The Need for Human Connection

Image from my German course book 

Blog 6


Over the next five months, I will reflect on my decision to remain in Canada, considering my five core values. In this blog, I write about my hunger for CONNECTION.

While I lived in Germany, I had a close-knit circle of family and friends, most of them I could reach in 30 minutes or less. I could bike or drive to my parents in about 10 minutes. I regularly met with friends to go to the movies, have dinner, attend dance courses, and visit the gym. It was indeed the couple I went to the gym with who introduced me to my husband.

I had a close relationship with my colleagues and fellow students from my correspondence courses at university, and I often saw many of them outside of work.

When I arrived in Canada in April 1995, I hardly knew my fiance’s German family. His few friends from university lived at least 100 km away. Needless to say, there was a big void of human connection.

When Ingo took a part-time job with a family friend, I felt even more trapped. I wasn’t bored because I spent the time creating teddy bears and writing to my friends, but I have never been the adventurous type, and with little money and no connections, I didn’t venture out on my own. I was intimidated by the size of everything. Remember, I came from a small town.

We visited a couple of fitness centres, but many of them had separate sections for women and men, something we were not accustomed to and didn’t want. We tried a dance school because I had made many friends during my time at a German dance school. There were dance parties every Sunday and after our classes. However, the venues we visited around Mississauga left us disheartened because we only saw middle-aged people sitting at tables with food rather than a disco-like atmosphere.

After we moved to Ottawa in August 1995, where Ingo found full-time employment, I felt even lonelier and very homesick. To meet others, I registered with the Ottawa School of Art as soon as we moved to our new home in Orleans. I was very shy and never connected with the other participants. However, I was excited about the instructor’s encouragement over my slowly re-emerging painting skills, which I had neglected for a couple of years. My rekindled interest in art became my happy place.

Once settled in Orleans, we adopted a dog and joined the Orleans Newcomers Club. I met many pleasant people through the club activities, but most of the members were already a step ahead of us with kids and added responsibilities.

I also met some Germans but realized that a shared language alone was not a sufficient basis for a friendship. Additionally, Ottawa is a significant centre for the Canadian Army, which explains why many military couples focus on their families and not on connecting with people outside of their homes. I made a good friend, only to discover a year into our friendship that they would move away. I never heard from her again.

Once we had our first child, I connected with more women in our neighbourhood and several playgroups. Unfortunately, many of them went back to work after a year. However, one of my best friends is still from playgroup times, even though our friendship only grew once our kids were already in high school after we had lost sight of each other for some time. During the years with small children, the children were the focus.

some of the many portraits I created of loved ones and quick encounters

Joining Arteast in 1999 and attending art classes helped me meet new creative people. At this point, I felt more comfortable with the language and enjoyed the activities of the organization and the local art school. I found a wonderful mentor and mother figure, Margaret Clyde, who introduced me to the Blackburn Hamlet painting group and showed me how to frame my art. She also sold my first piece, a painting of white peonies, to her neighbour.


I also got a lot of encouragement and inspiration from the women I met at Women Moving Forward, an organization created by Pierrette Raymond to provide a supportive community of growth and inspiration. My first retreat with them opened my eyes to more fulfillment when I heard the stories of the many amazing women in the group. Suddenly, I saw possibilities for myself to define myself outside of my responsibilities as a wife and mother. 

Please check my July 25 post to learn how I finally found my community

From Small-Town to Super-sized World

Train ride along the Rhein River with lots of castles and vineyards

Blog 5


As an instructor, I love sharing my experiences while learning about my students' stories. By comparing certain aspects of life in Germany and Canada, I will tell you more about my background and transformation.


When I arrived in Canada, everything was new, exciting and scary at the same time. For most of my life, I had lived close to my family and friends. The furthest distance was during my six-month internship at a yarn company in southern Germany. It was less than a 3-hour drive from there to my parents' home.


Moving 6,000 km away to a metropolis like Toronto was inconceivable. I hardly knew anything about Canada. Until then, the only time I left Europe was for a summer vacation to the Asian part of Turkey. I was used to a small town of about 10,00 people. In comparison, Frankfurt, where I worked, seemed enormous, even with a population of only about 600,000 in the early 1990s.


