English

'The Wit(t) is in the Word and in the Works'

Welcome to the blog of TWC Works & Projects
Christy de Witt, Creative entrepreneur & Communications Professional

Blogposts are mainly in Dutch, but on this page you'll find pretty much an English summary of the most basic information. Now, let me tell you  a bit more about myself, my work, and some of professional and personal interests. 

So, who's Witty?
Witty, that's me! Christy de Witt, creative entrepreneur & visual artist. An experienced organiser of creative projects and events, while also actively helping others with realising their goals by coaching them. Basically, I offer something like 'First Aid for a Succesful Start-up'. Or a restart, for that matter. 

What does TWC stand for? 
TWC Works! means: That Witty Creativity Works! I don't think I need to describe where the word 'Witty' comes from. Nor do I need to explain the use of the term 'Creativity' ;-)

Working with Wit(t)
And with others ;-) I firmly believe in the power of getting things done together. That, even though we all might be individuals in ur own way, that, by working together, we are capable of achieving really great things. There is no way I can handle each project by myself - even though I have made the mistake of thinking I could, more than once in the past. I do rely on other people's skills and talents to get those things done I can't. That also provides me with an opportunity to work with other creatives, other entrepreneurs, and I can learn a lot from them too.
  My motto:
''Think, Work, Create!' and by that I mean: 'Think well, before you do good, work hard but smart and don't forget to play and above all, use your creativity.

Business and art go well together?
Well, I think in my case, they do! I am a visual artist and illustrator, I have always been. I was born with a pencil in my hand, that's what my family say about me. I will probably die holding one, too. So, yes, the arts have been and always will be my first and true love. But I have been lucky enough to also have been exposed to other worlds and other influences. I have worked as a communcations consultant and as a sponsormanager, I've been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with some big names. You do learn a lot from that. Marketingwise, for instance. And: it also works the other way around. Big corporations nowadays are much more open to work with and to learn from artists and other creatives.

So, feel freel to check out my Witty Art Blog, if you like ;-) 

On speaking and writing in English
Well, I suppose it's what you could call my 'second first language'. No, I never studied or lived abroad. But my primary school offered English lessons, which was quite advanced in those days. And my mother was smart enough to understand the importance of learning English at a young age. And to be honest, I remember those lessons being fun, and interesting. And I do remember, this almost instant feeling of enthusiasm for all these new words, having to learn their meaning, how to pronounce them, anyway, while other kids got excited by new toys and going out to play, I got excited from learning a new language.

But hey, I was achild that got excited from reading books, who'd be happy with a set of drawing pencils and some sheets of paper to draw on. Nerd alert, anyone? Well, I suppose so. But they do say 'brainy' is the new 'sexy', right? 

Anyway, I fell in love with the English language as a child, it stuck with my ever since, even to the extend I dream in English, and at times even think in English rather than in Dutch. Again, I am glad to have been offered this opportunity. It opened many doors for me, especially when working in international environment, yes, as a sponsormanager, but also nowadays, as an artist - as art knows no borders, and Witty Art by all means is international by nature.

Life's ambition:
Never, ever, ever stop learning. Once you stop learning, you might as well consider your life over and done with. And yes, the cliché is true: you learn just as much (and sometimes even more) of your failures and mistakes as you do from your successes. I know. I have failed many times. And I am glad I did, otherwise I wouldn't have learned as much. 

Mad about: 
The arts, creating art, writing, drawing, painting. History. Learning, teaching. Culture. Coffee (lots of it). Rotterdam: my hometown. the English language and grammar (as English basically is my 'second first' language), anything ''Indo'' (as my roots come from the Dutch East Indies, the former Dutch colony, which in 1948 became the independent republic of Indonesia), cats, travelling and submerging yourself into a different culture, nothing like a good creative brainstorm, co-creating and entrepreneurship. 

Being Indo:
Now, the word 'Indo' is not short for Indonesian, as in: a citizen of the Republic of Indonesia. It's short for 'Indo-European' and, in this case, is used to describe children born from mixed marriages/relationships between Dutch men and native women in The Netherlands' former colony Dutch East-Indies and their off-spring as well. The 'Indo's' basically made up the middle class of this pre-Second World War colonial society. At the same time, they had full Dutch citizenship.

After the Second World War, the the brutal Japanese occupation and the even more brutal indepedence war, Indonesia gained independence and many Indo's were forced to leave their homeland and came to what was officially their fatherland, where they had to start all over again: setting up a new life, building a new home and securing a future for themselves and their families. Now, it goes a bit too far to embark on a extensive history lesson right here and now, but I will dedicate some blogposts about it in the near future.

So, my parents were Indo's. My sisters and brothers are. And I am, too.And proud of it. Yes, I'm Dutch. But I do feel and acknowledge that a great part of my roots lie elsewhere, that in a way I am a product of many, many migrations througout history, of people moving, uprooting their lives and starting over again. That is a fundamental part of who I am and how I perceive the world I live in.

We are always changing and evolving, one way or the other. Trying to survive, trying to adapt. It's human nature. It's who we are. And that makes us both the strongest force as the weakest link on this little blue planet. 

BUT ... now we have slowly but surely entered the realm of a more personal philosphy, and if you are interested in finding out more about that, then I invite to visit my Witty Art Blog and view my work, and read some of my blogposts. As a lot of my artwork, if not all of it, is all about human nature and it's wandering ways.