WORKSHOPS

I never planned to become a pastel teacher.

It all started with one little student after my first exhibition at Kunst Zurich Süd — and grew, step by step, into a passionate pastel community.

Today, my workshops bring together children, adults and experienced artists, united by a love of colour, creativity and soft pastel. I never actually planned to become a pastel teacher.

It all started after my first exhibition at Kunst Zurich Süd. A friend came to see the exhibition and asked if I could teach her daughter how to paint with pastel. Then her friend asked. And then another friend. At first, these were just little trial lessons for a symbolic fee. The children painted, while I was discovering teaching for myself. I read books and literature about art, studied pastel techniques passionately, experimented with materials — and at the same time continued developing my own painting.

The requests kept coming: “Can we paint this?” “Can we try that?”

So I prepared for every lesson, constantly improving my technique and discovering new materials. I added oil pastels and water-soluble crayons and chargoal to my soft pastel practice. The little ones — my youngest group was just five years old — loved nothing more than dissolving the colours with water.

Step by step, we discovered the world of soft pastel together. I even had to remember my first education as a primary school teacher — something I never imagined would become useful again! The children grew, time passed, and a few years later adults started asking to join my workshops. Some of the mothers of my young students became my students too. Our little amateur pastel club grew — not quickly, but steadily.

And many of the people who started this journey with me are now my friends. We are still painting together today. ❤️

From a little studio to Kunst Zurich Süd

It all began in a small studio and with my decision to join a local Verein in Adliswil.

At the time, my German was far from perfect. Luckily, I had English to fall back on — a language I had learned at university. Gathering all my courage, I walked into the Verein one day with my paintings. They liked my work and accepted me as a member.

Meanwhile, my teaching continued and my own exhibitions followed, each with different themes and ideas. Then, about a year ago, Walter Diem, our Leiter and President, found out that I was teaching pastel and invited me to try teaching dry pastel to the artists of our Verein.

That was scary.

These were experienced artists who had already exhibited their work many times and had been painting for years. At my first class, my hands were literally shaking with nerves. And I was teaching in German — while all the words seemed to disappear from my head the moment I needed them!

Fortunately, people were patient and helped me. Some even translated when necessary. And little by little, my German improved. My teaching became more confident, more relaxed — and developed its own stories. People came back. They told their friends. They brought new people with them.

I hardly advertised at all. Word of mouth became my best advertisement. And then came the exhibition. A few months later, during one of my classes, one of my students suddenly suggested: Why don’t you organise a pastel exhibition in our Kunst Zurich Süd gallery?

At first, the idea seemed impossible.

Who would give me an entire gallery for a pastel exhibition? But then I thought: I should at least ask. And exactly one month ago in August 2026, with the encouragement and support of my students, that seemingly impossible idea became reality.

The pastel exhibition at Kunst Zurich Süd in Adliswil took place. We call it “Träume in Pastell” – “Pastel Dreams” in English. It brought together my new works, paintings by my students, and even a special room dedicated to children’s pastel paintings. We designed and installed everything together. I drove around several shops and practically bought out their supply of white frames — all to create one beautiful, coherent look for the exhibition. 😊

You can see how it all came together here. And perhaps the most important thing I have learned from this journey is that sometimes the best paths are the ones we never planned.

One thought from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist has stayed with me a famous book that has stayed with me:

“When you follow your path, the universe helps you along the way”