From Isolation to Connection: The Power of Collaboration

Gift for a Painting Buddy's birthday,
Robert Murrell, Janis Fulton, Kerstin Peters, 2025

Blog 10



Building Connections in a New Country

When I arrived in Canada, I realized quickly I had to get out of my comfort zone and leave the house to build connections. I could not rely on my husband, who spent most of his days at work or my family and friends in Germany, who were thousands of kilometres away. 

Joining several organizations and getting to know more people was the first step in building connections, but to grow, I needed to collaborate with others. Since I did not shy away from responsibilities, I first became the newsletter editor and the following year the president of the Orleans Newcomers Club. While I already learned a lot about Canadian customs during the hosted club events, I got even closer to the executive members while organizing the club’s activities.

Finding Comfort Through Art

Due to my shyness, collaborating on art-related activities felt less intimidating than other forms of communication, because conversations flowed more naturally while we concentrated on our projects. 


While I had met other artists during the Arteast meetings and events, many of them were already at a different stage of their lives. Nevertheless, I learned much from them, especially from my friend and mentor, Margaret Clyde. 

Canada in Leaf, Canada 150 Arteast project, 
on display at the Nepean Library Centrepointe Branch

Things changed when I met the Painting Buddies through fellow Arteast member Rebecca Dufton. I finally found a group of peers with like-minded interests. Soon after, I joined Hélène Martin and Janis Fulton as the executive of the Galerie de la Rive, where I met even more artists. The exchange of perspectives and the sharing of skills made me feel like my voice was valued. Finally, I felt a sense of belonging in my new country. 

 

Kerstin Peters, Janis Fulton, Hélène Martin

 

New Doors Opening

Stepping in for a friend at Bob MacQuarrie Complex daycare unexpectedly opened the doors to offer courses in German and art at the facility and later at François Dupuis Recreation Centre, where I have been teaching art classes for children since 2011, with the support of my fantastic supervisor, who has always been open to my ideas and suggestions.


Opportunities often came from unexpected places. When my children reached Sunday School age, I began teaching at Resurrection Lutheran Church. I not only got to know the other children, but also their parents. Years later, some of these parents asked me to offer a painting course at the church. 

Growth Through Leadership and Shared Experiences

25 Years Plein Air Ensemble Exhibition, 
vernissage March 26, 2015 with Royal Galipeau

Each step forward opened new doors. Five years after my first painting trip with the Plein Air Ensemble, Hélène and I became the co-coordinators of their spring and fall trips and the group’s successful 25th Anniversary Exhibition. We later stepped down when I began teaching German to Government of Canada employees through Graybridge, but the experience had already enriched my creative and professional path. 

Once I decided to transform my hobby into a career, I joined the Women’s Business Connection in Orleans, where I met many businesswomen and learned from their experiences. Again, I took over a position in the executive and grew closer to some of the members. The monthly meetings motivated and inspired my personal growth and business focus, leading to new collaborations. 

Yoga and Art Retreat with Jackie Leduc (second row left)

After attending a business workshop together, Jackie Leduc and I hosted a successful day retreat combining yoga and painting — a beautiful example of creative synergy.


Not every collaboration worked out as hoped. A successful partnership requires shared goals and values. However, when skills and perspectives complement one another, it is a win for everyone. 

Blending Passions and New Possibilities

 

Learn German Through Art, image from a class with Helena Guzmán

 
The COVID-19 pandemic made collaborations even more crucial. To stand out among instructors, I combined my German and art skills to create my Learn German Through Art program, which uses drawings to anchor new material and make learning more fun and easier. These combined skills led to new opportunities for workshops and demonstrations.

Levanta online magazine, featuring Kerstin Peters

More recently, I have worked with  Helena Guzmán on several projects, including creating workshops, being featured in her online magazine, Levanta, and updating my website. We share a love for art, languages, similar roots and immigration experiences. The joint projects have brought us even closer. We respect each other and support each other’s businesses. The brainstorming and realization of ideas have built trust and mutual appreciation for our work. 

The Joy of Shared Growth

Collaborations transformed my isolation into connection. Each partnership has helped me grow as an artist, teacher, and person. I love learning from each other to grow together. Every time I work with someone, I appreciate their opinions and support. My students, whether adults or children, challenge me to keep learning, exploring, and giving my best to inspire and guide them to discover their creativity.



