I met Julia in Goa, India at a contribution hostel a couple of years ago. I think the first memory I have from meeting her involved that I was pretty impressed by a tattoo she has. I remember seeing it as very creative and artistic. That’s when I understood she must be a person with a great sense for artistery. Which is something I have seen proof of as she have been sharing some really awesome sketches and drawings she made. For the moment she is a teacher in Sichon, Thailand. I don’t now since or for how long. But it doesn’t matter. She seems like one of all who is traveling and has a creative side which deserves some attention. Which makes me want to write something about her to post on here. So I decided to let her tell us something, by simply giving her a few questions.

I think I’m still figuring that out. I was very stuck in my home country of South Africa. I job hopped and couldn’t seem to find direction. I was invited to be the resident artist at an amazing backpackers nestled in the Drakensberg mountain range in South Africa, and there I met a variety of travelers. That was the kick in the bum that I needed. It inspired me to live and work in a country so vastly different to my own. I thought that I wanted to become a person who gains different perspectives on how to live life. That’s why Asian countries appealed to me. That’s it: I am a person who wants to absorb as many ways of living as is possible for me. I like being free. I like seeing beauty. I’m not afraid of being alone. I’ve also learnt to slow down, be less quick to anger, and to ask people for help.   

What relation do you have to artistry and creative activities?

When I was young, drawing seemed to make sense to me. I wanted to translate objects I saw in real life or in my head through my hand onto paper or whatever. It seemed important to do that. My family is made up of creative people. My dad had a most eclectic taste in music, and he introduced me to the world of arthouse films and photography. My mother introduced me to jazz and classical music, and supported me by taking me to my gymnastics, ballet, and art classes. My brother introduced me to intense black metal music and inspired me to draw as he was always doodling. He also played the piano and the guitar well.    

Drawing with pens is meditative for me. I especially like to draw portraits; I think I just love trying to fully capture the correct proportions. I engage in body movement as well – yoga, dancing, walking, aerobics in Thailand is fun. Wearing makeup also allows me to express myself sometimes.

I drew a lot as a young person. I was always drawing. That’s why I’m not sure I can say that I’m talented. I just practised all the time. I really observed, and taught myself about perspective, and space, and lines, and different techniques. Drawing is the base of everything. From there, I learnt to paint with different mediums. I studied Fine Art and furthered my technical skills: sculpture, film photography, sound art… but of course, the academic and critical side was more important at my university, and so I grew to hate anything to do with art. However, drawing was the thing that I liked to do, because it came with ease, because I have practised so much.

I am not sure that there is merely talent. It comes down to practice, passion, and pushing oneself. Whatever you find, stick with it. For example, I stopped practising learning to play any instruments. I had the opportunity, but I got lazy. So even though I love music, I cannot play a single instrument. Art form is any form… any body movement, karaoke, taking selfies, reading a book, drawing in the sand, looking at the clouds, learning a new language, researching a topic you know nothing about, Marvel movies (ugh)… humans can interpret anything because they have imagination. Consumers and appreciators of art are the reason art is made. Just allow yourself the time to stimulate your imagination – there is always someone who will relate. We are weird creatures: we can all do and make things and that seems unremarkable. Yet… we all learn and interpret things differently, which is remarkable, and which is why everyone should practise something and really enjoy it and teach others about it – whatever it is.  

I love process! The result is sometimes underwhelming. The process is everything – a metaphor for life itself. Everything is process, and death is the result.

I had to invigilate and I wasn’t prepared for how long it was going to be. I quietly found scrap paper, and drawing materials (2 pens, correction fluid, and a whiteboard marker). I sat down, listened to really great music, and drew whilst these poor students had to write exam after exam. During this drawing, I didn’t think of capturing a crying girl, but rather how I can put a line down, or how dark or light I can make it, or where to add light, or where not to add a line. I stripped down to shapes and lines in my head, and really that’s what it’s all about: figuring something out slowly through adding and taking away. And now I just have a terribly sad woman to show for my meditation, haha.