Copenhagen raised me as an artist
When I moved to Copenhagen in 2020, I was a shy newby in the art world. After dropping my finance job in 2016, I’ve been working as a digital artist doing this and that to gain experience and develop my skills in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. A few months before the move I’ve started painting on Converse shoes and that would be all I could do when it comes to traditional painting. So in terms of skills there was a lot of space for exploration. On top of that there was a whole new big non-virtual art world to make friends with… Back in my home country, when I was working remotely on upwork.com, I did not taste what it was to be a part of an art society. Surprisingly I’ve never had to introduce myself to anyone ‘I am an artist’…This part was about to get uncovered for me …
Why did I not continue working on upwork.com?
I've become too expensive for my clients
New country, new career path...how to start?
My colourful custom shoes became a conversation starter
Well, moving to a foreign country is tough. Moving to a foreign country during lockdown is even tougher. On top of that being an introvert, who doesn’t like small talk doesn’t help he he
Months after the move, I didn’t have any friends and my freelancing on upwork.com was slowly dying… Putting my introvert /couch potato aside, I’ve started searching for social interactions on facebook expat group in Copenhagen. This is where I met my first Copenhagen friend – Radostina from Forindet and I’ve discovered Art Escape Studios. This is also where I was invited to my first of many Immart dinners.
At that time I was deep into painting on Converse shoes and some started to refer to me as the sneakers lady. Wearing my colourful shoes with the Mermaid of Warsaw, was a great conversation starter and also became my brand.
Getting out there
Explorations of a couch potato
In a result of my explorations, as soon as the covid lockdown lifted in 2021, I’ve joined the collective at Art Escape Studios and Cafe and started to work there 3-4 days a week. This is when a ‘flood’ of new acquaintances and potential friend materials started. On top of that I was already a part of volunteer team at sustainable small local honey producer bybi.dk. Apart from being a sneaker lady I was also kind off known as a fan of bees, creating at that time my first series of acrylic paintings ‘Geoffrey the Beekeeper‘.
Every day was a challenge and big social energy eater. My introvert was tested all way long.
All these new experiences!
Living digital world for traditional arts opened exciting new opportunities
To be clear, I didn’t completely leave the digital art. I just took a break to explore new possibilities. If I wanted to exhibit at Art Escape Studios, I needed to learn traditional techniques. That’s what I did! First acrylics on wood, then watercolours. Then it started… First group exhibition and showing my art to total strangers and non-artists. First solo exhibition and first serious art speech! First exhibition abroad and 2nd place in the international art competition. Once I was ready to share my knowledge with others, there was first workshop for kids and first workshop for adults.
From Geoffrey and the bees to seal Sluzy
How I become a local artist in South of Copenhagen
In 2023, after ‘Geoffrey the beekeeper’ and ‘Don’t Let Them Fool You’ (my two biggest collections of paintings at that time), I left the Art Escape Studio and also moved from the north to the south of Copenhagen. These big changes threw me out of track for some time until I met Sluzy – a local seal who visits south Copenhagen in the winter.. This is how I created a collection of watercolour postcards and illustrations, which quickly gained quite a few fans in my neighbourhood. It gave me an anchor and a sense of belonging to a Sluzy community.
I am...erm...an artist...i guess...
The most difficult sentence ever
When you meet new people, one of the first questions is usually: ‘So what do you do?’. This is where I used to make the biggest ‘erms’ …
One of my worst nightmares was telling about myself during Immart dinners. The role of these dinners is to connect like minded people. Hence before we eat, instead of a prayer, we do an introduction of each and one of us. Just a few words about where we are from, what we do and why. Sounds easy but for an introvert and a newby in the art world as me, it was never easy. My story changed every time and my confidence levels were fluctuating. It took me years and a bucket of experiences including failures and successes to say one simple starting sentence without a hesitation- ‘I am an artist’.
Farewell Copenhagen
Next chapter awaits
Knowing that I am leaving Copenhagen this summer, I have decided to show a bit of appreciation for all the good things that happened to me and created a collection of sketches ‘My Farewell Hugely Hyggelig Copenhagen Project‘.
As a mum, I got a break here feeling that my kids were safe and could travel to school without my assistance. As an artist, I’ve learned what my story is and how to tell it to others.
Although I am sad to leave Copenhagen, I am also excited to see what the future brings. Am I going to be able to hold to my confidence, or will the new place erase it all? Let’s see 🙂
