Translation from Dutch
How to be successful?
Find yourself and do not look for the solution with somebody else. Networking, I really reversed it. Find out where your strengths lie and keep working on it. You have to know what you are doing and work professionally. If you have something to give and you know what it is, it is not about you, but what you have to give. If you can transfer power, people want to be with you.
Do not wait for the art world. Turn it around. The art world is missing the boat when they miss you. The art world's is hungry. If they accept you, don't get carried away and be sure not to start delivering products.
They have to get to know you first
”Some see the moment and think: hey this is the moment. But some see
the moment and they catch it”, Richard Serra once said.
Always keep your eyes open. Life is continuously passing. It's about you being sharp and concentrated. Then trust that your opportunity will come and grab it. This does not need to be something big.
You will fall if you want to grasp for what is beyond your reach. Spiritual this works
the same. If you try to achieve something you can not do, you will be unhappy and
you become unbalanced. If something is close, you only have to take it and you can
keep your balance.
How do you work ?
Recently I only work on commission. I feel more free. I do not have to make something. There is already so much things made. I never want to know what I will end up making in advance. I am a free spirit. I see the start of a project as a kind of chessboard. I analyze, look and feel as long until know what is going on. The solution will than emerge. She explains the link between all parts. My goal is the project that I am doing. I spend much time and energy on it. The works I make, are so large, I have to work with others. If I can get them enthusiastic, it becomes partly their project. Then each has its own approach and challenge. I always find out first what I want and then find to someone who knows it technically better. I always try to speak the language of the person with whom I work and know their problems. If the client himself thinks carefully about what is going on and this analysis, you have a sparring partner. He knows the situation and gives you information. If you look and listen to the ideas and intentions of others, you can use it to develop alternative solutions. alternative solutions.
Communication
The solutions has to work technically. But there are several solutions possible. Take people serious because they are seriously engaged in their field. They are open for different solutions, if you understand them and can communicate it. So make sure you understand their way of thinking. "
What if you do not have an idea ?
I go to the pub and think until I have an idea. Sometimes it takes very long. If I have no idea, I give the assignment back. "
Are you inspired by other artists?
I am very pleased if I see good art. But never copy because it will always look different. If you discover something and really understand what it deals with than you know you can never get there at all.’
You have to look for your own identity ?
The Italian sculptor Luciano Fabro, you have to discover the identity of another. Than recognize this identity of the other. Only if you succeed, you can see your own individuality. I always felt alone in the world and had the idea that nobody understood me. At one point I turned it around. I wanted to know what I had to do with others. It was a quest and that meant doubt.’
Do you keep developing ?
My Projects run many years. If the project is less hectic I'm calmer, I draw, sketches, crafts, architectural models to decide where to put certain elements in the environment. I put together the elements in the environment determine the site late. For example properties of trees around the building determine what the building looks like.