Hello world, that’s how WordPress usually starts the first post. It is true, I am using WordPress to host this. What way could be a better way to write the first post than by doing a small introduction? Yes, I do have an about tag, but it is rather formal. Instead, I would like to introduce myself and, among others, my cat, who is not introduced at the about tab.
My name is Caroline, I am from Gotland, a Swedish island in the baltic ocean. Now I country-jump between Sweden and The Netherlands, as my partner is Dutch. We used to rent an apartment in Haarlem together with my Swedish cat (yes, my cat joins me wherever I go!) but even though Haarlem is a lovely town, it was not an apartment for us. Honestly, we did not have heat for over three months, and that’s why we left, on our way to somewhere warmer.
I studied the arts programme, (aesthetics and media) at upper secondary school in Sweden. It was a rather decent experience. I tried studying at a university (well, later I realized that the marketing was intended to mean applied sciences, far from research!) but oh boy, it was insane. I did not last long, and shortly into the autumn semester, I went on a half-year sick leave. It was a strange experience but learned and adulted a lot during it. After that, I did various courses via a few Swedish universities to get back to studying again. That was also a strange experience because while being sick, I kind of felt like I was back into grade 1 in elementary school. Relearning how to read and being really exhausted. However, shit happens. It might be bothering, a tad disappointing, but it is in the past. And I grew a lot. Bet the university of non-research did not. At least not in the student body for that year, because I dropped out.
I am really into editing. But why? Thanks for asking! I love when people ask that. When I was 12 I started editing game material, ripping songs from CDs and making “music videos”. I made short films and series through games. I used all sorts of suspicious editing software, and I later moved on to image editing. When I was 12, blogs were everywhere. Even gaming-blogs. I started playing around with HTML and photoshopping graphic elements and editing my (game) pictures (of horses) to look better. I made multiple websites, both for myself and my friends. When I was soon to be 16, and ready to go to upper secondary school, I finally bought my first DSLR and somehow got my hands on various adobe software. I was terrified I would not keep up with my classmates, and I was terrified of being the only one who had never used their own DSLR (or yet used one at all) so I spent all summer practising both editing and photographing while working part-time. Kids in Sweden usually work during summer vacations, to get some extra cash and prepare for moving out after secondary school. In the end, I realized I had worried for nothing. After all, I attended school to learn.
Bet if I have had many ups and downs when it comes to creating. My boyfriend says I am a perfectionist, and in one way I might agree, but on the other hand, nothing is ever perfect so I can’t be a perfectionist. I have deleted my material, thrown away prints, criticized myself and deleted things I uploaded. I am the harshest art critique you can encounter, at least towards myself. That might not be very healthy, as it has led me into a few bumps of having no energy to even touch my gear. Well, the good news is, I am working on it and I am getting better at it. Perhaps it’s a part of growing up? Half the point of putting a blog on my portfolio is to make it a little less dramatic and enhance progress. I believe progress and learning are extremely important, and I don’t think I will ever be fully taught through my career, via this blog, I think I might be able to share both pretty and less pretty parts of the progress. Here I intend the images, I honestly don’t have any intention of focusing on mental health and believing in yourself, but perhaps that will subconsciously be integrated anyway. But that is not the purpose of this.
I don’t only edit. I am the definition of that reel going around on Instagram, where they showcase the number of hobbies they have and how they might not be that great at any of them. Misunderstand me right, I am not necessarily bad at what I do, but if I had only focused on horses when growing up, then maybe I would have been competing for some fancy league by now. Just saying. I could have been a professional equestrian.
Yes, I like horses. In The Netherlands, I ride a beautiful old lady called Odette, together with an awesome stable-mate who rides the puppy-like brown boy Maron. When I am on Gotland I stop by some Fjord horses that completely got me back to horse-riding. Horses are extremely important to me, as they are a wonderful way to relax without pressure. I accepted that I don’t need to be the best around horses, even though I felt kind of awkward when I was little at the riding school.