Collaboration is a catalyst for growth. What small step can you take this week to collaborate with someone and create something new together?

It's All About ART

Blog 20


Shortly after my 30th birthday, I immigrated to Canada from Germany. Despite an English and Spanish language and business degree, I was afraid to speak English. I felt stupid because I could not express myself with the subtleties of my mother tongue.


After my move, I became an outsider. I was not allowed to work during the first year while I waited for my permanent resident papers. I felt very alone and homesick without support from my family and friends. I craved connection. I returned to art, my first love, to express myself and to find new friends.


Art has always had a role in my life. Sometimes the part was bigger, and other times life events took precedence. I have created art since I was a child. I remember a visit to a large construction site. My father, an architect, took care of work while I drew his office from all directions.


Art allows you to express yourself in a non-verbal way. However, art is not only used to capture the beauty of our environment, our dreams or visions of our imagination. Art helps people deal with traumatic experiences and is a fantastic visualization tool.


When people think about art, they often think of the beautiful nature paintings of the Group of Seven, van Gogh, Monet or any other master painter. Others might think of art as a means to address and capture social issues and wars or a way to process personal experiences, like the art of Frida Kahlo.

 

When many people think of art, they don’t consider the everyday use of drawing and sketching as artistic. However, when you create a map for someone, a drawing to describe an object, a pattern for a sweater, the shapes and forms used in geometry or the illustration of mathematical divisions, these are all based on visual communication using art. 

The definition of art can describe the

1) creative visual expression in paintings, drawings or sculptures to capture the beauty of life

2) various creative activities like painting, music, literature, and dance

3) skill you achieved through practice doing a specified activity, the art of small talk, the art of cooking

I capture the beauty of nature in my artworks to provide joy and a piece of outdoors for the living space. As a German instructor, I use art to help my students visualize new materials for faster and longer-lasting memorization.

My art has helped me cope with difficult situations in my life, like the terrible fall last year that bound me to a wheelchair for weeks and made it impossible to leave the house for months. I don’t know how I would have coped with the pain and frustration without immersing myself in my world of art. Despite the pain, I started drawing on the first day in my hospital room and continued with daily creative projects.


I want to inspire you to see more ways to use creative expressions. I want people to see their creative potential and embrace their uniqueness. Art and language go hand in hand to enrich our lives, provide relaxation and build bridges of understanding. I aim to bring people to support and inspire each other. 

 

 

If you are intrigued and want to bring more art into your life, contact me at info@KerstinPeters.ca. I offer needle felting sessions and German Through Art courses

Here are my current specials if you want to join my needle-felting workshops:

The Many Uses of Art

 

Blog 4

 

If you have visited my website, you have noticed that aside from my artworks and art courses, which reflect my love for nature and art, I also teach German. When I first started teaching, I started teaching German before teaching art. As a German citizen with a degree as a Foreign Language Correspondent, I took the opportunity to teach German beginner classes at one of the City of Ottawa recreation centres. It was a chance to share my language and traditions with people who wanted to learn German. Later, I also started teaching government employees for a private company.


I loved teaching German as much as I love teaching art. A couple of years ago, I realized that I had an advantage over other German instructors to distinguish myself from the crowd. I could combine my skills as an artist with my language ones. The result is my programme Learn German Through Art. Did you know that 65 Percent of the population are visual learners? Therefore, it is no surprise that art is used in many different areas to visualize content.


When we talk about art, we think of the masters or the fun we experience pursuing a creative hobby. Visual art allows you to express yourself in a non-verbal way. However, art is not only used to capture the beauty of our environment, our dreams or visions or images of our imagination. Art helps people deal with a traumatic experience. Frida Kahlo is an artist that comes to my mind when I think of a famous artist who expressed her pain and trauma openly through her art.


Many cultures use art to visualize the content of their beliefs and rituals with symbols. This custom was even crucial to pass knowledge when many people lacked the education to read. Now is part of the heritage and culture of a society.