Aside from the big cities, much of Canada is rural or wilderness, so travel between inhabited areas is often long. It's not surprising that Germans and Canadians have different perceptions of distances. While many Canadians view a 2-hour drive as a short trip, many Germans may even question such a trip for a weekend.


Arriving in Toronto, I experienced a culture shock. Everything was super-sized: giant homes, huge cars, wide roads, massive parking lots and shopping centres. Getting to the next bus stop required a long walk. Anywhere outside of the centre of town, you still need a car. 

from my sketchbook

I love the space Canada offers. In Germany, the small streets with on-street parking annoy me. The traffic volume is so bad that I prefer public transportation during my visits. It makes traveling less stressful, and I get endless opportunities to sketch. 

 

from my sketchbook

When I visit Germany these days, I still enjoy that everything is close. You can usually walk to a couple of grocery stores, bakeries and a multitude of boutique stores.


Many Germans frequently complain about the reliability of public transportation, but it takes you almost everywhere. As Germany is less than half the size of Ontario, it becomes clear why public transit is more available in Germany. With over five times the population of Ontario, the density in cities makes public transportation more manageable.


The densely populated German country also means that most people don't own a house. Roughly half the population rents their living space, especially in the cities. Many people move to the suburbs because they cannot afford the rental fees in the large cities. It is a struggle to afford a house in Germany without a second full-time income. Plus, most people stay in their homes until they are too old to live independently or die. Therefore, many children take over their parental home. This situation is slowly changing as employment decisions have forced more people to move.


In Canada, people aim to buy a house or apartment. For many, renting is a transitional phase. When I came to Canada, I could hardly believe that people moved, on average, every seven years. However, these days, the dream of owning a house is almost unattainable for many young people due to housing shortages and the high cost of living.


I feel happy in our neighbourhood. Our family could not have afforded a house with a large yard in Germany. It was the perfect place for our children to grow up. Plus, I love my spacious art studio.

 

I like that we live close to the Ottawa River and many green spaces. However, I miss the many paths through residential neighbourhoods, through fields and woods that link towns and make Germany very bike-friendly.

During the next five months, I will reflect on my decision to stay in Canada relating to my five core values:

• Creativity
• Community
• Connection
• Collaboration
• Curiosity

The Power of Stories

Along the Weser, watercolour

Blog 4


I returned from Germany and experienced so much that I have to take some time to process it.


Whenever I come to my native country, everyone asks me whether I could imagine living in Germany again. The answer is not that easy. I realize that my three or four-week vacation is not a realistic impression of life in Germany because I meet with so many beloved people that it’s more like a continuous party. I hardly face the everyday aspects of life in Germany.


When I moved to Canada thirty years ago, on April 21, 1995, I didn’t consider the long-term consequences of the decision. I saw it as a big adventure, not a permanent change. We had scheduled six months to explore the country and find work. I guess I did suppress the possibility of moving away forever. I had only rented out my apartment for six months. However, I wanted to live forever with my future husband, Ingo.


When Ingo received a job offer in Ottawa in early August, everything happened so fast that I didn’t have time to question our decisions. It was an exciting time. Within two months, we moved to an apartment hotel, purchased a house and married.


Would I choose differently today? Could I imagine moving back? I will try to answer these questions in the upcoming blogs.


When trying to answer the questions, I have realized the answer depends less on the location and more on the people in my life. There is truth in the saying, “Home is where the heart is.”


It has troubled me lately that my connection to Germany will be non-existent in a few decades. My children and any future generations (if there will be even any) won’t remember our German roots.


However, during this visit, I realized that even if you stay in the country at some point, the people who remember you will be gone. My mother wanted to return to her hometown, Minden, one last time. I am thankful that my parents were well enough for the trip, and my son Dominic was with us when we took this trip into the past. Even though he cannot relate to my relatives because he was only two when my last grandmother died and hardly knew many of the relatives close to me, he knows now where his grandmother grew up.


