Do your own curl

Nov 27, 2018

"Curl"
Nature's Breath Series
Curl is about the flow of life, and it is about doing your own thing, doing your own "curl" even if it goes against the direction of the flow.

Curl Original is acrylic paint on a stretched gallery canvas.
Want to take a look at it in the gallery - click here!
My Birth Place
I was born in Freetown Christiania. For lack of a better description, it is a village defined by a certain subculture that lies within the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.

It was originally a military compound that stood abandoned for many years without anyone giving it much attention. But when the surrounding neighbors found themselves increasingly frustrated with the lack of affordable living, one thing thing led to the other, and one day in 1971 a group of people invaded the area and started living there.

I don't want to give the impression that it was an organized movement, because by and large it was not. The only thing that unified this motley group of people flocking to make Christiania their home was a sense of not fitting in, and a spirit of rebelliousness. 
Entrance to Christiania
Boyhood
I grew up among hippies and rebels, build-it-yourself people and off-beat entrepreneurs. In the early days it was rough... no heating, no electricity, no phones or tv's, I remember having to use a toilet in an outhouse lit only by a candle, and having to dig a hole in the ground to get rid of our waste.

One guy kept a bear in his living room (no, not me, I was allowed to roam freely --- if you have no idea what I am talking about, you should check out this newsletter that I sent out on October 23rd) and it did not have fun. There were many naked people, and too many drugs and too much partying for a lot of people. 

I was one of the lucky children. Though my parents were, and still are - hippies, my mother is a grounded person, and although she sought an alternative lifestyle, she never lost sight of herself, unlike many of her peers. I have a lot to be thankful for. 
A houseboat in the lake on Christiania
The Importance of History
But I also remember that some of the kids in my class where not allowed to play with me, I remember not being invited to certain birthday parties and being excluded from certain activities. 

It was my first experience with prejudice. 

The funny thing is that as I later became successful as the owner of two small fashion clothing boutiques in downtown Copenhagen, my upbringing went from being strange and suspicious to becoming cool and interesting.
I realized that one's history does not matter as much as the story that is told about it. 
Takeaway Pearl
Embrace your history. Not as something that defines you, but as something you own and can make into anything you want, simply by telling the right story about it, that is, your story. 
Make your history your own story
Until next week, all the best!