When many people think of art, they don’t consider the everyday use of drawing and sketching as artistic. However, when you create a map for someone, a drawing to describe an object, a pattern for a sweater, or illustrate mathematical divisions or collections in set theory, these are all based on visual communication using art. 

 

My programme Learn German Through Art is based on the same principle of visual expression to visualize and memorize new content. The result is that my students learn faster and have lots of fun creating their sketches. It does not matter if they have any previous art skills. We can all draw lines (and no, they don’t have to be straight) and simple shapes that are the basis for every artwork. The art part of the class helps to relax and from time to time creates some comical entertainment.


If you are intrigued by my method and want to learn German, please reach out to me by contacting me at info@KerstinPeters.ca.

25 Years in Canada - January to August 2020

By The River, acrylic, 14" x 11", CAN $375

Blog 27



I started 2020 with a wonderful vacation at the cottage. It was great to recharge after the time in Germany. I always cherish the time there with family and friends, but it is not a relaxing vacation. I usually have a full schedule to see as many people as possible. Having some quiet days before going back to the daily routine was precious. Nothing indicated that our lives would drastically in a short time.

The first workshop I hosted was a vision board workshop with an enthusiastic group of women. We all had our visions and goals mapped out for an exciting year. I wonder how many of us had to revise our plans when physical isolation started. I still have my board up and intend to reach all my intentions by the end of next year.

Next came my first felted painting workshop. We had a lovely time creating a beautiful winter sunset while the rain was pouring down outside.

For the 10th-anniversary of the Navan Fine Art Exhibition and Sale, I created drawings that the students of the Heritage Public School would colour to commemorate the history of Navan, Ontario. 

some paintings of the Winter Inspiration exhibition

 

On January 13, my daughter and I hung some of my felted paintings at the François Dupuis Recreation Centre for the Arteast Winter Inspiration show.

Two of my art courses at François Dupuis Recreation Centre ran at capacity. The two others also had a solid number of participants. I enjoyed sharing my passion and nurturing the creative seeds of the children.

I continued offering the monthly Art Cafes and painting parties and had an exciting schedule for the spring session.

On February 3, our Navan group arranged a display of our artworks in the Shenkman Arts Centre to advertise our 10th-anniversary show. A couple of days later, I delivered my painting Evening Glow for the Arteast Promenade exhibition Winter Inspiration.

Fishing Huts at Petrie Island, 8" x 10", oil, CAN $250

 

I taught fewer German classes during the winter semester, which allowed me to meet my painting buddies more often. Our first get-together was at the National Gallery, followed by a painting session at my house. In February, we managed to paint at Petrie Island, our first winter outing in years. It was so peaceful to be outside. For me, it also was the first time to paint with oil paints in over two years. It took some adjusting, but I enjoyed the way I could blend the colours. The last meeting was in early March when we set up at the side of the road and painted some trees after the barn we wanted to paint was blocked by snow.

some paintings of the Emotions and Moods exhibition

 

On the evening of March 12, after a visit to a local art store, my daughter and I hung some of my paintings for the Emotions and Moods Arteast exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. News about the closure of schools after the March break in Ontario due to the COVID pandemic emerged and created fears of further closures. Christine and I decided to make a quick stop at a big grocery store to get dog food. What we saw there was a similar scene. Lines to the cash registers went to the far back of the store. Shelves were empty. Some people had two carts stacked to the top with groceries. Even though we had been encouraged to buy emergency provisions for a couple of weeks, most people seemed to have put it off. You could feel the panic in the air.

While people worried about the pandemic, I was more concerned with the declining strength of our beloved almost 15-year-old Australian Shepherd, Alex. On the morning of March 14, I found Alex in the middle of a seizure. After a couple of minutes, Alex recovered and was ready for food. I, on the other hand, was beside myself. I was extremely distressed that we would need to euthanize Alex without us by his side. For the next couple of months, I would shed many tears while Alex got weaker and weaker. Nevertheless, he also taught me a lesson about enjoying life until the last minute.

Our lives started changing rapidly. Everything started to close down on March 16, 2020. I am sure nobody imagined that workplaces, education, recreational and cultural facilities would close for months worldwide. It seemed unthinkable that we would have to stay away from everyone outside our households. While I have missed the cultural outings, the physical isolation from family and friends has been challenging.