We drove past her parental home, which was bombed out and rebuilt after the war. I have never been inside because my mother moved to Gelsenkirchen-Buer in the Ruhr Area in the early 1950s. However, I still recognized my grandmother’s parental home when we drove by, which I remember from visits to her brother and his wife. My mother told us about the relatives and friends who have long died or moved away. However, some places she described were still standing, like the church where she was confirmed and my parents married. It was a very emotional trip. 

 

Vanilla Ice Cream With Rhubarb Compote, watercolour

It is all about the stories we tell and the traditions we pass along. I use my art to accompany my stories. My art helps me remember the things I encounter. During my trips, I usually create sketches related to my daily activities.


How do you keep your story alive? Does it matter to you? Do you tell your family history to your children?

30 Years in Canada: A Journey of Growth, Adventure and Creativity

End of the Season, watercolour and watercolour pencil, 6" x 12"

March Blog



When you read this blog, I will be in Germany to visit family and friends. It will be a milestone trip because 30 years ago, I cleaned out my apartment to move to Canada with my then-fiancé Ingo. My decision was a big shock for my relatives and friends (especially my parents and sister) because I had never mentioned any desire to move away from Germany, definitely not to a country on the other side of the ocean.


I remember how unreal everything felt when I left the office for the last time, surrounded by well-wishes and promises to keep my colleagues updated. We were busy saying goodbye and spending as much time with family and friends to hold on to our memories.


Cleaning out my apartment was a time-consuming task. I packed most of my belongings for storage - aside from two suitcases with clothes and some necessities. Ingo, on the other hand, had hardly any belongings to pack in his furnished apartment.


I remember one visit in the frantic days before our departure when I drove to my parents in tears, feeling overwhelmed and questioning the decision. We planned to stay in Canada for six months to see whether we wanted to build our lives there. I guess I didn't truly consider the possibility of moving forever. I saw it as a big adventure after living a mostly uneventful life. Most of the time, I couldn't imagine the big adventure ahead. The reality only crept in once I had time to think about my situation.


I will never know how the story would have ended if we had returned to Germany in the fall of 1995. However, I will look at my decision not only through the rearview mirror. I will share how our decision has affected my relationships and compare the quality of life in Germany and Canada. My priorities have changed over the years, and so has the view of my art.


I have already written twice about different aspects of my immigration journey. If you want to learn more, I recommend diving into my 2016 and 2020/2021 blogs. They show my struggles and triumphs in creating a new life in a different country and inform you about many German traditions.


Here are some suggestions to start:

https://kerstinpeterspaintingblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/first-impressions-of-canada.html

and

https://kerstinpeterspaintingblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/my-immigration-journey.html.

I reflect on my 25 years in Canada in the following blog: https://kerstinpeterspaintingblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/reflection-on-my-25-years-in-canada.html. I am excited to explore if and how my opinion has changed in the past five years.


For now, I will finish this blog by celebrating my friendships with my Canadian artist friends, who have been there for me for the past 25 years. A special thank you goes to my Painting Buddies. We have influenced and supported each other for almost 20 years in our creative endeavours and through highs and lows in our private lives.

Celebrating 10 Years of Blogs on Blogspot

Elephant on Bag, wool

February Blog


Do you know I started writing my blogs on Blogspot ten years ago? I can hardly believe it. Until then, I had posted directly on my old website. It didn't offer the opportunity to search for content with keywords or to have the text translated into another language. It was a regular page on my website. I created a new page for each year and kept adding the blogs on the page one after the other for each year. During the first few years, it was never a problem because I only wrote occasionally. However, once I started writing regularly, the content of the beginning of the page was deleted due to a software bug - without any notice. I didn't realize this bug until I looked for older blogs and noticed that all content at the beginning of that page was automatically deleted after a certain number of words. 

Over the years, the number of blogs has varied. Last year, I reduced my blogs to monthly publications due to vision problems. I was supposed to have an amniotic membrane transplant this month to help with my chronic dry eyes, but the procedure was postponed until the middle of the year. Therefore, I will continue with monthly blogs. However, I encourage you to read through some older posts for inspiration to bring more creativity to your life. It is interesting to look back at the development I went through.



To see what I created this month, check out the collage of the ten watercolour paintings. They were all started during Zoom sessions with my painting friends. 

