The Artist Still Known as V-Grrrl
In 2005, I moved from America to Belgium and launched a new life. Stripped of my social infrastructure, family ties, community and cultural touchpoints, I shed all my social labels and everyone's expectations. My identity was tossed on a compost heap to be recycled.
It was terrifying and liberating at the same time, disconcerting and grounding. As my old life broke down, I discovered a new richness in my re-ordered world. Living and traveling in Europe and being surrounded by people from different cultures and backgrounds forced me to consider the merits of all my perceptions and values.
Being in a country where I don't speak the language has given me confidence and helped me focus on all the ways we are one, how we communicate without words, how we share common experiences that bind us even when our cultural practices separate us.
Originally, I described my experiences as an expat in great detail through a personal blog at this URL called V-Grrrl in the Middle ("Caught between two continents, two languages, and my opening and closing acts"). Now that I'm in the process of moving to and resettling in the United States, it was time for this site to reflect the changes life has brought to me.
The name Compost Studios reflects my belief that the circumstances that break us down ultimately have the potential to yield good things in our life and are fertile soil for new growth. It takes courage to shed the structures, labels, and assumptions that we allow to define us and dare to broaden our perspective, imagine a different ending, catch a new vision, see something extraordinary in the mundane.
Artists, writers, musicians, photographers, and all types of creative people can help us do just that. Compost Studios is the place I use art to reflect on the process of regeneration that is the essence of life and its many permutations. Like me, Compost Studios is a work in progress, but I hope that among its pages, you find inspiration, enlightenment, and a reason to smile.
Thanks for sharing this space with me,