To help others and myself find creative ways to reduce stress, I created online workshops. During the next couple of months, I worked more than ever before. Luckily, most of my German classes were already virtual before the pandemic. My work schedule helped me create a routine, which was difficult for many people who were home without work.

The Old Stone House, Mallorca, watercolour on paper, 9" x 12", NFS

I also looked to connect with others. With a group of my language school friends, I have met weekly since April 2020. For my painting buddies, I have scheduled weekly Zoom meetings. At first, we only chatted, then we started painting and drawing a new image together every week. I also joined the New York City Urban Sketchers' Virtual Sketching events that were much fun. I also connected with a group of international artists for weekly video chats to discuss how to adapt.

Let's Draw What's in your Fridge

 

I extended the Crafters Afternoon to 90 minutes and offered free Art & Craft workshops on Saturdays. I added a new drawing workshop called Let's Draw What's in your Fridge.

The limitations of online technology created new challenges. I had to figure out how to adapt the in-person teaching to the two-dimensional world of video calls. My students were flexible to the adjustments we had to make along the way. I liked that I could reach people from around the world, but I missed the personal interactions. Later in the summer, the virtual platforms helped me give art classes to group homes in the Greater Toronto Area. This collaboration is still ongoing and very meaningful for all parties. I also reached other new clients in other parts of Canada and the United States.

To differentiate my German courses from other online offers, I combined my art and German teaching skills to develop my Learn German Through Art programme. I created my own course book and additional learning materials. As a result, my new students had more fun and memorized new material much faster when they drew small sketches during each lesson.

 

After Alex had his seizure, the urgency of finishing my three-dimensional felted version of him increased. When I did not take a course to transform my business for the new reality, updated my website and marketing, I felted my dog. However, the project progressed slowly, as Alex did not shed much anymore.

Alex, dog fur, wool, air-dry clay, glass eyes

Finally, at the end of June, my painting buddies and I met for the first time outside. The four of us spread far apart in Cumberland Village and painted some old houses. It was fun even though we felt rusty.

As I was the principal caregiver for Alex, I avoided being away from him, concentrating on making the most of the cherished time. However, I still reached out to other entrepreneurs for collaborations and support. I applied for an interview with the power duo Leigh Shenton and Paula Telizyn. It was a challenge to be in the spotlight, but I was proud of taking the initiative. You can watch the interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6jiGOP0IeA.

I learned a lot about myself and in my business during the past years. In two weeks, on the 25th anniversary of becoming a landed immigrant, I will comment on my decision about my immigration and the life I created for myself. Thanks for your interest in my story.

Blog-free Week

While I am not officially doing my Creativity Challenge anymore, I still aim to spend some creative time every day. It always calms me down and brings me joy even when I have a frustrating day.

I am glad for the weekly virtual meeting with my painting buddies. During our hour together, we have worked on a variety of subjects. It is fun to see how each of us translates the photos into artworks. I usually use watercolour pencils or coloured pencils but have also worked with watercolours. Most of the time, I still work on the piece after our meetings.

I also enjoy the time with my students. Creating artworks to demonstrate different techniques and materials is always a fun experiment. I learn something from every new project.

Last but not least, I enjoy creating stories and relating images for my German students. My students in the Learn German Through Art courses are progressing well and enjoy the little sketches we draw during class.

Here is a collage of finished works from the last two weeks:

If you feel inspired to bring more creativity and joy to your life, my new workshop and course schedule for February to April is now on my website at https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/eventscourses/.

Blog-free Week

 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to a nice weekend after a fabulous week of "Learn German Through Art Camp". The success of language  learning supported by art was exceptional. I can hardly wait to try this programme with the first group of adults in the second half of September.

 

If you are looking for a safe and fun activity for your children for next week, I offer another week of "Learn German Through Art". The camp is for novice German learners aged 6 - 12 years old.

For more information, please go to https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/product/learn-basic-german-through-art-for-children-august-24/.

 

 

If the cooler weather makes you think of hobbies for the longer fall and winter evenings, check out my fall schedule at https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/eventscourses/for the exciting programmes I have planned for you.  

Enjoy a wonderful summer week! I will be back with a new blog next Friday.