Top Row:

Weathered Welcome, watercolour and watercolour pencil, 7.5" x 5.75" 

My Favourite Tree, watercolour and watercolour pencils, 7.75" x 5.5"

Last Dash of Autumn, watercolour, 7.5" x 5.75"  

Bottom Row:

Whitewater Cottage, watercolour, 5.75" x 7.75"

Mirrored Rock, watercolour, 7.5" x 5.75"

Left column:

Maple Leaves, watercolour and watercolour pencils, 8.5" x 8.5" 

Golden Sunset in the Country, 8.25" x 11" 

 

Right column:

Orchids, watercolour, and watercolour pencils, 5.75" x 7.5"   

Pink Azalea, watercolour, 5.75" x 7.75" 

Spring Bouquet with Pink Tulips, watercolour, 7.5" x 11"

Has one of the above watercolour paintings caught your eye? I usually don't offer them for sale. However, starting this month, I will offer special promotions for newsletter subscribers. Learn more about each painting and add a precious gem to your collection. Imagine how it will feel to look at a beautiful painting whenever you need a boost - your piece of nature inside of your home. Do you want to learn more? Please email me, and I will send you a copy of my second February newsletter.



I have reduced my needle felting time due to a tennis elbow. I started a new pet portrait and created an elephant on the bag (see image at top) - another needle-felted image on a functional object. Usually, I plan the whole composition of a painting before I start. I was unsure whether to add anything but the elephant. Ultimately, I only added a bit of grass around the animal. 

I am proud that I achieved my monthly goal of 10 finished artworks again. What goals did you reach this month? Please leave a comment, and let's celebrate together.

Art as a Guide Through Life

 

Snack Time, wool, 7.5" x 11.25, CAN $450

January Blog



Art has always been my way to capture the beauty of nature. After I immigrated to Canada, it became my means to express myself without words in difficult and memorable times, a personal retreat.


I came to Canada in April 1995, following my then-financé Ingo back to the country he had lived in since childhood. While I had a degree as a foreign language correspondent in English and Spanish, most of my practice had been in the artificial space of a classroom. I felt overwhelmed when communicating in English, especially in group discussions.


After exploring the country on our route from Toronto to Vancouver, we finally settled in Ottawa. For the first year, I only was here as a tourist and had to leave the country at least every six months. I also could not get a work permit.


Wanting to meet people, I signed up for a painting class at the Ottawa School of Art. At first, I was shocked at how rusty my drawing and painting skills had become within a few years of hardly touching my tools, but I slowly regained confidence. While I didn't understand every word the instructor said, I understood enough to follow her directions and slowly found my way back into painting.


However, our growing family soon limited my creative activities again. In 2006, I entered a budding artist exhibition and won a prize for my painting, Jessie - Forever in My Heart. Creating the artwork of our beautiful Golden Retriever, who died the day after her 10th birthday, was my way to keep her memory alive and deal with the pain of losing her so suddenly. Creating the painting cost me a lot of strength. I had to stop several times when I was overwhelmed with pain. Therefore, I started a second painting, Princess Christine, a portrait of my young daughter. I submitted both paintings to the Arteast Budding Artist Exhibition. Both paintings achieved high scores, but my dog painting won in its category. Winning the prize encouraged me to get serious about painting again and develop my art beyond the hobby stage.


Fast forward a couple of decades, and I have the privilege of teaching others, and the vision for my business has become much more than providing beauty with my art. It reflects my experiences of using art to cope, explore and capture my surroundings.


As an entrepreneur, I represent my business. What I offer reflects my personal values. My core values give you transparency of my focus and whether your expectations align with my values when you consider working with me.


When I think of my values, there is one more that I could add: Inspiration. Over the years, I have experienced the power of art to celebrate life's beauty and to get me through some deep valleys. I want to share this gift with you so you experience the freedom of creative expression, which will enrich your life.

This year, I have picked a different challenge for myself. I still strive to create art every day. However, I want to complete ten unfinished projects every month instead of creating a new drawing or painting daily. I reached my goal this month. Here is a collage of the finished artworks.

 

 

To read more about each piece, please email me, and I will send you a copy of my latest newsletter. I will publish my next blog on February 28, 2025.