What a wonderful three days it has been! Walking in a spiral from the outside in for eight months, and it’s been inward and shedding for me too, letting go of things in me that no longer feel at home. So grateful to be back at it!
I was invited by De Loods to be their first artist in residence with my walk. We made prints using clay as a base, then small textile collages that will end up in the final artpiece, and finally little textile houses. The children of the Opzichterstraat and surrounding streets helped me lots, and so did people from Zinneke, the home for people with learning disabilities right in front of ‘de Loods’, and from another home a bit further away. Such beautiful people, I love working with them.
Gunther taught a yoga class as I was setting up, such a warm, caring man with amazing confidence. There were many sweet encounters as children and adults glued little houses and flats and I sewed them. The wind was a factor to take into account, and that’s two nights in a row I was ironing little squares dry because things fell in puddles! Sadly most of one day got rained out, but an excellent time was had nonetheless.
I asked everyone: what do you need to feel at home? The children gave a few shy answers: family, my bed. The people from Zinneke answered more archaically: een schoon madammeke (a pretty lady), LIEFDE (love). Some more: Passion, from one of the caregivers. Surprises, from Sara, a beautiful soul who lives in the home. Brussels, from Marcel, an older gentleman who is really still a boy. And friends and family, from Rania, an 11 year old street resident and my top star helper.
The houses will form the edge of the map. We made 61 of them!
Thank you Katrien and Pieter for this amazing chance, and thank you to everyone at ‘de Loods’, I’ll be visiting such lovely people. I really, really enjoyed my three days with you. Thanks for the trust.
At the end of the last day I walked home, 6.5 km 🚶♀️
