompanied by carefully chosen music or sounds.

Repetitive, carried by focus and presence.

Only once this stage is complete do I sense which pigments it calls for. I then determine the color and work with many layers of pigment, which ultimately give the work depth and allow the story to become visible.
Framing is not an ending, but a final gesture: a frame that anchors the work, defines its space, and at the same time allows it to breathe.

After graduating from art school, my creativity was pushed to the background by other responsibilities, until it gradually found full space again around my fiftieth year.

Through a self-taught development, my work has taken on various forms. I designed our home and studio and began exploring traditional crafts as a form of research, without a functional purpose.
Papermaking, creating pigments and paint, making herbaria of seaweed, carving spoons from wood, and engaging with the rituals of tea culture became ways to reconnect with material, time, and attention.

This path has led to my current practice: translating the art form of Sashiko into paintings.

I work from my studio in ’s-Gravenwezel, Belgium, but also in nature. With my self-designed tiny house on wheels, I seek out the quietest, most hidden places.
There I embroider thousands of stitches onto old linen, which only reveals its final colour and meaning once it returns to the studio.

inquire the catalog