“When you look at your life closely, you can begin to see the beauty of your journey and how past experiences can guide you today,”
 –Silvia de Vries, True Colours 

I should probably come with a label pasted onto my forehead: 

“Warning, Falls Frequently In Love.”

I just can’t help it, my heart tends towards crush. Which is why I’ve started a new feature at Magpie Girl, my Current Crush. Rather than run a blogroll, I’ve chosen to feature one Crush every month or so. You’ll be able to discover a great artist-writer right there, in the pink square to the right. And before my fickle heart finds someone else to flirt with, my Current Crush will be featured in an interview or guest post.

Somehow the Fates brought me Silvia de Vries, writer, photographer, and keeper of all things beautiful. Silvia and I met in the blogosphere, and as soon as we realized we were in the same time zone, we became fast friends. We chat on line at about once a week, and she always inspires me to a more intentional, more inspired way of living.

Silvia has a special eye and documents the gentle beauty of everyday life through words and images at Flickr and at her blog, True Colours. After a stay in Finland Silvia’s recent journey has brought her home to the Hague. I love how she portrays the light and feel of Scandinavia-a uniquely beautiful landscape with a hard-to-capture soul. (I can’t wait for our rendevous in Amsterdam….and we’re planning an EU Soulsister’s Retreat together!)

Slivia’s been my crush since I started announcing my Current Crush few months ago. Before she goes, she’s been so kind as to share her thoughts on the intersection between photography and writing, and how life abroad has affected her work.

How do you know when you are being compelled to create something? What does it feel like in your body/heart/mind?

It’s hard to describe that feeling. When I know that I have to create something I loose track of time. I just work until it is done. It makes me happy and my mind is calm and focussed. It’s a great feeling!

How did you get started with photography? What equipment did you use? What was the learning curve like (how long, steps?) ?

I have always been intrigues by photographs. I love the power of photographs. The stories they tell and the memories they keep. Last year I got a Nikon D60, I’m still very much in love with it. Looking back over the last year I can see the progress I made, although I still have a lot to learn. A couple of months ago I bought a Holga camera, I love how unpredictable it is.

Do you find that your writing and photography interact? What does that look like? Is it simultaneous or does one follow the other?

There are times when my writing and photography interact, although right now I have to say my focus is mainly on photography. Whenever I have trouble to describe my thoughts in words on paper, I grab my camera and try and express what I feel by looking for images that portrait me in that moment.

Did living abroad affect your artistic work? If so how?

I find that a move abroad shakes up your style. You notice different things, you are surrounded by a different culture, nature, etc. it changes you, and therefore your work. Even moving back to my native country affected my artistic work. Looking back, all the moving I’ve done over the years cleared the clutter in my life and style. It’s much more simplistic now, natural soft tones, a light texture here and there.

Next month’s Current Crush? Maybe it’s you. Give me some link-love, comment, or join one of my play-a-longs so we can get to know each other. You never know, we might fall in love!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 5:42 am and is filed under Magpie Girl.
Tags: current crush, interview, lessons from an artist, on art, on writing



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