Patty and I met in the community studio that I started running about one and a half years ago. She is an illustrator and was working here. Her illustrations focus on community and care.

When I thought of asking her what she believes in, I was actually expecting her to talk about community and care – but her answer was another one! “I believe in persistence. To keep working on something that you believe in and trusting that it will develop into something, that it will come into fruition.”

We had met for a coffee and talked about what it means to build a business, to develop your artistic skills, to reach the people who love your art. Patty had just moved from Berlin to France, and was in the process of establishing herself there professionally.

“Knowing that some things just take time and that you have to stick to them is really something I believe in”, she added. “We can also see it here with your studio: You just keep doing the work, and I can see that it is growing!” Somehow, Patty’s belief came in just the perfect moment again. I brought up the example of a teacher here whose weekly classes took more than six months to finally be consistently booked out. And this is just how things work. And, you know, I am realising that persistence is also closely connected to community and care. It is a form of care, and a community cannot be built in a day. It needs persistence. It needs consistency. It needs people coming together, again and again. Community can be read as an act of persistent care.

When I closed my eyes to see Patty’s belief, a witch’s cauldron on an open fire occurred, set against a deep purple background with glitters of magic flying around. An old funny witch was frenetically dancing in circles around it, laughing, and occasionally stirring the potion with a big crooked wooden stick.

What does this potion do? It is the secret ingredient that makes it work: Persistence. You will not be able to spot it at first sight, or when you look at the witch every now and then. The witch is feeding the potion every day. You will only understand once you come around and look at the scene again and again, every day. This is what you can do with this smallest. The potion helps you build whatever you wish to build. Drink it daily!